Winsome Open Space
Managed by Winsome Metropolitan District
175 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Black Forest
Black Forest has 432 acres of parks, 27 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Winsome Open Space (0.8 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Black Forest’s land is conserved, about 2,687 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #132 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
2,687 acres · of 100.6 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
432 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.9 mi
9.9 mi paths
Highest peak
7,700 ft
Vollmer Hill
Lakes & rivers
23
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Black Forest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Black Forest is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #132 of 159 in Colorado. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Black Forest’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (432 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home8% of residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 17%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Black Forest’s 4% is ahead of 36% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 11% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Winsome Open Space, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wildwood Village Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,687 conserved acres
4% of Black Forest’s land. Who manages Black Forest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,579 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,500 ac
State land board627 ac
Other Easement · 1,492 acConservation Easement · 1,022 acState Resource Management Area · 627 acUnknown Easement · 323 acLocal Park · 243 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,817 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest Section 16 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 627 | Restricted |
| Black Forest Regional Park Local Park | County | 243 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Black Forest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Black Forest
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Black Forest
Vollmer Hill7,700 ft elevation
DirectionsSpruce Hill7,615 ft elevation
DirectionsTable Rock7,428 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 23 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 17.0 miHorses · 12.9 miUnpaved · 18.5 mi
Pineries Trail7.2 mi
Black Forest Section 16 Trail1.9 mi
Black Forest Section 16 Trail;Black Forest 16 Loop Trail1.9 mi
Pikes Peak Loop0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Cantrell LakepondFranktown Parker FPE-2 ReservoirreservoirFranktown Parker FPE-3 ReservoirreservoirFranktown Parker FPE-4 ReservoirreservoirFranktown Parker FPE-5 ReservoirreservoirFranktown Parker FPE-6 ReservoirreservoirFrog PondpondKiowa Creek Watershed 1-G-20 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed 1-G-30 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed 1-M-10 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed 1-N-10 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed 1-P-10 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed 1-P-20 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed F-18 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed H-21 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed J-33 ReservoirreservoirKiowa Creek Watershed K-79 ReservoirreservoirNaomi PondpondNorth PondpondRobinson ReservoirreservoirSouth PondpondSpruce PondpondWest Cherry Creek Detention Number 5 Reservoirreservoir
Biking & sports
9.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Basketball
5Tennis
2Baseball
2Soccer
1Football
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Black Forest: May and June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 43 | 50 | 55 | 64 | 76 | 81 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 49 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Black Forest →
Next door
Black Forest and its neighbors
Black Forest has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest | 4% | 0.3 | 27 | 8% | B− |
| Colorado Springs | 12% | 2.0 | 21 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Black Forest
Where can I hike in Black Forest?
The longest trail networks: Winsome Open Space, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Black Forest is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Black Forest’s trails?
Winsome Open Space and Wildwood Village Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Black Forest?
9.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Black Forest?
27,794 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Black Forest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 432 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Black Forest have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #132 of 159 in Colorado. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Black Forest neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →