Notes from the host
Leaping Deer Ranch
Come to relax and play at a beautiful recreational retreat on 186 gorgeous acres in northern New Mexico. The spacious villa sits on a mountain ridge, surrounded by pine and juniper forest, that overlooks a valley of pastures. Enjoy spectacular sunrises on the huge wrap-around porch while getting your day started with a warm cup of coffee or tea and watching the horses graze. The villa, apartment, and all 186 acres are exclusive for you to enjoy with your reservation.
There are five splendid bedrooms in the main villa with comfortable beds, plenty of space, and artwork abound. There is also an apartment, which has its own kitchen, next to the event hall and the entire property is available for your booking. We have only one group of guests at any one time staying overnight. The ranch is ideal for large groups and we frequently accommodate twenty or more people.
Leaping Deer Ranch has a wonderful 1600 square foot event hall. It comes equipped with tables and chairs that can accommodate up to 60 people. The event hall has been used for wedding receptions and ceremonies, corporate events, community gatherings, and yoga retreats. The event hall has its own kitchen and restroom. Use of the hall is not included in reservation through Vrbo so please call if you want to add it to your stay. It's a great space for any event.
The kitchen is amazing and fully equipped to serve large groups of people. An abundance of granite countertop space and a large island. You’ll be able to fit all the cooks and guests in the kitchen to make huge meals and entertain everyone. There are two dishwashers, a wine and beer fridge, a paella pan, a vita mix, six burner stove, a stocked coffee and tea bar, and a breakfast nook in the kitchen.
The Great room is fantastic! It has a beautifully tiled fireplace (wood), oriental rugs, soaring ceilings, lots of seating, and wonderful arched windows to let in the moonlight or watch the stars. Adjoining the Great room is a large dining room that can be configured to seat large groups to dine. The dining room has its own custom tiled fireplace (gas).
There is a large barbecue grill on the garden patio. The front garden has a magnificent iron horse statue, Paco by Siri Hollander. Paco stands watch over the valley amidst an aspen grove, wild rose bushes, and stalks of mullein. In the front garden, there is a bonfire pit area that is surrounded by stone benches. When weather conditions are favorable the staff can be available to assist in the preparation and starting of a bonfire. There are very low levels of light pollution at Leaping Deer Ranch, so be sure to plan to do some star gazing during your stay. The night skies here are one of our very favorite features of the Ranch.
We rescued Athena, Ginger, Cheyenne, and Misty (our four quarter horses) from the slaughterhouse in 2009. They have been out to pasture at Leaping Deer Ranch ever since. They are super spoiled and have a great life. They love to meet guests at the ranch. Ginger is a bit shy. The horses like to spend most of the day near the lake. Feel free to go for a walk through the fields to meet the horses and bring them some treats. Note: the horses don’t like dogs, don’t bring your dogs to meet the horses.
We have an extensive art collection at the ranch. There are 31 fiber art pieces on display throughout the villa. The pieces are extraordinarily intricate and constitute one of the largest private collections of fiber art in the country.
The property has previously been used for modeling shoots, television series sets (Longmire), and even for a custom vehicle calendar photo shoot. It is truly beautiful at Leaping Deer Ranch so be sure to bring your best cameras because you’ll get some magnificent images. From the expansive wrap-around porch, you can look across the valley and see the wagon wheel rut trails from when the Santa Fe trail route passed through the area 170 years ago.
Guests are welcome to hike and explore the property, visit with the horses, and enjoy the natural beauty and energy that our land has blessed us with. There are many species of birds, wildflowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, insects, mushrooms, deer, elk, foxes, coyotes, and even an occasional sighting of a bobcat on the property. Be careful when bouldering up the ridge as many of the rocks are loose. There is a small cave on the north side of the ridge, go explore and see if you can locate it. A lot of people like to climb up on the rocks and find a spot to meditate.
Amenities
We have a hot tub that is a great place to enjoy star gazing. It needs to be said again, the night skies are spectacular if you have a telescope… bring it.
The wifi network has eleven hotspot routers to allow for coverage through the villa, apartment, and hall.
There are three custom tiled fireplaces.
We are home to the largest labyrinth in the State of New Mexico. After a month of work to prepare the ground and moving tons and tons of rocks, there is now a beautiful 98-foot diameter Chartres replica labyrinth. People use the labyrinth for reflective walks and meditations, it is a great metaphor for our journey through life.
We have free fresh eggs for you from our chickens. We also have some ducks.
We have an outdoor movie theater. It easily can seat 36 people. To schedule a movie night you'll have to make arrangements 24 hours in advance so that I can set up the equipment. The projector is bluetooth and has a DVD player.
Additional Services
It will be best to coordinate these services before you arrive, but last minute requests will try to be filled.
VRBO only has the capability to bill for lodging. We offer a lot of additional services that we have to bill for separately. VRBO does not have the ability to charge for a party and this will also have to be billed separately. If you would like to have an event at Leaping Deer Ranch have a lot of support available to you and it will have to be billed separately from the VRBO lodging.
- We have a Wellness Center on the property that offers Yoga, meditation, massage, Reiki, and sound healings. Appointments are best booked beforehand but can be booked once you're here.
- Shooting at our private 250-yard rifle range. The cost per person is $10, and rounds and targets are not provided.
- A Matanzas-style pig roast, which can feed up to 40 people, is available. We need one-week advance notice for this. A pig roast will cost $1000.
- Personal chef service is available. The cost for meals is variable depending up what you’d like for a menu.
- A 1600-square-foot event hall for parties, receptions, corporate events, and more.
Nearby Attractions
Some of the notable nearby places to Leaping Deer Ranch are: Meow Wolf in Santa Fe (this is a must see), Morphy Lake, Ft. Union, the Montezuma Hot Springs, The Dwan Light Sanctuary, The Whittington Center, Museum Hill in Santa Fe, Sipapu Ski Resort, Angel Fire Ski Resort, and the Taos Pueblo.
Arrival:
When you arrive at Leaping Deer Ranch we will give you a tour of the property. There is a lot to take note of. We’ll show you where everything is and stress a couple of the rules (the gate and the fireplace flue in particular). Then you get to enjoy your stay at Leaping Deer Ranch, where many people come to rejuvenate, reflect, and reconnect.
Please note: a couple of years ago we had our address changed with the county. However, VRBO will not allow us to update the address to the actual address that the post office uses. We are physically at the same place just the address is now
5 Leaping Deer LN
Sapello NM, 87745
