Park County Real Estate
Park County
Many people coming to Summit County are looking for acres of land and some seclusion. As roughly 80% of the county is National Forest or public lands of some sort, acreage is in short supply; difficult to find and very expensive. That is when we head to Park County, just over Hoosier Pass.
The town of Fairplay, the county seat, is just 26 miles from Breckenridge and only 60 miles from Denver via Highway 285. Fairplay sits at the north end of an area known as South Park. A Park is a high mountain valley, and Colorado has three of them; North Park, Middle Park and South Park. As a result, unless blocked by trees, most lots have wonderful panoramic views of the mountains.
The topography in this area ranges from large ranches with open pasture to heavily treed, mountain terrain. The altitude is from 9,000 feet to peaks of 14,000+ feet. The US Forest Service office in Fairplay has maps of the Pike National Forest as well as US Geological Survey maps.
The average precipitation in recent years has been about 13.5 inches, including an average of 92 inches of snowfall a year, considerably less than Summit County. The highest temperature recorded in Fairplay recently was 84 degrees on July 28, 1995 and the low was -26° in December, 1990.
Property prices have increased dramatically in the last few years and will vary according to location, access, availability of utilities, improvements, views, topography and demand.
Morning views from Park County
If telephone and electricity are important, make sure to check to see if they are available. Most county roads are plowed in the winter. Some subdivisions plow their own roads. In areas where roads are not plowed, snow can accumulate and it may be May before one has access. If you want year-round access, check with the county road and bridge department to determine if there is public plowing.
All water well applications are made to the State Engineer’s office, Division of Water Resources, a state agency. Two types of wells are permitted; domestic wells are allowed on parcels of 35 acres or more and may be used for up to three dwellings, one acre of irrigation and watering of stock and animals. A household-use well may only be used inside the home on lots of less than 35 acres in existing subdivisions. Any watering of grass, flowers, animals, or washing of cars is prohibited.
It may be possible to water animals if you have augmented your water rights somehow, usually by purchasing water or water rights. Most builders install a pressurized holding tank in the home and wells can be winterized. Septic systems must be a non-evaporative, closed system and the plans must be approved by the county Environmental Health department. If you own two acres or less the county requires an engineered system. If your land is on or near wetlands you may have to have a mounded septic system which can cost considerably more. We always recommend having a septic permit in hand before closing on a land purchase.
Photos provided courtesy of Todd Schroeder.
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