A 674-acre ranch on the northern flank of Colorado’s Pikes Peak, once listed as a development site for $5.9 million, has now been bought by Palmer Land Conservancy and will be protected for conservation.The Conservancy closed on the purchase of Pinestone Ranch on August 11, according to Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance. The sale price was not disclosed. The property, located just south of Woodland Park along Old Crystola Canyon Road, contains conifer and aspen forest.The conservation group said it bought the ranch as part of efforts to protect open land around Pikes Peak. The property is next to Pike National Forest and connects Woodland Park with more than 100,000 acres of public land. It also borders the 6,000-acre Pikes Peak Conservation Corridor.For now, the land will remain closed to the public. Palmer will temporarily hold the property while its partners work out long-term ownership and stewardship plans. The group said public access could still be years away, but the conservation protection is permanent.Rebecca Jewett, president and CEO of Palmer Land Conservancy, said opportunities to protect open space on this scale are becoming limited.“There are very few chances left to create public open space at this scale on the Front Range. When an opportunity like Pinestone Ranch comes along, you don’t just protect it. You protect everything it can become,” Jewett said.
Why Pinestone Ranch matters
The ranch is also important because of its location near the proposed Ring the Peak trail system. Ring the Peak is a roughly 63-mile loop around Pikes Peak and is about 80% complete.Pinestone Ranch sits near one of the remaining gaps on the northeastern side of the route, close to Ute Pass. Conservationists see the property as a possible new access point between Woodland Park and the surrounding forest.The site could eventually provide trails, wildlife habitat and a connection between the town and nearby public lands. Palmer said the property could become an important community connector as plans for the wider area develop.
Part of a bigger plan
The Pinestone Ranch purchase comes as several agencies and organisations are working on a broader plan for recreation and conservation around Pikes Peak.Colorado Parks and Wildlife is expanding its role on the mountain through a partnership involving the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Springs Utilities and local governments. One of the priorities is to complete and manage the Ring the Peak corridor.The partnership is intended to bring different agencies together instead of having recreation and conservation managed through separate jurisdictions.A $2.5 million Great Outdoors Colorado-Colorado Parks and Wildlife grant is already supporting trail realignments, environmental reviews and habitat work. Pinestone Ranch adds a large protected property on the Woodland Park side to that wider effort.According to Gov. Jared Polis, the partnership would improve and expand recreation opportunities including camping, fishing and hiking while benefiting the landscape and local economy.
A growing open space
The ranch purchase also follows several recent efforts to protect or acquire open space around Woodland Park. The town acquired Avenger Open Space in 2024 and purchased the Shining Mountain Golf Course in 2025. Pinestone Ranch is more than five times the size of Avenger Open Space.Woodland Park’s parks master plan has identified a connection between the town and the Ring the Peak route. The Pinestone property could provide that connection on a much larger scale.Jewett said the organisation bought the property with the intention of developing a long-term public access vision, particularly because of its location near the Highway 24 corridor.According to Axios, the conservation group is also involved in protecting 1,018-acre Wild Horse Ranch, on the eastern side of Colorado Springs, through a conservation easement.That property is near Corral Bluffs and Jimmy Camp Creek Open Spaces. Together, the protected areas create a wildlife corridor covering more than 2,000 acres.Pinestone Ranch itself is home to habitat for 63 species of conservation interest. Its protection means the large tract will remain intact while plans for future public access and recreation are developed.
