The Town of Castle Rock started May with the acquisition of Lost Canyon Ranch. This 680-plus-acre property is the newest and largest acquisition and protection of open space in town history.
Preservation of open space is a priority regularly identified by residents in the town’s biannual community surveys. When the opportunity arose to purchase one of the last undeveloped large-acreage properties near Castle Rock, the town partnered with Douglas County, Great Outdoors Colorado, The Conservation Fund and Douglas Land Conservancy to secure the land.
Located on the town’s southeastern border, the property is surrounded on the north and west by residential neighborhoods and by large acreage estate lots on the south. The property shares a three-quarter-mile boundary with Castlewood Canyon State Park on the northeast side.
A variety of habitat types are found in Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space, including riparian, ponderosa forest and open grasslands. The property provides critical habitat for wildlife and will serve as a wildlife movement corridor between Castle Rock, Castlewood Canyon State Park and Douglas County’s Prairie Canyon Ranch Open Space. With this acquisition, there are now nearly 4,300 acres of contiguous protected open space in eastern Douglas County.
The property was owned by the estate of the former owner, who passed away several years ago. There had been purchase offers by private developers that would have compromised the conservation values, wildlife habitat and corridors, as well as public benefits by changing the land use of the property. With this acquisition, as with recent others like Metzler Family Open Space, Cantril School and Emerald Park, land that could have been developed has instead been preserved.
The total cost for Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space was $15,009,432. Douglas County provided $5.5 million from the Open Space, Parks and Historic Resources sales and use tax — which voters extended with a nearly 80% approval rate in 2022 — toward the purchase. GOCO provided the town with a $3 million Centennial Program award toward the purchase, making it the largest funding amount from GOCO for any project in town history. The Conservation Fund negotiated the purchase on the town’s behalf and contributed $200,000 toward the acquisition. The Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space conservation easement, which serves to protect the land from development for perpetuity, is held by the Douglas Land Conservancy.
The town will soon invite public participation in a master planning process to help inform future public access to the open space, including trails and other amenities. Learn more about Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space and sign up for updates at CRgov.com/LostCanyonRanch.
This column was written by Castle Rock Town Manager David L. Corliss.