FLYING HORSE

Flying Horse is the neighborhood most people picture when they think of the north side: a golf course, a clubhouse, and newer homes stepping up the hill toward Highway 83. That picture is accurate, but it’s incomplete. Flying Horse is really a collection of more than a dozen separate “villages” spread across roughly 1,500 acres. A two-bedroom paired home and a custom estate on the golf course can be a few streets apart, and they’re very different purchases.

I grew up right next to this land. Our family started with 15 acres at the corner of Old North Gate and Roller Coaster Road, where we kept horses and cows back when Flying Horse was still pasture. We later split it into three five-acre parcels. Neighbors bought two of them and built homes that take full advantage of the Front Range and Pikes Peak views, and we kept the third. We’re still on it: my parents in the main house, which is also home to Wolff Real Estate Group, and my wife and I in a place we converted from half of the old 15-stall barn. That’s more than 30 years of watching this part of town fill in around us.

The lay of the land

Flying Horse sits at the north end of Colorado Springs, reached off North Gate Boulevard and Highway 83. The ground rises as you move north and east, so many lots look back west toward the Rampart Range and Pikes Peak. The Air Force Academy’s open land in the foreground keeps those views wide. The 18-hole championship course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, winds through the middle of the community, and most of the villages are arranged around it.

Here’s how it fits with its neighbors. To the west are Grey Hawk, which most people lump in with Northgate, and Middle Creek just south of it, with Trail Ridge south of that. To the north, across Old North Gate Road and just north of Discovery Canyon Campus, is Overlook Estates, a small subdivision of five-acre properties that borders Sun Hills and is often thought of as part of it. A loose collection of five-acre “mini-subs” stretches north and east from there, and our family has subdivided several of those from larger parcels over the years. To the east, across Highway 83, Abert Estates marks the start of Black Forest. To the south, across Interquest and Highway 83, open land stretches toward Kettle Creek and Pine Creek.

Because it was built out in phases starting in the mid-2000s, the age of the homes and the maturity of the landscaping vary a lot by village. The older sections have trees that have had time to fill in. The newest ones are still young.

Living here

The Club at Flying Horse is the center of gravity. It includes a Tuscan-style clubhouse, a large athletic club with fitness and spa services, an outdoor pool complex, a 48-room lodge, and a steakhouse that’s open to the public. Paved walking paths, parks and open space run between the villages, and the summer social calendar is a real part of life here for people who want it.

Day to day, you’re a few minutes from the Interquest corridor for groceries, restaurants and errands, and about 20 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs. Denver Tech Center is roughly 40 minutes up I-25 on a good traffic day.

My favorite way to use the club is simple: a drink and a few appetizers on the patio at The Steakhouse on a summer evening, watching golfers finish their rounds while the heat breaks and the light settles over the Front Range.

On foot, there’s a loop I do often. A dedicated trail cuts west from Ledgewood Drive and Roller Coaster Road, past backyards, and comes out near the track and tennis courts at Discovery Canyon Campus. From there, I follow Silverton Road south across North Gate Boulevard as it bends east toward Angel Mist Park, just north of Silverton and Barossa Valley Road. I keep going along Silverton to the new King Soopers, then head back north on Roller Coaster with a stop at Barefoot Park. It’s the best way I know to see how Flying Horse connects to everything around it.

For a longer walk or ride, the La Foret Trail runs northeast from Voyager Parkway all the way to Lizard Leap Park, one of the largest parks in Flying Horse. Head the other direction and it runs west through The Farm to the New Santa Fe Regional Trail.

The homes

The range is the thing to understand. Depending on the village, you’ll find:

• Paired patio homes and low-maintenance enclaves where exterior care is handled for you
• Semi-custom single-family homes from several regional builders
• Large custom homes on golf course and view lots

Each village has its own builder lineup, architectural standards and, in some cases, its own HOA rules layered on top of the community-wide ones. Two homes with similar square footage can carry very different monthly costs depending on which village they’re in.

Worth knowing before you buy

Club membership. Owning a home in Flying Horse doesn’t automatically make you a member of the Club. Membership is optional and sold separately, in golf, social and fitness, and dining categories. New owners can apply within 30 days of closing if memberships are available, and golf memberships are capped. If the club is part of why you’re buying here, check current availability, deposits and dues before you write an offer.

The metro district. Flying Horse was built with metropolitan districts, which show up on the property tax bill and fund the roads, parks and infrastructure. It’s standard for the area, but the number belongs in your monthly budget.

Golf course lots have tradeoffs. Frontage gets you open views and green space behind you. It also gets you golfers, some stray balls, and less privacy in the backyard. Some buyers love it, and some would rather back to open space.

Schools. Flying Horse is in Academy School District 20, with Discovery Canyon Campus nearby. Verify the assigned schools for any specific address, since boundaries do change.

Nearby neighborhoods

If you like Flying Horse but want acreage instead of a golf course, Sun Hills and the five-acre properties north of Old North Gate Road are right next door. Flying Horse North, across Highway 83, has 2.5-acre-plus homesites around its own course, and Abert Estates and Cathedral Pines begin the Black Forest acreage on that side of the highway. For newer construction without the club, take a look at The Farm. For semi-custom homes a few years older, Middle Creek and Stone Crossing sit just to the west.

For a broader look at the area, start with the Northgate hub.

Current market and listings

For current prices and how fast homes are moving, see my monthly Market Update. Active listings in 80921 are below. If you’re weighing one village against another, that’s a conversation I enjoy having. The differences are easier to explain on a drive-through than on a listing sheet.