CLEARLAKE— President of Six Sigma Ranch Christian Ahlmann was this week’s guest speaker at the Thursday Morning Judge’s Breakfast. Ahlmann discussed the Six Sigma property with a focus on their ongoing resort project (openig soon) with new partner Huttopia.
Almann moved to Lake County from the Midwest when he was 17. Six Sigma Ranch started in Kansas on 60 acres of land, relocating to Lake County after he purchased the current 4,300 acre ranch in Lower Lake in 2000. Ahlmann achieved his Bachelor’s in agriculture at Kansas State and furthered his education with a business program at Sonoma State. Today the ranch sees 10,000 visitors a year, has a membership of approximately 1,000, and is home to cattle, a resident pig named “Topper”, their 40 acres of grapes and winery, plentiful bike trails, and soon to come a 150-acre resort featuring 150 tents and cabins.
The resort project was brought to life by partnering with family-owned company Huttopia. The company has developed multiple glamping resort properties around the world, according to the Huttopia website (canada-usa.huttopia.com) where they state, “Today, there are more than 60 Huttopia locations on three continents, with more preparing to open in 2022 and beyond.”
This partnership was made after a representative from Huttopia went to Gregory Graham Winery after a failed search for property for a potential resort, and the two parties were introduced. Ahlmann said, “If we who want to add value to the community bounce people around to the other people that add value, we could do really great stuff.” After careful contemplation including a trip to a Huttopia resort in Canada, Ahlmann was sold. Almann described the resort noting, “We arrived late at night to this village, have you guys ever seen a Thomas Kinkade painting? The little lights, that’s exactly what this felt like.” Ahlmann says that’s the spirit of Huttopia. Seven years later they have begun construction and will open “sometime” as construction was slightly delayed due to rain.
Once complete the accommodations will include gas grills, an on-site restaurant as well as a pool and will rent for $250 per night and under in hopes of encouraging locals to take a weekend staycation or book for one of their many events like Paella Night and their many mountain bike races or rides. Mark Cooper and others were inquisitive as to the bathroom situation at the resort. Ahlmann explained that many of the cabins will have their own bathroom, while others will have a shared restroom nearby. Jeffrey Dryden asked about the possibility of a barbecue at tent sites and Ahlmann responded that each site will have a gas grill, and there will be a large community fire pit tended by Six Sigma staff to avoid the possibility of starting a fire, considering the ranch has already experienced burning in three of Lake County’s previous wildfires.
Ahlmann shared Six Sigma’s desire to aid in the enrichment of Lake County. “We create Lake County… It’s not a giant cruise ship, you can shape it,” he said, and added, “With a few good companies or a few good public leaders you can completely shape what it is.”
The Judge’s Breakfast forum is held every Thursday at 7 a.m. at the Clearlake Senior Center. More information including a list of upcoming guests can be found on their Facebook page.
