Colorado Springs · Academy District 20
Your guide to the Air Academy Area
Three distinct areas sit within a short drive of the Air Force Academy, and they are not interchangeable. Northgate is the newest, Briargate the biggest, Rockrimmon the most established. Here's how they compare, where they sit relative to the Academy, and what to know about the high school at the center of it all.
The School
Air Academy High School
Air Academy is one of the few public high schools in the country located on an active military installation. It opened in 1957 alongside the Academy itself and sits on Air Force Academy grounds at 6910 Carlton Drive, a setting that gives the campus a character no other school in the district has.
Despite the address, it is a regular Academy District 20 public high school, open to assigned students whether or not a family is connected to the military. Roughly 1,300 students attend, the teams are the Kadets, and the colors are silver and blue. District 20 has held Colorado's highest accreditation rating, Accredited with Distinction, every year since the rating was created.
One thing worth knowing before you buy: not every home in these three areas is assigned to Air Academy. District 20 runs five high schools, and attendance boundaries follow the address rather than the neighborhood name. Rockrimmon is the area most consistently zoned to Air Academy; parts of Northgate and Briargate feed Discovery Canyon, Pine Creek, or Liberty instead. Check any specific address before you fall in love with it.
Established
1957
Enrollment
~1,300 students
Mascot & colors
Kadets · silver and blue
Address
6910 Carlton Dr
USAF Academy, CO 80840
Check your address
The Map
Where everything sits
The Academy occupies the northwest corner of the city, with I‑25 running along its eastern edge. Northgate sits at the Academy's north entrance, Briargate spreads east and south of it, and Rockrimmon tucks into the foothills below the south gate. Hover or tap an area to highlight it.
Diagram shows relative position only — not to scale, and boundaries are approximate.
The Areas
Three areas, three different lives
Same general corner of the city, genuinely different day-to-day. Pick the one that matches how you actually want to live.
Northgate
The newest of the three and still filling in — recent construction, modern layouts, current finishes. The Interquest corridor puts Great Wolf Lodge, Bass Pro, restaurants, and a theater minutes from the door. Best fit for a newer home and an easy I‑25 commute.
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Briargate
The largest and most varied, master-planned over several decades — 1980s ranches through new builds, so a wide price range and steady inventory. Parks and schools were designed in from the start. Best fit if you want choice and everything close at hand.
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Rockrimmon
The established one, in the foothills below the Academy's south gate — mature trees, larger lots, homes from the 1970s through 1990s. Ute Valley Park is on the doorstep, and this is the area most consistently zoned to Air Academy High.
Learn more →
Let's Talk
Not sure which one fits you?
That's usually a twenty-minute conversation, not a research project. Tell me what your days look like, what you're driving to, and what you want out the window, and I'll tell you which of these three to start with.
The map on this page is a simplified diagram intended to show relative position only; it is not to scale and area boundaries are approximate. School attendance areas are set by Academy District 20, follow the individual address rather than the neighborhood, and can change — verify current boundaries with the district before making a decision based on school assignment. Mike Hensley, The Cutting Edge, Realtors.