Colorado Springs Communities
Monument / Palmer Lake / Woodmoor
(The Tri-Lakes Area)
The Tri-Lakes area is about 17 miles north of the Springs. This area lies on both the east and west side of the Interstate. It is a small but growing community with a lot to offer. It is particularly well-suited for rural living, with some 2.5 acre and 5 acre parcels that allow animals.
Other areas offer one-half plus acre lots with custom and semi-custom homes. Some areas are heavily treed, some have a mixture of trees and meadows, and some offer rolling hills. The area has a mixture of older homes that were built in the late 70′s and new ones currently under construction.
Monument weather is a little colder than the Springs because of the altitude. It also gets more snowfall than the Springs, but is really beautiful all year round. It offers a nice variety of small shopping centers, restaurants, and with Safeway and King Soopers, Home Depot, WalMart, this community is very self supporting. The west side is targeted for people who want to keep animals and have some room to roam, ride horses, and fish in Monument Lake. Monument is an especially great place to live if one family member works in the Springs and one in Denver.
There are also town homes and patio homes in this area and the number is growing larger all the time. At the northwest end is a little town called Palmer Lake that is very quaint “small town feel” with some great restaurants and lovely homes.
Black Forest
The Black Forest area is ideally suited for people who want rural living, but would like to remain close to town. There are a wide variety of homes for varying lifestyles in this wonderful area. Most locations feature at least 2.5 acres with the majority being home sites of 5 acre parcels. Each individual subdivision has different covenants governing them, but most allow for at least two horses. Some allow a family to raise 4-H farm animals, while others allow most kinds of animals. The more rural areas, and the parcels that are 20-35 acres allow for raising and boarding of horses or farm animals for business purposes. The majority of home sites have private wells and septic systems with natural gas, and the more rural areas use propane gas.
Black Forest is a very special place to live and raise a family. In certain areas, where vacant land is still available, you can purchase the land and build your own custom home. Some undeveloped land is now being opened up for development, and in the coming years will surely help property values to soar.
The heart of the Forest is a mixture of older, smaller homes mixed with newer larger homes on nice treed lots. The outside surrounding areas feature a mixture of trees and meadows. A lot of the subdivisions have riding trails, and some have small lakes and streams. It is amazing that all this is available so close to town.
The Forest is just northeast of Colorado Springs with approximately 250,000 acres of trees and meadows. The elevation is around 7,000 ft. and it is somewhat cooler than the Springs. A new shopping center is being built now that will add to the convenience of people who live further out of town.
Gleneagle
Gleneagle is a relatively small community in the Colorado Springs area that lies just along Interstate 25. This area truly has some of the best views of the Air Force Academy that can be found. Most homes are a combination of very nice tract homes, custom, and semi-custom homes. Gleneagle has an outstanding golf course and country club. This area is only about 15 minutes from Colorado Springs and a lot of people who live here commute to Denver. To the east of Gleneagle are some pockets of 5 acre parcels that allow horses and feature nice homes. This area is great for people who want to be near town, but do not want to live in town with all the traffic.
Briargate
This area lies to the east of Interstate 25, north of Woodmen Road, westof Powers, and south of Old Ranch road. This is a large planned community with lots of activities available. The Chapel Hill Mall, Pinecreek Golf Course, and lots of parks and restaurants are located within this area. The majority of the homes are nicely-sized tracts with some semi-custom and custom homes mixed in. Most of the homes have great views of the front range and the Air Force Academy, and the area offers quick access to the Interstate. Briargate is very popular with people working at the Academy, and a lot of high-tech companies are also moving into this area. Briargate is experiencing the most growth of all the areas in town at this time.
Northwest
West of Interstate 25 and south of the Air Force Academy tucked up against the mountains is a wonderful community with lots of great areas and parks. Rockrimmon with its rolling hills and dramatic bluffs saw most of its development in the late 70′s and 80′s. Its diverse housing includes apartments, town homes, and single family homes. Just north of Rockrimmon is Woodmen Valley which offers rural properties and upscale homes with larger lots. Pinecliff is to the south of Rockrimmon and is very much like it only smaller.
Tucked up against the mountains are the newer neighborhoods of Peregrine, Mountain Shadows, Oak Hills and Pinon Valley. There are a wide range of single family homes, apartment, and town homes. The area has a lot of custom and semi-custom homes with great views of the mountains and the city.
Westside
Areas West of Interstate 25 from Garden of the Gods on the North to roughly Highway 24 on the South are generally referred to as the Westside. There are very distinct neighborhoods in this area. Old Colorado Historic District is full of quaint old shops and Victorian turn-of-the-century homes on quiet streets lined with large trees. Holland Park, between Garden of the Gods and Fillmore Street, offers 20-30 year old homes and some townhomes. Just West, atop the mesa, are single family homes and condos built in the 50′s and 60′s, many of which are brick. The homes on the mesa overlook Garden of the Gods which is, of course, one of many beautiful sites in our area. There is also an exclusive, gated community called Kissing Camels, which lies atop the mesa and features its own golf course and country club. Homes in this neighborhood run in the high six figures. South of Garden of the Gods is Pleasant Valley, a quiet neighborhood of mostly brick rancher built in the 50′s.
Manitou Springs
Manitou Springs is usually thought of as a Westside neighborhood. However, it is a separate town of about 5,500 residents. Homes come in many styles, from Victorian to modern; and cottages and cabins line Manitou’s hilly, winding streets. This area lies on both sides of Highway 24, and features lots of little shops, unique restaurants, and of course, all the beauty the Pikes Peak Region has to offer. Lying within the Manitou Springs city limits is Crystal Hills which overlooks the town. The 900-acre Cedar Heights exclusive, gated community is perched on a mountain side above Manitou Springs and Garden of the Gods. This is one of the area’s most spectacular places to live. Manitou Springs has a uniquely quaint feeling, and is a very popular place to live.
Ute Pass/Woodland Park
Although not within the Colorado Springs city limits, residents of Cascade, Chipita Park, Crystola, Green Mountain Falls,and Woodland Park are very much a part of the Pikes Peak area community. Climbing the mountainsides and extending into valleys along Highway 24, west of Colorado Springs, these neighborhoods offer small-town mountain living only 20-40 minutes from town. Many Ute Pass residents commute to jobs in the Springs.
Woodland Park is the most westerly of the Ute Pass communities and the largest Ute Pass city with a population of almost 7,000. It has supermarkets, movie theaters, a lot of small shops, and lots of small restaurants, making it surprisingly self-sufficient. A lot of the city’s revenue comes from tourist traffic because Highway 24 is the main route to the western part of the state and to most of the ski resorts as well as to Cripple Creek Casinos. The type of homes found here range from cabins and weekend getaways, to custom homes. The commute to the Springs is 20-45 minutes depending on how high up the Pass you are located. The higher you go up the Pass of course, the higher the elevation. Woodland Park is about 8,500 ft., making the weather conditions there quite different from Colorado Springs.
Southwest/Broadmoor
Many of the southwest Colorado Springs neighborhoods are upscale. Mansions near the five-star Broadmoor Hotel and Country Club start at about $600,000 and up. Custom-built homes with magnificent views can be found throughout.
Skyway, Broadmoor Heights, Broadmoor Bluff, Cheyenne Mountain Ranch, Broadmoor Oaks, and Penhurst Park, which lie to the south of the Broadmoor, overlook the city. This whole area is tucked up against Cheyenne Mountain, which is home to many tourist attractions, and of course all the beauty Colorado has to offer. There are some townhomes, condos and some smaller single-family houses available in this area also.
On the east side of Highway 115 are the areas of Cheyenne Meadows and Cheyenne Hills, which also offer views ofCheyenneMountain.
The areas that lie below the Broadmoor area, are generally more affordable. Southwest Colorado Springs enclaves includelower Skyway, Cheyenne Canyon, Ivywild, and Stratton Meadows. Just south on Highway 115 is a small area called Rock Creek, which allows horses on some rural properties. The vegetation is somewhat different there and it has a southwest feel, with rock outcroppings and scrub oak.
Northeast
Up until about 30 years ago, this section of the city was mainly antelope and prairie grass. Now it is one of the fastest growing area of the Springs. It includes Stetson Hills, Old Farm, Columbine Estates, Village Seven, Garden Ranch, Vista Grande, Erindale and Falcon Estates.
All these communities are very centrally located and convenient to most parts of the Springs. There is also some brand new construction in the area of Norwood and Stetson Hills. Most of these homes have outstanding views of Pikes Peak and city lights.
East of the Springs
There is also a lot of growth going on east of Colorado Springs. These areas include Elbert, Peyton, Falcon, Calhan, Ramah, Ellicott and Yoder. These neighborhoods offer many varieties of homes from which to choose: from modular homes on 2.5 acres and up, to ranches and farms that are situated on 20, 35 or more acres. This area is mainly on the plains and offers great views of the city and Pikes Peak. The commute time to town ranges from 15 minutes to one hour. East of the Springs communities offer a great small town feel and most allow all kinds of animals to be raised there.