The parcels of golf paradise at Seven Canyons are surrounded by an ocean of wilderness
by Skip Knowles
SEVENTH HEAVEN
What land and home prospectors shopping the American West quickly figure out is this: When you buy property out here, it's not so much how big your piece is as what it's next to.
Two hours straight north of Phoenix, buyers at Seven Canyons are moving into an upscale community that engrosses 200 acres of land-rush-worthy terrain, getting their own luxury villas or homes while the getting's good.
Nice places. Open spaces. Not outrageously huge by western standards.
But properties here are really much more like buying into 100,000 acres, because the development is completely surrounded by the vast Cococino National Forest and the Secret Mountain Wilderness. Meaning no urban sprawl on the horizon, ever, and never any houses or roads, either.
Yet it's not in the middle of nowhere. Only a few miles away at the heart of it all is Sedona, a city renowned for beauty even before it was one. Native Americans called this spot the center of the universe because of its soul-lifting scenery.
So investors here will pay for the par-70 championship course by Tom Weiskopf, and the soon-to-come club village with full amenities. They'll pay for one of the 30 estate-sized home-sites or a lavish villa in a profound location.
But the surrounding red rock tabletops, plateaus, vistas, and legions of coyotes, eagles, mule deer and bighorn sheep are all complimentary, as are the hundreds of miles of horseback and hiking trails.
So an island of private land in a sea of wilderness, with perfect golf and a perfect climate, well ... sounds like a billionaire's club, right? Sure. But the fractional ownership aspect of the 2,500-square-foot, old-world European-style villas is attainable with a one-tenth share and no extra charge for the panoramic views of the dramatic landscape.
"It's beautiful, relaxing and peaceful. When I get up there it forces you to take a step back and not feel quite so stressed," says Sherri Kesinger, marketing director. "The villas are like having a second home without the worries of typical second-home ownership, where people end up working instead of enjoying their vacation."
Prices for three-bedroom villas start around $450,000. And 395 private golf memberships are available, too. The bright orange cliffs and sandstone formations might make it tough on first-time visitors to keep their game moving, but that's hardly a problem on a private course where members will often find themselves un-harried by anyone.
This is the real West, the coyote-and-roadrunner canyon country we all dreamed of as children, in a climate that gets 300 days of sunshine yet is far milder than Phoenix due to the elevation. Not a bad place to bring the family for hot-air balloon rides, mountain biking, swimming in pools along sandstone streams or unforgettable golf.
