WILDWOOD & HODGEN ROAD

Hodgen Road is where Black Forest changes character. South of it, Wildwood is classic forest: five acres, tall ponderosas, a long driveway, and a house you can barely see from the road. North of it, Cherry Creek Springs opens up into level high prairie with room for a barn, an arena or a pasture. Terra Ridge, along Black Forest Road, has more open ground and newer custom homes. Buyers often shop all three together, so this page covers them as one area and points out where they differ.

The lay of the land

The Wildwood area sits in central-north Black Forest, between Hodgen Road and Vollmer Road, with Wildwood Village and Wildwood Ranch Estates as the main named sections. From Highway 83, you head east on Hodgen and south on Bar X Road. From the south, you come up Black Forest Road and Vollmer.

Wildwood Village alone has 195 lots of about five acres, ranging from heavily treed parcels under tall ponderosas to open grassland, plus two neighborhood parks with a pond and a walking trail. That combination gives you privacy and shade along with room for a pasture, a garden or an outbuilding.

Terra Ridge sits to the west and north of Wildwood, on the east side of Black Forest Road, directly across from Flying Horse North. It’s mostly open ground, while Wildwood is still in the trees.

Cherry Creek Springs is north across Hodgen Road. It covers about 750 acres of high prairie, bounded by Hodgen Road on the south, Black Forest Road on the west, Walker Road on the north, and Bar X and Herring Roads on the east. The ground was cleared for cattle grazing decades ago, so much of it is open meadow with scattered ponderosas, and many parcels have long views west to Pikes Peak and the Front Range.

That’s the biggest difference between the two sides of the road. In Wildwood, trees and slopes can eat into the usable acreage. Cherry Creek Springs is where buyers look when they want five acres that are level and open enough for a barn, an arena, a big shop or a pasture.

Living here

Wildwood is a place to settle into: firewood stacked by the garage, deer and Abert’s squirrels in the yard, a dark sky at night, and enough land that your nearest neighbor is a wave across the trees. Monument and the north side of Colorado Springs are each about 20 minutes away.

In Terra Ridge, you’re right across Black Forest Road from Flying Horse North, one of the area’s newest luxury communities, but on the Black Forest side of the road, with acreage and without a golf club. Highway 83 and the north side’s errands are a short drive, and I-25 is about 15 to 20 minutes away.

Cherry Creek Springs is a place for people who use their land. Equestrian easements give riders access from every street to nearly 60 acres of common area running through the middle of the neighborhood, and you can hike out to a stocked reservoir with Pikes Peak on the horizon. Plenty of owners put the space to work with hobby shops, oversized garages and room for trailers and equipment.

The homes

Most Wildwood homes were built in the late 1980s and 1990s. They’re custom and semi-custom, often single-level ranches or two-stories with walkout basements, plus wood-burning fireplaces, big windows facing the trees, and attached three-car garages. Many have been updated over the years, and many have workshops or storage outbuildings. Condition varies a lot from one property to the next, which is normal for acreage of this age.

Terra Ridge has two distinct parts. The original section has homes from the late 1990s and 2000s on parcels of up to about five acres, with the space and outbuilding potential that come with that. Terra Ridge North is newer, with large custom homes on roughly 2.5-acre homesites, built recently or still under construction. That split means very different price points within the same name, so it helps to know which section a listing is in before comparing it.

Cherry Creek Springs has 115 lots of five acres or more. Development started in 1997 and has continued steadily, so homes are custom builds from the late 1990s on, and only a few lots remain undeveloped. Styles range from ranch homes with walkouts to larger two-stories, many properties already have outbuildings, and a vacant five-acre lot occasionally comes up for buyers who want to build.

Worth knowing before you buy

Check which “Cherry” a listing means. Cherry Creek Springs and Cherry Springs Ranch sound alike, but Cherry Springs Ranch is a separate neighborhood farther west, closer to both Monument and Colorado Springs.

Well and septic. Homes across the area are on private wells and septic systems. Review the well permit for allowed uses, especially if you plan to water livestock or irrigate pasture. Test the water and inspect the septic, and with older homes, ask when it was last pumped. If you’re building, plan for a percolation test and the county’s septic requirements.

Wildfire mitigation. In Wildwood, mature pine stands are the appeal and the main risk. Ask what thinning and defensible-space work has been done, and get an insurance quote early. That one matters a lot here.

HOA and covenants. Wildwood Village has an active HOA with an elected board, modest dues and a document library of covenants and policies. Cherry Creek Springs has its own covenants, and in Terra Ridge, the original section and Terra Ridge North may have different covenants and design guidelines. Horse-friendly in spirit isn’t the same as permitted, so check the zoning and covenants for animal limits, barn size and setbacks on the specific lot.

New construction considerations. In Terra Ridge North, check builder warranties, grading and drainage, and what’s planned for neighboring lots.

Schools split here. Cherry Creek Springs and Terra Ridge are in Lewis-Palmer School District 38, and Cherry Creek Springs has bus service to Kilmer Elementary, Lewis-Palmer Middle and Lewis-Palmer High. Parts of the Wildwood area are in District 38, and parts may fall in Academy District 20. Verify by address.

Nearby neighborhoods

Right across Black Forest Road, Flying Horse North offers luxury acreage homes around a golf course. For other newer custom homes on 2.5-acre lots with big views, look at Settlers Ranch. For a gated setting with trails and ponds, see High Forest Ranch.

For the bigger picture, see the Black Forest hub.

Current market and listings

The monthly Market Update covers the broader trend in 80908, and active listings are below. Tree health, mitigation, usable ground and what the covenants allow for horses are all hard to judge from photos, so I’d love to walk a parcel with you. And if you’re comparing an older Terra Ridge home with new construction in Terra Ridge North, I’m happy to help you sort out what you’re paying for in each.