This property inside Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park can be yours for $5.5 million/Chapman Real Estate

It's big, pricey but with privacy, and has an incredible view of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado. That's because the $5.5 million, 33-acre property and its sprawling home are inside the park.

And it is reflective of how the National Park Service struggles to acquire inholdings such as this one because Congress has not fully funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund used to purchase such properties.

"This has gone on for decades or more, where these properties have been on the market, there have been opportunities to secure them, and multiple land trusts have been looking at ways to secure them. But even a land trust is going to be reliant on getting repaid from LCWF," David Nimkin, senior regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association's Southwest office based in Salt Lake City, said Wednesday.

The property at Black Canyon is owned by a group of investors, said Katie Chapman-Schmalz, the listing agent with Chapman Real Estate.

"It was built as an investment. It’s never been lived in and it's being sold with the furnishings," she said Wednesday.

According to the real estate flyer, "(T)he exclusive property located in stunning Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has been privately developed as one of only two contemporary residences inside a national park in the United States."

"This is an exclusive address with an opportunity to own a retreat inside an American national park. From this home, you will never, for all eternity, see another home or the lights of another home," Ms. Chapman-Schmalz said in the flyer.

The 33-acre estate is surrounded on all sides by Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park/Chapman Real Estate

The home was designed by Arizona architect Michael C. Daily as a single-story structure with Southwestern Santa Fe style architecture. It features "a large covered veranda overlooking the canyon, artisan gas outdoor fire pit, xeriscape flower gardens with sprinkler systems and a granite boulder waterfall. The 3,300-square-foot outdoor parking area, pool area and sidewalks all have underground heat for snow melting."

Perfect for buyer interested in:

• High appreciation value
• Safe foreign investment
• 360˚ unobstructed nature views

The advertisement also carried a comment from Connie Rudd, former Black Canyon of the Gunnison superintendent.

"Until you stand on the rim of the canyon and hear the roar of the Gunnison River, some 2,000 feet below, you cannot understand the power of this place. Once you experience it, you will never forget it," reads the quote.

Ms. Rudd, reached Wednesday afternoon by email, said the quote might have stemmed from when she was superintendent (she retired three years ago) and there were efforts to attract a buyer that would transfer the property to the Park Service.

"I cannot say that the statement used in this particular marketing effort was made specific to his marketing. It is a general statement that describes the value of the park," she wrote. "A person can't hear the river from his property. I also cannot say I gave him permission to use the statement or not. I have attempted in the past to suggest alternate uses for the house that would benefit the park, such as finding a conservation buyer who might use it as a facility for small gatherings that would set goals and make action plans to further public land protection -- an environmental think tank site of sorts. In that marketing context the quote is appropriate."

Ms. Chapman-Schmalz said the property's owners have contacted "multiple groups" about selling the property in such a way that it would end up in the Park Service's possession, but to date have been unsuccessful. She said she could see the home used for an artist-in-residence program at Black Canyon, or perhaps for a regular series of symposiums.