Harts Elk Creek
Three-to-four-acre homesites west of Piedmont with shared well arrangements, septic and association-maintained roads in current listings.
- Typical Lot
- 3.01 acres and 4.21 acres on the two current listings.
- Build Era
- 2001 and 2002 on the two current listings.
Facts checked August 2026
Running Deer Trail and Empire Place, three and four acres a piece, houses built in the early 2000s. The unusual part out here is that the road maintenance and the snow removal come with the neighborhood rather than with a phone call in February.
Two recorded families, one neighborhood
Meade County carries this ground under two parcel families: Harts Elk Creek and Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2. The map on this page draws them as two separate shapes because that is how the county holds them.
State business records show HARTS ELK CREEK RANCHETTES #2 COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, which covers at least the No. 2 family. Do not assume the same association governs the original Harts Elk Creek parcels. Which association a lot answers to, and what it charges, is a parcel level question.
Water, septic and what the association covers
A current 2026 listing at 21860 Running Deer Trail shows 4.21 acres, built 2001, a shared well, septic, recorded covenants, and an association fee that includes road maintenance and snow removal. A second current listing at 21883 Empire Place shows 3.01 acres, built 2002, shared well and septic.
Shared well is the phrase to slow down on. Read the shared well agreement itself: how many households are on it, who pays for the pump, who has the right to the water when it runs short and how a repair gets decided. That document, not the listing sheet, is what you are buying into.
Where Harts Elk Creek sits
The outlines below are reference geometry from county records, not a survey. The recorded plat and a current survey control the exact lines for any one lot.
Subdivision map
- Harts Elk Creek, recorded as Harts Elk Creek
- Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2, recorded as Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2
Outline dissolved from parcels in the public Meade County parcel layer. Reference geometry, not a recorded plat or survey. Verify the legal description, the recorded plat and utility service by address.
Recorded plat names
- Harts Elk Creek: Harts Elk Creek
- Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2: Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2
Where it is
The large pin marks the approximate center of Harts Elk Creek. The smaller pins are the Ellsworth Air Force Base main gate, downtown Rapid City, Monument Health Rapid City Hospital and Rapid City Regional Airport. Approximate locations only, not a boundary or a survey.
What homes cost here
No verified closed sale set for Harts Elk Creek is published here. Both current listings are early 2000s houses on three to four acres, which is a narrow enough pattern that comps come together quickly once you name a target price.
How these figures are calculated
How far to things
- Nearest hospital
- Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Typical driving time with clear roads.
Why buyers choose Harts Elk Creek
- Three to four acre homesites on early 2000s construction.
- Road maintenance and snow removal handled through the association on current listings.
- Elk Creek country west of Piedmont, minutes from I-90.
At a glance
- Typical Lot
- 3.01 acres and 4.21 acres on the two current listings.
- Construction Era
- 2001 and 2002 on the two current listings.
Last verified August 2026. How these figures are calculated
What to check at this address
- Jurisdiction
- Unincorporated Meade County, west of Piedmont.
- Water
- Shared well arrangements on current listings. Read the shared well agreement for the specific parcel.
- Sewer
- Septic on current listings.
- HOA
- An association fee on current listings includes road maintenance and snow removal. Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes #2 Community Association is registered for at least the No. 2 family. Confirm which association applies to the parcel and what it currently charges.
- School district
- Meade School District 46-1
- Shared wells, with the agreement doing the real work.
- Septic systems roughly twenty five years old.
- Two recorded families here, and association coverage is not automatic across both.
- Meade County services, gravel and a winter drive.
Open the ones that apply to the address you are looking at.
Shared well agreement
Get the recorded shared well agreement, the list of households on the well, the maintenance cost split and the most recent water test. A shared well with no written agreement is a title and a plumbing problem at the same time.
Shared water system
A privately owned community water system is a third category, neither city service nor your own well. Ask for the system's most recent water quality testing, ask what the monthly or annual assessment is and when it last changed, and ask whether there is a reserve fund for the wells and the lines. You are buying into a small utility run by a board, so read its rules the same way you would read covenants.
Septic system
Get the tank pumped and inspected, ask the county for the permit and as-built drawing, and confirm the drainfield location so you know what you cannot build over.
Read the full guideCovenants and HOA documents
Read the covenants before you write, especially on outbuildings, RV and trailer parking, fencing, rentals and exterior materials.
Who maintains the road
Current listings show road maintenance and snow removal inside the association fee. Confirm what the fee is today, what it covers and whether the roads are association owned or county maintained on the parcel you want.
Snow removal on this street
Ask which priority tier the street is on, or whether anybody plows it at all. On a grade or a cul de sac it changes how you get out on the third morning of a storm, so ask a neighbor rather than the seller.
Radon
The Black Hills sit on granite and radon levels here run high, so test during the inspection period and price mitigation into your offer if the number comes back elevated.
Read the full guideHail and roof age
Hail season here runs from late May through August, so ask for the roof age, the last claim history and any impact-resistant rating before you write.
Property taxes
Look up the actual assessed value and the current levy for the parcel instead of trusting the listing figure, which is often a year or more behind.
Read the full guideWhich school this address feeds
A district line can run through a single subdivision, so confirm the assignment for the specific address with the district office rather than the plat or the listing. Boundaries also change between years.
Homes for sale in Harts Elk Creek
Nothing of mine is listed in Harts Elk Creek today. This search is set for Harts Elk Creek and shows whatever is active there right now.
Common questions about Harts Elk Creek
Is there an association fee?
Current listings show a fee covering road maintenance and snow removal. A community association is registered for the Ranchettes No. 2 family. Confirm the current amount and which association applies to the parcel.
Why are there two shapes on the map?
Meade County records this ground under two parcel families, Harts Elk Creek and Harts Elk Creek Ranchettes No. 2, so the boundary map draws both separately.
What school district serves it?
Meade School District 46-1 on current listings. Verify the assigned building by address with the district.
What to check before you write an offer
On any address you are serious about, buyer due diligence should include the school assignment from the district, the water quality report from the utility that serves it, and the assessed value and levy from the county. Here are the sources for each one.
The sources, by category
Schools
Confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district, because boundaries change and they change more often than people expect. Meade School District 46-1 · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
Crime data
Drinking water
Every public water system publishes an annual water quality report. Read the one for the system that serves the address you are considering, not the one for the town next door. Rapid City water quality reports · City of Box Elder Water Division · City of Spearfish water · EPA drinking water lookup
Property taxes and assessed value
Meade County Equalization · Pennington County Equalization · Lawrence County Equalization
The county record, the plat and the recorded covenants are the three documents to read on any address here. I do not rate schools and I do not characterize neighborhoods as safe or unsafe. Those readings are yours to make from the sources above.
Also compare
Keep reading on Piedmont
A small foothills city on I-90 where much of my current listing inventory sits, about 26 minutes north of downtown Rapid City.
Newer one-to-two-acre building sites near Elk Creek Road with centralized water, an HOA and utilities ready for a custom build.
A fourteen parcel plat off Creekside Place and 141st Place, platted in 2011 and still only half built.
Wooded acreage near Piedmont with an HOA and association water, where the specific lot and access matter more than a subdivision average.
Fifty two parcels on Eastridge Road between Piedmont and Black Hawk, mostly around an acre, with a few that run to seven.
My free buyer's guide, written for wells, septic, hail history and PCS timelines in this region.
Price, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance and HOA in one number.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
The shared well agreement decides more here than the kitchen does. That agreement, the septic permit and the current association charge belong read for the specific parcel before you spend a Saturday driving out.
Considering a home here?
Send the address and we can talk it through. The details that change from one property to the next are jurisdiction, water and sewer, the school the district assigns, covenants, road maintenance and the rest of what never shows up on a listing.
Talk to Henry
Call or text 605-490-2040 and we can talk through what is realistic in Harts Elk Creek right now, including what has closed nearby.
Last updated August 2026
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of August 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.