Elbert County, Colorado
Homes, acreage, and horse property in Elizabeth
Elizabeth is where Douglas County’s suburbs give way to the open country of Elbert County: a town of about 1,700 people at 6,477 feet on Highway 86, surrounded by thousands of acres of rolling pasture, pine ridges, and long views to Pikes Peak. Most of what I sell here is not in town. It is the acreage around it, from 2.5-acre custom-home parcels to working ranches and land with water rights, and that is what this page is about.
Acreage and horse property for sale in Elizabeth
Active Elizabeth listings on two or more acres from the Denver MLS, highest price first. Draw your own boundary on the map or save the search to be notified when something new comes on.
Why buyers come to Elizabeth
The draw is space. East of Parker and Castle Rock, lots go from a quarter acre to five, then to thirty-five and beyond, and prices per acre drop accordingly. You can keep horses, build a shop, put in an arena, and see the mountains from the porch, with Castle Rock about fifteen miles west and Parker not much farther. Elizabeth itself has a working main street along Highway 86, a school district of its own, and the Stampede, a PRCA rodeo that has run every June since 1966 and is the town’s signature event.
The trade-off is that rural property carries rural responsibilities. Most homes outside town are on private wells and septic systems, roads may be county gravel, and the county’s zoning determines what you can do with the ground. None of that is a problem if you know what you are buying. It is a serious problem if you do not, which is why I do the work described below on every Elizabeth purchase.
Elizabeth neighborhoods
Two acreage communities near town have their own pages. Wild Pointe Ranch is custom homes on five-acre lots with mountain views and easy access to Highway 86. Stage Run is another established acreage neighborhood in Elizabeth. Spring Valley Ranch, west of town, adds golf-course living to the mix. Beyond the subdivisions, much of what sells here is un-platted land and older ranch parcels along the county roads, and those are the properties where local knowledge matters most.
What Elbert County zoning means for a buyer
Elbert County’s zoning districts set minimum lot sizes, and they tell you a great deal about what a parcel can and cannot become. Before you buy land here with an eye to splitting it, building a second home, or running livestock, check the district, and check it with the county rather than the listing.
| District | Minimum lot |
|---|---|
| A, Agricultural | 35 acres |
| A-2 | 20 acres |
| AR, Residential Agricultural | 10 acres |
| RA | 10 acres |
| RA-1 | 5 acres |
| RA-2 | 2.5 acres |
| R-1 | 1 acre |
Source: Elbert County Zoning Regulations, Article VI, Dimensional Standards. Confirm the current district and any overlay for a specific parcel with Elbert County Community & Development Services.
What I check on every Elizabeth property
The well
Permit type and what it allows (household use only, or livestock and irrigation too), Division of Water Resources records, depth and production, and whether the well on the ground matches the well on paper.
The septic system
Elbert County On-Site Wastewater Treatment System records, the system’s age and rated capacity, and whether the bedroom count being advertised is the count the system was permitted for.
Water rights
On larger parcels, whether any surface or ditch rights convey and what they are actually worth. I have listed Elizabeth land where the water rights were a central part of the value.
Access and easements
Legal access to a county road, shared-drive agreements, recorded easements, utility routes, and fence lines that may not match the plat. A survey is money well spent.
Zoning and use
The district, agricultural status and its effect on taxes, animal and outbuilding allowances, and any covenants in the platted subdivisions.
Permits and outbuildings
Building-permit history on the house, the shop, the barn, and the arena. Unpermitted structures are common on rural property and become the buyer’s problem at resale.
Selling in Elizabeth
Elizabeth acreage does not sell through the same channels as a Parker subdivision home. The buyer is often coming from Douglas County or out of state, searching specifically for land, horse property, or a shop, and looking on Land.com, HorseProperties.net, and Farm & Ranch as much as on Zillow. My listings here get drone and cinematic video, an interactive parcel map with boundaries and terrain, placement on those niche platforms plus Zillow Showcase, Homes.com, and the Sotheby’s International Realty platform, and a preparation plan that includes having the well, septic, and permit records ready before a buyer asks. The program is on the Signature Listing Services page.
Recent Elizabeth films
From the portfolio
All homes for sale in Elizabeth
Every active Elizabeth listing in the Denver MLS, in town and out.
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Start the conversation
Talk through Elizabeth
Whether you are looking for acreage, selling a ranch, or trying to work out what a parcel east of Parker will and will not allow, the first step is a conversation, not a commitment.
Schedule a conversation
303-961-6956
Email Phillip
Phillip Booghier, Global Real Estate Advisor · LIV Sotheby’s International Realty · 482 W. Happy Canyon Rd., Castle Rock, CO 80108
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau 2020; Town of Elizabeth history and geography via Wikipedia; Elbert County Zoning Regulations, Article VI; Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo (rodeoticket.com). Listings are live from the Denver MLS through REcolorado and update automatically.