You’ve Got Mail!
We’re ready to start the transition to the Elk Haven cluster box…
In a nutshell, we’ve had problems with mail in Summit County for years. After doing some research, coming together to fix the problem, we’re thrilled to announce that we will have mail and package delivery to a community cluster box and package delivery to our front porches. The new cluster box is conveniently located at the intersection of Raven Golf Ln. and Ninth Green Ct. If you’re not a full-time resident, there’s a longer explanation at the bottom of this page. The FAQ should answer most of your questions.
We have just learned that even if you haven’t turned in a card, if you are using your home address, you may already have mail in the mailbox.
To start using the box, you’ll need to take the following steps:
Turn in a Rural Customer Delivery Instruction card to the main post office in Dillon.
Let us know how you’d like to receive your keys.
Forward your mail at the post office from your current PO Box to your HOME address (NOT cluster box number), or here online.
FAQs
How do I sign up?
It’s easy! You’ll just need to fill out a Rural Customer Delivery Instructions card with the USPS. This will tell the USPS what to do with packages and will also formally link your box number to your physical address. They can be picked up at any local post office, but the form should be returned to the Dillon Post Office, which is the central post office for our area. You can also download the form from the USPS and print by clicking this link.
What address do I use for mail?
This is the best part. You will address ALL mail to your physical street address, with Silverthorne, CO 80498. Do NOT add the cluster box number to the address when addressing mail.
EXAMPLE: John Doe, 1234 Raven Golf Ln., Silverthorne, CO 80498 (not 80497).
What about my PO Box?
As we understand it, if you have a free PO Box at the post office, you have 60 days to make the transition. You can create a forwarding request and send your mail from your PO Box to your home address as you start changing addresses with merchants, banks, family, and friends. Click here to access the USPS Change of Address online form.
What about packages?
We have a total of two small package lockers in the main box, and four large package lockers. If you receive a package, the carrier will place it in a locker and put a key in your mailbox. However, if the package is too large to fit, they will bring it to your front porch (the requirement is that your home is within 1/2 mile of the box, and all Elk Haven homes are within that range.
If a package is undeliverable for some reason, you will have to go to the Main Dillon USPS post office instead of Silverthorne.
Do I need to sign up?
Many of our homeowners are part-time residents of Summit County. If you sign up for the cluster box, they will deliver marketing mail pieces that could quickly fill the box. You could submit a “hold mail” request to the post office, or forward mail to your vacation home if you’re staying for an extended period of time. We do have keys for all homeowners, and mailboxes have been assigned, so you already have a dedicated box at the cluster box if you ever need to use it, but you are not required to set it up. The HOA is required to distribute the keys and cannot hold them for residents.
An alternative in the past has been to direct packages to the UPS Store in Dillon, but it recently closed. Some residents use Just Send It in Silverthorne as an alternative. We have one Amazon Locker at Whole Foods in Frisco, but it’s always full.
How do I get keys?
We have the keys for the boxes and are working to get them to homeowners. Each homeowner will receive three keys. The HOA is not allowed to keep extra keys, so if they are lost, you can contact the Silverthorne post office and they can change the lock and provide a new set for a fee. Fill out the form below to indicate your choice.
Your mailbox number can be found in the chart below…this is the number you’ll put in the “Box No.” field in the post office form.
The longer explanation…
Full-time residents of Eagle’s Nest and other areas of Summit County have experienced difficulty in getting mail through the USPS for many years. Because we are in a rural mountain area, we didn’t have mail delivery to our homes, but instead were provided with a small PO Box at no cost at the local post office, and we frequently ran into problems placing online orders. We would try to put both our physical address and PO Box, but that would be rejected by companies using UPS. As of March, the USPS sorting facility would see our physical addresses on packages and send them back. I think we’ve tried five different addressing methods with limited success. Some companies, such as LG and AT&T will not even deliver to our homes, even though they ship with FedEx or UPS, because they are verifying addresses with the USPS when you try to place an order.
After a lot of research, we tracked the problem down to the lack of home delivery and our physical addresses being nonexistent in the USPS databases. At first, were told delivery to our neighborhood was not possible. But after asking too many questions, we learned that it was possible, and that it would require the HOA to purchase and install cluster boxes, which happened in November 2023. At this time, only the Elk Haven sub-association of Eagle’s Nest will have USPS home delivery.
It’s been challenging, but we think we’ve got it figured out. We hope that this makes living in Summit County even more amazing!