Black Forest: Ponderosa Pines North of Colorado Springs
Black Forest is an unincorporated census-designated place in El Paso County, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Colorado Springs. The community has a population of approximately 13,116 and occupies a forested plateau covered with ponderosa pine and Gambel oak. Properties in Black Forest tend to be on larger lots, often five acres or more, giving the area a semi-rural character that distinguishes it from the subdivisions closer to Colorado Springs.
The name comes from German settlers in the late 1800s who compared the dense pine forests to the Schwarzwald in southwestern Germany. The Black Forest Fire of 2013, one of the most destructive wildfires in Colorado history, burned over 14,000 acres and destroyed 486 homes within the community. Rebuilding has continued in the years since, though the fire permanently altered the landscape and raised awareness of wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface.
Black Forest has no town center or commercial district in the traditional sense. Residents drive to Colorado Springs or Monument for shopping, dining, and services. The Black Forest Community Center and Black Forest Arts and Crafts Guild are local gathering points. Academy School District 20 and the Falcon School District 49 split coverage of the area. Horse properties and small ranches are common, and the community retains a distinct rural identity within the broader Colorado Springs metropolitan area.
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Black Forest is an unincorporated census-designated place in El Paso County, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Colorado Springs. The community has a population of approximately 13,116 and occupies a forested plateau covered with ponderosa pine and Gambel oak. Properties in Black Forest tend to be on larger lots, often five acres or more, giving the area a semi-rural character that distinguishes it from the subdivisions closer to Colorado Springs.
The name comes from German settlers in the late 1800s who compared the dense pine forests to the Schwarzwald in southwestern Germany. The Black Forest Fire of 2013, one of the most destructive wildfires in Colorado history, burned over 14,000 acres and destroyed 486 homes within the community. Rebuilding has continued in the years since, though the fire permanently altered the landscape and raised awareness of wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface.
Black Forest has no town center or commercial district in the traditional sense. Residents drive to Colorado Springs or Monument for shopping, dining, and services. The Black Forest Community Center and Black Forest Arts and Crafts Guild are local gathering points. Academy School District 20 and the Falcon School District 49 split coverage of the area. Horse properties and small ranches are common, and the community retains a distinct rural identity within the broader Colorado Springs metropolitan area.
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