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I will be moving back west from North Carolina in a couple months and have been struggling to find an area to live. I have narrowed it down to either Colorado Springs, Co area or the Olympia WA area.
I like the looks of the Olympia area in WA, but my other half has some serious concerns about the amount of rain and clouds in that area.
Though I have never been to Colorado Springs, it seems a little dry and not very green to me from what I see on google, which coming from central North Carolina makes me very sad. So, after some googling, I found Woodland Park, CO and it looks like a beautiful place in the mountains with a good enough amount of trees to make me happy, not to mention close enough to COS airport, as well as a hospital. Basically it ticks off all my needs, but I see they get a lot of snow around 140+" a year.
My question is in regards to the snow removal in this area and on the highways connecting to COS. Does the snow get removed promptly, or does it take days and days to get it plowed off the roads? Does the snow shut down access to COS? Basically, does the city shut down for a foot of snow every time it snows. Also, do I need a 4 wheel drive vehicle, or will my Accord with snow tires and chains be sufficient?
Sorry to ask so many questions and if they have been asked before.
Also, can anyone recommend any new construction neighborhoods or builders in the area with homes below $300k ? And, how concerned should I be with drought?
Snow removal - you should expect to take care of snow removal on your property and surrounding sidewalk, etc., yourself. Plows *may* eventually get to residential streets depending on how long snow lasts. Don't count on it - get snow tires, etc. Snow melts quickly here in areas that get sun - so 'days and days' is irrelevant most of the time.
There is one main route to get from Woodland Park to Colorado Springs - US 24. Most of the time access is not an issue - but there have been a few times when fire or flooding caused the road to close and there were no good alternatives for the commute for a few days. People basically needed to drive hours out of the way or cancel activities down in the Springs until the road was re-opened. This is not a typical occurrence, but it is a natural disaster occurrence that could happen again on occasion. Blizzard conditions and accidents can now and then close the road or cause delays on it, but these are short term - a few minutes or hours. The road to Woodland Park is heading up a mountain pass - it winds and curves and gains elevation fairly quickly.
Whether or not Colorado Springs shuts down in snow or not is a little hard to answer because it kind of depends on one's definitions/opinion. If snow makes roads hazardous during the time of the morning commute, or if temperatures/wind contribute to wind chills below 0F, it is likely that some districts will choose to delay or close, along with military bases, churches, and a few businesses/government offices. Businesses and government are much less likely to close or delay than schools and churches. But Colorado Springs is definitely not like some southern cities that at any sight of snow everything is closed.
You do not have to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
Drought is always a concern - Colorado is a semi-arid climate and experiences periodic cycles of drought. For the past couple of years, we seem to have been shifting to a wetter cycle (El Nino years help us that way) but the previous decade had been one of drought that led to some serious issues regarding water rights and access, fire hazard, etc. We can be hopeful that we may enjoy some non-drought years, but you can be almost certain that drought will continue to occur periodically here.
Another thing you need to consider is elevation. Yes, Woodland Park has some evergreens, but it is not my definition of "green" anymore than down in Colorado Springs. Due to elevation and weather, its growing season is shorter than you'd likely be used to - gardening at that elevation and in our climate would be a whole other animal compared to North Carolina. You really should come visit if you are seriously considering to see what you think.
A setting of alpine evergreens is an entirely different type of green than the familiarity of being surrounded by deciduous trees and humidity tolerant grasses. With an evergreen's ability to thrive in dry climates, they may provide a somewhat green canopy while the ground around them is nearly void of vegetation or is sparely populated by thin, tan grasses. It is not the wholesale green you are familiar with at all.
Also, with the single primary highway in/out of Woodland Park, if a closures of this road would occur and it happened at a time you are on a strict timetable, it could cause havoc in your schedule. Typically though, CDOT is pretty good at maintaining passable highways. Since Highway 24 is a prime arterial, it gets a lot of attention to avoid closures.
There are a fair number of newer developments in the Woodland Park area. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding something in your range.
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
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Woodland Park is a great little town, but for any kind of night life, you'll really need to go to the Springs. Restaurants, movies, and other thiiings. That makes it a little disconcerting.....
Woodland Park has a tiny hospital. It has 16 beds and 4 ER beds. Most doctors still refer their patients down to the Springs, mostly to Penrose Hospital for major issues, even though the hospital in WP claims it does surgeries, knee and hip transplants, cardiac surgery and others, but that's when it's scheduled and the doctors are available. Woodland also doesn't have the shopping opportunities that the Springs has.
As for trees in Woodland Park, there are lots of evergreens (spruces and firs), and also lots of aspen trees which turn yellow or gold in the fall (sometimes red), so it's a beautiful fall for the mountains. Not like the maples or oaks you get back east, but beautiful in its own way. It is an arid area, and most of the "lawns" are au naturel landscaping of native grasses and plants. The growing season is about 90 days; May 15 - Sept 1st. The Springs have many deciduous trees like oaks, maples, birch, ash, Cottonwoods, and others. Some areas are quite forested.
The warmest it gets in summer is about 75, and summer nights are in the 40's. Snow can fall as early as mid-September and as late as early June (although that's not too common). Most summer afternoons have rain which is cold and will lower the temps about 20 degrees, making evenings wet and chilly. You will need cold weather gear just to sit on your deck after a summer rain. Those rains can cause flooding close to Colorado Springs as they fill up Fountain Creek which can overflow. Colorado Springs is usually 15-20 degrees warmer than Woodland Park. Woodland Park is at 8200 ft. elevation; Divide at 9200 ft. elevation, and the Springs is about 6200 ft. elevation.
As for snow, Hwy 24 (main road) is plowed immediately, and most major school bus streets are also plowed immediately. Some side roads aren't plowed for a day or two, but in the sun, they melt quickly. In the shady parts of the road, it'll stay snowpacked.
4WD is pretty much a necessity especially if you're commuting up Hwy 24 from the Springs, or if you go further west up Hwy 24 to Divide. Also, many of the more rural roads are still dirt, and 4WD will help. Teller County residents claim the Suburu is their official car. We always had 4WD when we lived in Divide.
They have cameras in Woodland Park, Divide, Cripple Creek and Pikes Peak. Check the Hwy 24 Cam for Divide, and the Woodland Park Cams (during the day) and you'll see how traffic is moving, what the weather and roads look like and the temperatures.
Use Google Earth at Street Level and "drive" around Woodland Park, up highway 24 west to Divide and back, and you'll get an idea of the area. Then check the Ute Pass Cams website to see live streaming conditions in Divide and Woodland Park.
Coming into Divide on CR 512:
This was my old home in Divide:
This was the road in front of my house
This was my side yard. You can see Pikes Peak in the background. Everything is "au naturel".
Last edited by Marcy1210; 01-08-2016 at 02:05 AM..
Woodland Park is a great little town, but for any kind of night life, you'll really need to go to the Springs. Restaurants, movies, and other thiiings. That makes it a little disconcerting.....
Woodland Park has a tiny hospital. It has 16 beds and 4 ER beds. Most doctors still refer their patients down to the Springs, mostly to Penrose Hospital for major issues, even though the hospital in WP claims it does surgeries, knee and hip transplants, cardiac surgery and others, but that's when it's scheduled and the doctors are available. Woodland also doesn't have the shopping opportunities that the Springs has.
As for trees in Woodland Park, there are lots of evergreens (spruces and firs), and also lots of aspen trees which turn yellow or gold in the fall (sometimes red), so it's a beautiful fall for the mountains. Not like the maples or oaks you get back east, but beautiful in its own way. It is an arid area, and most of the "lawns" are au naturel landscaping of native grasses and plants. The growing season is about 90 days; May 15 - Sept 1st. The Springs have many deciduous trees like oaks, maples, birch, ash, Cottonwoods, and others. Some areas are quite forested.
The warmest it gets in summer is about 75, and summer nights are in the 40's. Snow can fall as early as mid-September and as late as early June (although that's not too common). Most summer afternoons have rain which is cold and will lower the temps about 20 degrees, making evenings wet and chilly. You will need cold weather gear just to sit on your deck after a summer rain. Those rains can cause flooding close to Colorado Springs as they fill up Fountain Creek which can overflow. Colorado Springs is usually 15-20 degrees warmer than Woodland Park. Woodland Park is at 8200 ft. elevation; Divide at 9200 ft. elevation, and the Springs is about 6200 ft. elevation.
As for snow, Hwy 24 (main road) is plowed immediately, and most major school bus streets are also plowed immediately. Some side roads aren't plowed for a day or two, but in the sun, they melt quickly. In the shady parts of the road, it'll stay snowpacked.
4WD is pretty much a necessity especially if you're commuting up Hwy 24 from the Springs, or if you go further west up Hwy 24 to Divide. Also, many of the more rural roads are still dirt, and 4WD will help. Teller County residents claim the Suburu is their official car. We always had 4WD when we lived in Divide.
They have cameras in Woodland Park, Divide, Cripple Creek and Pikes Peak. Check the Hwy 24 Cam for Divide, and the Woodland Park Cams (during the day) and you'll see how traffic is moving, what the weather and roads look like and the temperatures.
Use Google Earth at Street Level and "drive" around Woodland Park, up highway 24 west to Divide and back, and you'll get an idea of the area. Then check the Ute Pass Cams website to see live streaming conditions in Divide and Woodland Park.
$300k even for older construction is very hard to come by in Woodland Park. Competition for anything that doesn’t require renovation under $350k is fierce with multiple offers. The forests keep Woodland Park green all year but otherwise the vegetation (grasses, forbs, shrubs) is brown for a good 6 months of the year. During the rainy / monsoon season from July-September it can look like Ireland around here. Fall is of course is very beautiful with the changing aspens (peak lasts about 2 weeks) before everything browns up again.
140” of snow would be a high year. I’ve only measured that twice in 18 years. Average winters as of late are usually maybe 70” with low years being under 50” of snow. The bulk of it coming in Fall and Spring. Snow in October or May is not unusual. The actual Winter season is often quite dry but cold in the Eastern mountains. Plowing is good but it is a mountain town. During snow events driving conditions can be dangerous, and slick / icy spots are possible any time of winter. Plenty of us drive AWD (all wheel drive) cars if we commute to the Springs (which better that 70% of Woodland Park residents do).
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
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The school bus routes are a priority, but the side streets can stay snowy for a day or so. Hwy 24 will always be plowed. We lived about six miles north of Divide and worked in WP. It was dicey a few times coming into WP down Blue Bird Hill, but I would say than unless it was a school-closing blizzard, it was doable after the roads were plowed. We had a Subaru and a Ford F-150.
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