Park County Area Info
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.
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Topography
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.
Weather of Park County
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.
Park County Real Estate
Park County is a big county. It is about 2,211 square miles. That's more than 3 times the size of Summit County. As a result Mountain Living Real Estate services only the edge closest to Summit County. That includes Alma and Fairplay. In that area of the county, 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.
Not all areas have utilities available. As a result, if telephone and electricity are important, checking availability before purchasing the land is imperative. Most county roads are plowed in the winter although 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 it is important to determine if there is public plowing before buying.
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 it 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.
Like all areas, it is important to do your due diligence and know exactly what you are getting and what is allowed on the property before you buy.
