Keystone

Keystone is a resort town in eastern Summit County, strung along the Snake River below Keystone Mountain and Lake Dillon. It became Colorado's newest incorporated town in February 2024, and now runs its own land use and short-term-rental programs rather than deferring to the county. Most of Keystone is resort product, condos and townhomes in River Run and the Mountain House and Lakeside villages, with the single-family living concentrated in pockets like Keystone Ranch and West Keystone.

What sets Keystone apart for a buyer is the rental framework. The town sits in a Resort Overlay Zone with no cap on the number of short-term-rental licenses and no limit on nights or reservations, which makes it one of the most rental-friendly markets in the county. A town license is required for any stay under thirty days, the license does not transfer when a home sells, and individual HOAs may layer their own rules on top, so both the town status and the association belong in any rental decision. Rental-friendly does not automatically mean profitable, though; whether a Keystone condo or home pencils still comes down to the real estate investment math behind a Colorado mountain vacation rental.