Real Estate in the Black Hills of northeast Wyoming has started taking off, with people realizing that they can get more luxury for less. A $2.5 million five-bedroom, five-bath mansion is the latest example, filled with tech like a robot lawnmower and self-cleaning pool.

Article by Renée Jean | COWBOY STATE DAILY | NOVEMBER 10, 2024

As a real estate broker with Swan Land Co., Scott Williams has seen a lot of quirky things. But when he was touring this $2.5 million home in the Black Hills corner of northeast Wyoming, he saw something that surprised even him.

“This robotic automatic lawn mower just popped out of his little spot, zipping by us, and he’s mowing the lawn,” Williams said. “The technology in this home is just really, really cool.”

The robot didn’t need any human instruction or even the push of a button to get started. It’s on a timer to come out and do its thing on schedule. And the lawn has been designed with the robotic lawnmower in mind. It has nice, clean lines so that a workable pattern can be programmed.

Like a Roomba for the home, this robot lawnmower might occasionally need an owner to take care of a downed limb or something like that. But it otherwise operates with very little human intervention.

It mowed the lawn all by itself before Williams’ eyes.

That robot lawnmower isn’t the only cool, technological gizmo in this smart little mansion located between Moorcroft and Pine Haven.

“It’s really cool what they’ve done here,” Williams said. “You know, the lights come on at a certain time automatically, and the shades work automatically as well.”

The pool in the backyard also comes with an automatic cleaning system, significantly reducing the maintenance required from a homeowner, and the sauna can be engaged remotely so that it’s nice and hot by the time the homeowner arrives at home.

There’s an actual Roomba inside the home, too, devoted to keeping the floors pristine. And the home’s even been designed with that feature in mind, with things like floating tables, suspended from the ceiling with no legs standing on the floor.

“The home is set right in the pines,” Williams said. “And there’s all these windows, so you kind of having this feeling like you’re in the middle of a park. It really has a retreat feeling. But the cool thing is, they’ve set this up so you’re not spending all your time doing maintenance. You can enjoy it.”

Black Hills Area Taking Off

The home in the Black Hills was built by a couple who build a new home every year, Williams said. This time, they chose a location in the Black Hills-Devils Tower area.

Home sales in this area have recently started taking off, Williams said.

“People are just starting to understand that, ‘Hey, this is a great area with great amenities,’” he said. “There are things to do. It’s close to the Black Hills, Gillette’s nearby and there’s just so much to do over there. There’s also Keyhole Reservoir, Devils Tower and all of those things.”

In keeping with its retreat-style feel, the 5,736-square-foot five-bedroom, five-bath home, surrounded by 7.81 acres of pine trees, has been designed with entertaining and parties in mind.

The kitchen has a roomy butler’s pantry where food prep can happen outside the view of guests. The kitchen island hides not one, but two dishwashers, making cleanup super quick.

There’s an oven positioned right across from one of the dining areas so that things can pop right out from oven to table, piping hot, right before the guests’ eyes.

On either side of the oven are refrigerators hiding behind wooden cabinet doors, so the kitchen doesn’t really even look like a kitchen.

It’s a bit like sitting down in a cozy, private dining room in a posh restaurant, but it’s just the everyday experience in this home.

Lighting in the home, meanwhile, has been designed to feel like an ambient glow.

“The lighting runs along the upper portion of the walls and along the bottom of the walls,” Williams said. “It’s not the direct lighting that we’re accustomed to.”