Inside the Kilmer ranch

Ever wonder what it’s like at movie star Val Kilmer’s 6,000-acre Pecos River Ranch?

For a price, you can find out. The ranch began offering single- and multi-day fishing trips (or simply , get-aways ) last spring. Now for about $750 for an overnight, or $400 for a day of fly-fishing (roughly comparable to a similar trip at Ted Turner’s Vermejo Ranch) anyone who wants to can spend time at Kilmer’s ranch.

In some ways the actor’s spread is very similar to other places along the Pecos River. It is dotted with piñon and stands of ponderosa pine trees. It is traversed by a network of dusty dirt roads lined by chamisa bushes. The river — about 7 miles of it runs through Kilmer’s property — sparkles in the Southwestern sun and carves deep canyons in surrounding rock hillsides. In other ways it is a “Disneyland for adults,” according to ranch manager Pam Sawyer. The main lodge doesn’t have a television , but it does have a drum kit, a piano, a saxophone, several guitars, a trumpet, a flute and a cupboard full of board games. It doesn’t have a kitchen, but it does have a rustic wooden wet bar. “We pour you the first one, after that it’s pour your own,” Sawyer said.

Meals are prepared in a small kitchen in an attached two-bedroom casita (guests’ chefs have included Lane Warner from La Fonda Hotel and Tim Butterly from Il Piatto).

Local and imported guides accompany anglers on fishing trips, pointing out lucky spots or showing novices how to cast.

“The guides are very hands on,” said Garrett VeneKlasen, head guide and booking agent for the fishing operation. “You could show up and never have thrown a fly in your life and really have a pretty neat experience,” he said.

In addition, the river is stocked with brown and rainbow trout.

Non-fishers can ride horses, take nature walks or sit on the big back porch and watch Blue Herons dipping into the lazy switch-backs of river that meander past the main lodge.

Sawyer said one woman whose fisherman husband wanted to stay at the ranch thought she wouldn’t have fun because she didn’t fish. Sawyer told her she could shop in Santa Fe, which got her to agree to come. “She’s been back twice and never once left the ranch,” Sawyer said. Starting the commercial fishing operation was Sawyer’s idea, according to VeneKlasen. “She’s always looking for ways to generate income,” VeneKlasen said. The money generated through the business goes mostly to maintaining the 6,000-acre property, VeneKlasen said. Though guests who stay in one of the three buildings open for public use can read some of Val Kilmer’s books — which include classic novels and a lot of art books — they shouldn’t expect to see Kilmer. “People see him but he’s not really part of (the fishing operation),” VeneKlasen said. Literature sent to those planning a trip to the ranch asks guests to refrain from taking Kilmer’s picture if they do see him.

In fact, according to VeneKlasen, Kilmer has just listed several portions of his ranch — one of which includes the fishing business and buildings — for sale.

“Val wants to have his own space,” VeneKlasen said, “his own world on the other side of the ranch. He wants to create his own buildings.” Most of the existing structures on the property where built before the star bought it.

The part of the property that includes the fishing operation is almost 1,000 acres with 3 miles of river and three houses. The asking price for that parcel is $14 million.

The other piece of the ranch for sale is about 850 acres of undeveloped land with threequarters of an acre of river. It has been listed for $7 million. Sawyer said both properties will be sold with “extreme,” conservation easements to protect the river and surrounding lands from excessive development. She said Kilmer hopes to sell the property to people who won’t see those restrictions as a drawback. “People who care about the river,” she said. Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3004 or phaywood@sfnewmexican .com