Forbes Park, Power, Elk & Pond
Wendt Ln : Fort Garland, CO 81133
Costilla County, Colorado
Land Description
Forbes Park 1.74 Ac Gated Mountain Cabin Lot - Pine & Aspen, Power Across the Road
Welcome to 1.748 acres of genuine Colorado mountain forest inside the gated community of Forbes Park - a treed, gently sloped legacy-cabin homesite at 9,593 to 9,635 feet above sea level in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Costilla County. This is not the open high-desert terrain that defines most of southern Colorado's rural land market. This is forest. This is canopy. This is the secluded, snow-fed, dark-sky mountain Colorado that people from flat states keep on their vision board - the place you build once and hand down for generations.
Forbes Park is a private, covenant-protected, gated mountain community managed by the Forbes Park Landowners Association (Fploa, Behind the main gate sit roughly 13,000 acres of mountain land - including more than 6,000 acres of shared common land, a community lake, two community ponds, a community center, and hundreds of miles of association-maintained, snow-plowed roads. For a buyer building a cabin meant to last, that community infrastructure is the difference between a parcel on a blank map and a real place with neighbors, a gate, and a future.
This is Unit L-2, Block 165, Lot 2863 - a square parcel cloaked in a classic high-country mix of ponderosa pine and aspen, with fir and spruce filling in the canopy. In autumn the aspen turn the whole hillside gold. The lot carries a quiet, defining advantage: a powered neighbor sits directly across the road, with the power line running right along the street roughly 435 feet from the building area. In a county where most raw land is off-grid only, this places Forbes Park among the very few mountain lots where the full utility package - well, septic, propane, and grid power if you want it - is within normal development range. Build conventional and grid-tied, or go fully off-grid with solar and wind. The choice is yours.
Annual property taxes run just $171.20. Fploa dues are $319 per year for the gated entry, community center, lake and ponds, and the plowed road network that keeps many Forbes Park parcels accessible year-round. Estate Residential zoning supports single-family homes, manufactured homes (1976 or newer), and modular construction. Short-term vacation rentals are permitted by the county. Owner financing is available from $309 down - no credit check, no bank required. All four GPS corners are on file and confirmed.
The Legacy Cabin - Why Forbes Park Is Different
Most Colorado rural land is open. Flat. Shrubbed. High desert. Beautiful in its own way - but not the picture that brought you to Colorado in the first place.
Forbes Park is the other Colorado. A gated community. Pine and aspen. Slope. 9,600 feet. The kind of terrain where the air genuinely smells different, the light through the trees at dawn is worth the drive, and the silence at night is total. This is where mountain cabin buyers have been coming since the 1970S - a long-established, covenant-protected community in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with the gate, the roads, the lake, and the ponds already in place, and the kind of terrain that earns the words "mountain retreat."
This is land for the buyer thinking in decades, not weekends. For the couple planning their retirement in clean mountain air, who want a quiet, secluded base at altitude with a real community around them and the simplicity of grid power within reach. For the family building the cabin the grandkids will inherit - the place that becomes "the cabin" in family shorthand, the destination for every holiday and every summer for the next forty years. After seven years of Easy Financing the payment stops and the land is yours, free and clear, forever. That is what a legacy looks like: not rent, not a hotel bill, but ground your name is on.
The seclusion here is the point. Forbes Park sits deep in the Culebra Range foothills, well off the valley floor, gated and quiet. That remoteness is exactly what keeps it wild - elk moving through the timber, a sky with no light pollution, and the unhurried pace of a community built around mountain living rather than traffic. For a retirement retreat or a generational cabin, seclusion is not a drawback. It is the entire appeal.
Property Highlights At A Glance
Parcel: Unit L-2, Block 165, Lot 2863 - Forbes Park (gated community)
Apn: 70127840
Legal Description: F.P. Unit L-2 Blk 165 Lot 2863 Cont 1.748 Ac
Address: Wendt Ln, Fort Garland, CO 81133
County: Costilla County, Colorado
GPS Center: 37.432194, -105.161111
Gps NE Corner: 37.432347, -105.160417
Gps SE Corner: 37.431731, -105.160772
Gps SW Corner: 37.432056, -105.161703
Gps NW Corner: 37.432678, -105.161278
Parcel Size: 1.748 acres
Shape: Square
Slope: 10.8% average (gently sloped)
Elevation: 9,592.9 ft - 9,635.3 ft above sea level
Terrain: Gently sloped, treed mountain terrain
Vegetation: Mixed conifer and aspen forest - ponderosa pine, aspen, fir, and spruce
Community: Private, gated, covenant-protected - Forbes Park (est. 1977)
Community Amenities: Gated entry, community center, community lake and two community ponds, 6,000+ acres of common land, snow-plowed association roads
Flood Zone: Zone X - outside mapped floodplain
Creek/Wetlands: Minor creek along western property boundary - buyers verify setback requirements with Costilla County planning prior to development
Road Access: Wendt Ln - dirt, county-maintained, legal access confirmed; interior community roads maintained and plowed by Fploa
Power: Powered neighbor directly across the road; power line runs along the road approximately 435 ft from the building area - grid connection potentially feasible
Zoning: ER - Estate Residential, Costilla County
Single-Family Home: Yes - 600 sq ft minimum
Manufactured Home: Yes - 1976 or newer, Hud-Certified
Modular Home: Yes
Mobile Home: Yes - 1976 or newer, county-compliant
Tiny Home: No - 600 sq ft minimum applies
Time Limit to Build: 3 years from permit issuance
Camping: County allows 14 days/year without permit; Forbes Park POA limits recreational camping to short stays - longer with an active building permit and installed septic
RV: Permitted short-term per Poa; extended use with building permit and septic during construction
Full-Time RV: Not permitted
Solar: Permitted (also grid-connectable if desired)
Wind Generator: Permitted - small residential
Propane: Permitted - portable or buried
Short-Term Rentals: Yes - permitted per county
HOA: Forbes Park Landowners Association (Fploa) - active, mandatory, gated community; $319/Year ($26.58/Month); includes gated entry, community center, community lake and ponds, and maintained/plowed roads
Annual Taxes: $171.20 (2025) - current, no back taxes, no liens
Fort Garland, CO: 39 min / 23.3 miles
Blanca, CO: 44 min / 27.6 miles
La Veta, CO: 57 min / 37.4 miles
Pueblo, CO: 1 hr 52 min / 99.5 miles
Colorado Springs: 2 hr 28 min / 143 miles
Great Sand Dunes National Park: 1 hr 3 min / 49.4 miles
Zapata Falls: 1 hr 7 min / 47.5 miles
Cash Sale Price: $19,999
Owner Financing: From $309 down - no credit check, no bank required
Location And Setting
Forbes Park - A Gated Mountain Community at 9,600 Feet: Forbes Park is not a frontier subdivision. It is a long-established, gated, covenant-protected mountain community in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Costilla County, developed beginning in 1977, with an active landowners association, a guarded main gate, a community center, a community lake and two ponds, and hundreds of miles of maintained, plowed roads. Buyers who have been looking at raw, unmanaged rural land will notice the difference immediately. Forbes Park has a gate. It has neighbors. It has amenities. It has the feel of a real mountain neighborhood rather than an isolated parcel on a blank map.
La Veta Pass-Uptop Historic District - 40 Minutes: The La Veta Pass corridor and the Uptop Historic District are among the most scenically spectacular drives in Colorado - the original route of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad through the Sangre de Cristos. The pass itself, at 9,413 feet, is a historic and visually extraordinary mountain corridor.
Fort Garland - 39 Minutes: The nearest full-service hub for Forbes Park landowners. Gas (Conoco 13 min / 8.3 miles from the property), grocery, post office, and the Fort Garland Museum.
La Veta - 57 Minutes: The small arts community of La Veta, tucked beneath the Spanish Peaks, offers galleries, restaurants, and one of the most beautiful small-town settings in southern Colorado - an easy cultural and culinary day trip.
Walsenburg - Approximately 1 Hour: The Huerfano County seat on I-25 provides a full-service connection to the national highway network and additional retail.
Pueblo - 1 Hour 52 Minutes / 99.5 Miles: The closest major city and metropolitan connection for Forbes Park owners. Colorado Springs (2 hr 28 min) and Denver (4 hours) complete the urban access picture - close enough for a retiree to reach a major medical center or airport, far enough to leave the crowds behind.
Major Recreation Access:
Great Sand Dunes National Park - 1 hr 3 min / 49.4 miles
Zapata Falls - 1 hr 7 min / 47.5 miles
Zoning And Permitted Uses
Estate Residential (Er) - Costilla County: ER zoning supports the full range of residential structures appropriate to a legacy mountain cabin, retirement home, weekend retreat, or year-round residence. No county-wide architectural review committee beyond the Forbes Park covenants - which exist precisely to keep the community's natural, alpine character intact, protecting the value of what you build.
Single-Family Home: Build a site-built home of 600 square feet or larger. No maximum size. A 600-Square-Foot cabin and a 2,500-Square-Foot legacy home are both permitted.
Manufactured Home: Permitted - 1976 or newer, Hud-Certified. A fast, cost-effective path to a habitable mountain residence.
Modular Home: Permitted. Factory-built quality with site-built design latitude.
Mobile Home: Permitted - 1976 or newer, county-compliant.
Time Limit: Three years from permit issuance. Build at the pace that suits your project and budget.
Camping and RV: Permitted short-term under Forbes Park POA rules, with extended use available during construction with an active building permit and installed septic - practical for owners who want to camp on the land while the cabin goes up. Confirm current POA camping and RV limits directly with Fploa.
Short-Term Vacation Rentals: Permitted per Costilla County. The gated setting, the community lake and ponds, and the surrounding backcountry create steady demand from travelers seeking authentic mountain accommodation - a built-in income option for the years before retirement.
Forbes Park Landowners Association - What It Provides: Fploa maintains the gated entry, the community center, the community lake and two ponds, more than 6,000 acres of common land, and the hundreds of miles of community roads - which the association plows, keeping many parcels accessible through the winter. Annual dues are $319 ($26.58/Month), and membership is mandatory. For a buyer planning to build and hold for the long term, that active management is a genuine value anchor: maintained access, a gate at the entrance, and a community that stays a community. Verify current amenities, covenants, and use restrictions directly with Fploa prior to purchase.
Wildlife, Elk, and the Natural Setting
The Trinchera Elk Herd - At Your Doorstep: This parcel sits within Game Management Unit 83, home to the Trinchera elk herd of roughly 7,000 animals. At 9,600 feet, Forbes Park is squarely in the herd's summer range. The forested terrain here is preferred elk habitat - dense timber for bedding, open parks for feeding, and migration corridors that bring animals through the gated community seasonally. For the legacy-cabin or retirement buyer, this is not a hunting pitch - it is a morning-coffee pitch. Seeing elk move through the timber on or beside your own land, hearing a bull bugle across the canyon in September, watching the herd drift down toward the valley as winter sets in: this is the daily reward of owning forested ground at this elevation. (For those who do hunt, GMU 83 offers over-the-counter bull elk licenses for the second and third rifle seasons, with mule deer and upland birds in the same country.)
A Forested Ecosystem at 9,600 Feet: The pine, aspen, fir, and spruce here support a forest wildlife community - elk in the timber, mule deer along the forest edge, black bear and mountain lion holding their territories through the canopy, and Steller's jays, Clark's nutcrackers, mountain bluebirds, woodpeckers, and golden eagles overhead. The minor creek along the western boundary concentrates wildlife year-round, drawing deer and elk reliably to the riparian corridor.
Black Bear: Black bear are part of the Forbes Park area, as in any mountain Colorado community - routine, not alarming, requiring only standard food-storage awareness.
Recreation - Sangre de Cristo Backcountry and Beyond
Fishing - Community Ponds and High Country: Start at home. The Forbes Park community lake and two community ponds give owners on-site water for fishing and quiet mornings without leaving the gate. Beyond the community, the creeks, lakes, and high-country drainages of the Culebra Range and surrounding Sangre de Cristos hold cutthroat and brook trout in streams above 10,000 feet - backcountry water that sees a fraction of the crowds drawn to the valley's Gold Medal tailwaters.
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness: 220,000 acres of pristine backcountry within reach of a Forbes Park base - more than 100 miles of maintained trails to alpine lakes and wilderness ridgelines that see a fraction of the traffic common on Colorado's more publicized wilderness areas.
Great Sand Dunes National Park - 1 Hour 3 Minutes: One of the most extraordinary natural landscapes in the United States and North America's tallest dunes. Pine and aspen in the morning, towering dunes in the afternoon, back to the cabin for a dark-sky evening.
Zapata Falls - 1 Hour 7 Minutes: A 30-foot waterfall through a narrow volcanic canyon, one of the San Luis Valley's finest day hikes.
La Veta Pass and the Spanish Peaks: Among southern Colorado's most scenic mountain country. The volcanic Spanish Peaks - the 12,683-Foot West Spanish Peak among them - dominate the skyline and offer trails within range of a Forbes Park base.
Wolf Creek Ski Area: About 2.5 hours west via Us-160, Wolf Creek is Colorado's snowiest resort - 430 inches of annual snowfall at a price point increasingly rare in today's Colorado ski economy.
Dark-Sky Stargazing and Clean Mountain Air: At 9,600 feet, gated and secluded deep in the Culebra Range foothills, this parcel sits under some of the darkest skies in Colorado. Light pollution is minimal and the Milky Way is a nightly presence. The air is thin, clean, and quiet - the kind of environment people spend their working lives hoping to retire into.
Utilities - Powered Neighbor Right Across the Road
Power - Grid Across the Road: Power is already here. A powered neighbor sits directly across the street, with the power line running along the road roughly 435 feet from the building area. In Costilla County, where most raw land is off-grid only, grid connection at that distance is a realistic option - making this one of the very few parcels where you can choose a simple, conventional, grid-tied cabin with no battery bank or solar array sizing required. Verify connection feasibility and cost with the local utility before purchase. Off-grid solar and small residential wind generators are also permitted for buyers who prefer energy independence.
Water - Well Drilling: No water source on site; well drilling is permitted. Area depths run 150 to 350 feet; complete installation (pump, pressure tank, electrical) runs roughly $10,000 to $15,000. Water hauling to a cistern is a practical interim solution during permitting.
Sewer - Septic System: Required for permanent occupancy; Costilla County evaluation and permit required. Verify riparian setback compliance for any creek-adjacent placement on the western edge.
Propane - Heating and Cooking: No natural gas service; portable or buried propane permitted. At 9,600 feet, a well-insulated, propane-heated structure provides comfortable year-round living through Colorado's high-country winters.
Internet - Starlink: Consistent broadband throughout Costilla County. In forested terrain, confirm sky sightlines for antenna placement.
Waste: Owner responsibility - private hauler or transfer station.
Investment, Retirement, and Hold Value
Treed Mountain Land - The Premium Subcategory: Treed parcels in established Colorado mountain communities above 9,000 feet command premiums over open valley-floor acreage. The visual character of pine-and-aspen forest, the privacy of tree cover, and the experiential quality of mountain terrain are attributes buyers consistently pay more for - in both purchase price and resale. Inside a gated community with a lake, ponds, and maintained roads, that premium is anchored further. This is the premium subcategory of Costilla County's land market, priced at $19,999 cash.
A Retirement-Ready Setting: Quiet, secluded, clean-aired, and gated, with a community center and on-site water, yet within reach of Pueblo and Colorado Springs for medical care, shopping, and air travel. For buyers planning a peaceful retirement in the mountains - or a place to grow into over the next decade - Forbes Park offers seclusion without total isolation.
The Gate and the Association as Value: A gated entry, active Fploa management, plowed roads, and shared amenities reduce the deterioration risk that erodes unmanaged rural subdivisions over time. Maintained infrastructure protects this parcel's market position relative to land in communities without it.
Grid Power as a Development Premium: A powered neighbor across the road gives this lot development optionality most Colorado raw land cannot offer - a realistic path to a conventional, grid-connected legacy cabin. That pathway adds real, durable value.
Low Annual Carry: Roughly $490 to $530 per year in total holding cost (taxes plus Fploa dues plus minimal insurance). Compared to mountain-land carrying costs in Summit, Eagle, or San Miguel counties, this is a negligible price to hold a position in genuine, gated Colorado mountain country.
Your Three Paths To Ownership - No Credit Check, No Bank Required
Option 1 - Cash Purchase (Best Total Value - Immediate Full Ownership)
Cash Sale Price: $19,999
Down Payment: $499
Documentation Fee: $250
Total Due Today: $749
Conveyance: Recorded Warranty Deed after closing
Option 2 - Super Saver Financing (Fastest Path to Full Ownership)
Monthly Payment: $749 x 30 months
Loan Term: 2.5-Year Super Saver Plan
Down Payment: $749
Documentation Fee: $250
Total Due Today: $999
Own your gated Colorado mountain land free and clear in 2.5 years.
Option 3 - Easy Financing (Lowest Entry Point - Start for $559 Today)
Monthly Payment: $309 x 84 months
Loan Term: 7-Year Easy Financing Plan
Down Payment: $309
Documentation Fee: $250
Total Due Today: $559
A pine-and-aspen legacy cabin lot at 9,600 feet. $309 down.
All Three Plans Include:
No Credit Check - Your credit history is not a factor.
No Bank Involvement - No applications, no appraisals, no denials.
No Prepayment Penalties - Pay it off early at any time at no extra cost.
Simple Process - Reserve today. Ownership transfers in 1-2 business days.
Perfect For Buyers Who Want
A Legacy Mountain Cabin: 1.748 acres of pine and aspen at 9,600 feet inside a gated community - build the cabin your family keeps for generations.
A Mountain Retirement Retreat: Clean air, total quiet, dark skies, a community center, and on-site water, with Pueblo and Colorado Springs within reach for medical and travel needs.
Grid Power Within Reach: A powered neighbor directly across the road, where most Costilla County raw land is off-grid only - a realistic path to conventional grid connection. Build grid-tied or off-grid, your choice.
A Gated, Managed Community: Fploa maintains the gate, the community center, the lake and two ponds, and the plowed roads - real, day-to-day value for owners who hold for the long term.
Elk and Wildlife at Home: The Trinchera herd moves through the timber seasonally; mule deer, black bear, eagles, and songbirds fill out a true forest ecosystem.
Seclusion and Dark Skies: Deep in the Culebra Range foothills, gated and quiet, under some of the darkest skies in Colorado - wild country that stays wild.
A Great Sand Dunes Road Trip: An hour to North America's tallest dunes - mountain forest in the morning, dunes in the afternoon, cabin under the stars at night.
Recreational and Residential Land: Mountain, recreational, residential, timber, fishing, and hunting land in one gated parcel - with on-site community ponds and a community lake.
Take Action - Your Colorado Legacy Cabin Starts At $559
What You Are Getting: 1.748 treed, gently sloped acres of pine and aspen inside the gated Forbes Park community of Costilla County, Colorado - the highest parcel in Wild Domain Land's current Colorado inventory at 9,593 to 9,635 feet. ER zoning, manufactured homes allowed (1976+). Legal road access via Wendt Lane; Fploa-Maintained, plowed community roads. A powered neighbor directly across the road. Community lake, two community ponds, community center, and a guarded gate. Annual taxes $171.20; Fploa dues $319/Year. No back taxes, no liens. Four GPS corners confirmed. The Trinchera elk herd at your doorstep. Great Sand Dunes an hour away. Sangre de Cristo Wilderness within reach. Dark skies, clean air, and total seclusion. Owner financing from $309 down - no credit check, no bank required.
Why This Will Not Wait: Treed, gated mountain parcels above 9,500 feet with grid power across the road, on-site community water, and an active, plowing landowners association are a fundamentally scarcer product than the flat high-desert land that defines most of the southern Colorado market. At $19,999 cash, this parcel is priced as Costilla County land while carrying the characteristics of mountain land in counties where five-figure entry points vanished years ago. That gap will not hold.
Your Next Move: Drop 37.432194, -105.161111 into your Gps. Drive through the Forbes Park gate to Wendt Lane. Walk the pine and aspen at 9,600 feet. Breathe the air. Look up through the canopy, and then up at the stars. This is the land you had in your head - the place your family will know for the next forty years. It is available now.
100-Day No-Nonsense Guarantee
When you purchase this property and change your mind within 100 days of your down payment, let us know. We will either refund your principal payment or exchange it for another property in our inventory that better suits your needs. This guarantee lets you secure the property confidently before visiting in person. On owner financing, we refund principal paid excluding fees (closing costs, doc fees, note maintenance fees, and taxes). Any late or missed payments during the guarantee period will automatically void the guarantee.
Pine. Aspen. A gate. 9,600 feet. The land is yours for $559.
Start living wild - and start building the legacy - today.
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Note: Information presented in this listing is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Buyers are advised to conduct their own due diligence and verify all details independently. Property is sold as-is, where-is.
Annual Ownership Costs
Property Taxes: $171.20/Year (2025) - approximately $14.27/Month
Forbes Park LOA Dues: $319/Year ($26.58/Month) - mandatory; includes gated entry, community center, lake and ponds, and maintained/plowed roads
Special Assessments: $0 (verify with Fploa)
Metro District Taxes: $0
Transfer Fees: $0
Mandatory Road Maintenance Fees: $0 (covered by LOA dues)
Total Annual Holding Cost (vacant land): Approximately $490/Year
Land Maps & Attachments
Directions to Land
Directions To Apn 70127840
Forbes Park, Unit L-2, Block 165, Lot 2863
Wendt Ln, Fort Garland, CO 81133
GPS Center: 37.432194, -105.161111
Gps Corner Coordinates
Center: 37.432194, -105.161111
NE Corner: 37.432347, -105.160417
SE Corner: 37.431731, -105.160772
SW Corner: 37.432056, -105.161703
NW Corner: 37.432678, -105.161278
DIRECTIONS FROM FORT GARLAND, CO (39 min / 23.3 miles)
1. Start at the intersection of US-160 and CO-159 in Fort Garland, Colorado.
2. Head EAST on US-160 toward La Veta Pass for approximately 18 miles.
3. Take the Forbes Park / CO-12 area exit or turn south toward the Forbes Park subdivision. (Confirm the exact turn from Forbes Park community road maps or GPS navigation to Wendt Ln.)
4. Navigate into Forbes Park subdivision to Wendt Lane.
5. Continue on Wendt Lane to Unit L-2, Block 165, Lot 2863.
6. Confirm arrival: GPS 37.432194, -105.161111.
Note: Forbes Park is accessed from the US-160 corridor east of Fort Garland toward La Veta Pass. The property is 39 minutes from Fort Garland and approximately 40 minutes from La Veta Pass-Uptop area. Wendt Lane is a county-maintained dirt road. High-clearance vehicle recommended; four-wheel drive may be required in winter or after significant rainfall.
Nearest fuel: Conoco, approximately 13 min / 8.3 miles from the property. Fuel up before entering the subdivision.
Note On Access
Forbes Park is a mountain subdivision at 9,600 feet. Internal roads are steeper and more challenging than the flat-terrain SDCR subdivisions in the San Luis Valley. A capable vehicle with adequate clearance is strongly recommended. In winter, four-wheel drive and chains may be required. Verify current road conditions with the Forbes Park LOA before visiting during or after snow events.
More Land Details
Land Price History
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