Larkspur

Larkspur is a nice little town of 200 people just south of Castlerock in Douglas County. Castlerock is were locals go for shopping, restaurants and work, though some commute to either Denver or Colorado Springs. Larkspur is in a pretty rolling hills area between the cities and offers really nice forested areas with great properties and ranches. I would love to live in the area.

Looking at land to buy in the area looks promising, while it is not the most affordable place in Colorado it is certainly not the most expensive either. You get what you pay for and a lot of the lots for sale are gorgeous, with outcropping rock, pine and piñon forests and amazing views of the nearby mountains and even glimpses of Denver lights on the far northern horizon. Some nice lots without structures go for around $250,000. A 35 acre lot I looked at with a really nice 5 bedroom home and landscaped lawn goes for $895,000. There are some other very interesting, big custom homes on fair sized land for $500,000. The area is well worth checking out for those who are willing to commute or are looking for investment/retirement property in Colorado's Front Range--but who still want to feel remote and in the mountains.

The Colorado Renaissance Festival is in Larkspur in a great forested setting not far from I-25, but once you are there is feels like a little medieval town:) The festival takes place throughout June and July each year and has been going strong for almost 38 years.

Larkspur is located in densely wooded area just west of I-25 south of Castle Rock. The homes in this area start in the high range of $500,000 and go into the several million. The price reflects not only the beautiful custom homes, but the gorgeous scenery surrounding the area as well. This neighborhood has almost no businesses to speak of so if you're looking for food or shopping, Castle Rock is you're best bet. It's located just south of Castle Rock by about 10-15 minutes so the area is secluded but also close enough to get anything you need. Depending on where you work, it's about the same distance from Larkspur to Denver and Colorado Springs.

The schools in Larkspur are part of the Douglas County School system which is traditionally pretty good. In Larkspur the elementary received a rating of 8 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the highest. These ratings are based on student test scores for standardized tests for Colorado. In addition to the high state standards score, parents who have rated the school give it high marks across the board.

While there is no traffic in the area other than I-25, there is occasionally traffic along the highway at peak travel times. There are medical clinics in Castle Rock and the nearest hospital is probably Sky Ridge Medical Center off of I-25 and Lincoln Avenue north of Castle Rock.