4 Outdoor Places You Need to Visit in Colorado Springs + Tips for Each One!
In September, I went to Colorado Springs for a work trip. Despite being busy, I was able to play and explore a new area of my favorite state. Below are my recommendations for outdoor places you should check out if you have a few days in Colorado Springs—with tips for each one.
Paint Mines Interpretive Park
This park is located in Calhan, Colorado, 40 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs. It is unique because of its open space and how this area was once used by Indigenous Americans, who collected the colorful clay, hence the park's name. Another cool thing about this park is that there is evidence of humans dating as far back as 9,000 years ago! And if you are a geological nerd, this place is for you since it has various white spires and hoodoos.
Tip 1:
The trail is a figure 8 loop that is 4 miles long and starts out in the open plains, where you can see hundreds and hundreds of wind turbines. After about a mile, you start to see the different formations. You can't miss these white formations as you get closer, especially on a bluebird day!
Tip 2:
Continue the loop to see other formations until you reach another open plain. At this point, you are a little closer to the wind turbines before arriving back at the main geological area. This is an easy hike since you gain less than 500 feet.
Tip 3:
When visiting, pets are prohibited, and climbing or scrambling on the formations is forbidden. Sadly, I saw people do both despite multiple signs saying not to.
Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods was named after a conversation about beer in Colorado. The story goes that two railroad surveyors went to Colorado City, Now Colorado Springs, to try to develop a town site. When they discovered this area, the guy said, "A capital place for a beer garden." His friend said it was a "fit place for the gods to assemble."
And that is how Garden of the Gods was named!
This park is free because of Charles Elliot Perkins. He purchased 240 acres of this land to build a summer home but decided to keep the land as it was. When he died in 1907, his children gave the land to Colorado Springs on one condition—to keep it free to all.
This place will always hold a special place in my heart since this was a stop on my heartbreak road trip in 2020. It was crazy to be back here almost three years later. After so long, you don’t expect big feelings to come back or to run into an old version of yourself. Has this happened to you? I think when you run into your old self—especially when you were once not in a good spot in life—that’s the universe’s way of reminding you that everything in life, pain, and heartache is just temporary. What you do with that and the lessons you learn matter. It shows you your glow-up.
Tip 1:
I recommend either going super early or near sunset. I prefer the evening because the sunlight hitting the red rocks is more stunning with the sky in the background.
Tip 2:
Take the Central Garden Trail, which is the main paved loop in the Garden. This "hike" gets you the most bang for your buck, allowing you to view all the rock formations and wildlife. There is this one cool rock formation where I did the yoga tree pose in 2020, and I recreated it when I came back in 2023.
Tip 3:
Be mindful of humans and animals if you choose this path. There are a lot of people who will climb on the rocks, and you will see some wildlife, such as mule deer and rams on the path.
Tip 4:
If you have more time to explore, there are numerous trails outside the Garden you can use.
Tip 5:
If you are short on time, you can drive through the Garden of the Gods. Depending on traffic and wildlife, it takes about 20 minutes. Even in a vehicle, you’ll still see epic views of the rock formation, and there are a couple of places you can pull over to take pictures.
Manitou Incline in Manitou Springs
Before it was a workout and training ground for athletes, the Manitou incline was once a cable tram hauling materials for a hydroelectric plant and waterline. Then, it turned into a tourist attraction as an incline ride. But it was shut down in 1990 because of a rockslide. After that, many people (illegally) climbed up the incline. In 2013, it became legal to hike the incline’s 2,744 steps!
The fastest time for someone to get to the top was under 20 minutes, which is crazy! My time up was an hour and twenty minutes, and coming down was almost an hour.
Tip 1:
Bring water and Gatorade with you! I did this hike in September at around 5:30 p.m., and both were a godsend. Plus, it made me take more breaks to catch my breath!
Tip 2:
TAKE YOUR TIME! You will see people running up the steps. Let them. You don't need to rush up there. Take breaks to catch your breath and, more importantly, enjoy the views! It's neat to see how the scenery changes as you go higher! I set a goal to stop every 200-500 steps to take a break.
Tip 3:
I recommend crawling on your hands and feet when you get up to around 1,600 steps. From 1,600-2,000 steps, I crawled on my hands and knees because it felt safer since this was a very steep incline. The average grade is 41%, and the most vertical is a whole 68%!
Tip 4:
Start an hour or so before sunset. That way, you can enjoy the evening and come down the steps before it gets too dark. Now, it does say not to take the steps down and to take the trail instead. But I took the steps, and I didn't have an issue. Even at the steepest part, I went like climbing down a ladder, and it was fine!
Tip 5:
It is okay not to get to the top, especially if you are not feeling well due to altitude sickness. If you have a medical emergency, it will take the rescuers 3 hours to get up to you!
Tip 6:
After the incline, you should check out the town. I missed most of the shops since I got done at 7:45 p.m., but there was an excellent crystal shop, and the Keg Lounge offered a delicious bison burger.
Tip 7:
If you want to avoid doing the incline but still see epic views, you can take the Cog Railway, a train that takes you up to Pikes Peak. It is in the same area!
Red Rock Canyon Open Space
If you are looking for a place with views of the Garden of the Gods without climbing over 2,700 steps, this place is for you! This park differs slightly from most parks since it contains old industrial sites such as quarries, gravel pits, gold refining mills, and landfills!
The trails range from 1 mile to 5.4 miles and are very popular with hikers, joggers, mountain bikers, and climbers if you have a permit!
Tip 1:
Though these are short hikes, bring water. It still gets super-hot out there, and there's not much shade.
Tip 2:
Check out the "stairways" on the Quarry Pass. This was my favorite part of the park—besides the views! This part of the trail brings you to an abandoned quarry, and what is cool is that it contains the park's largest rock formations!
Tip 3:
Most of the trails intersect each other, so it's easy to see a lot. That's what I did. A friend and I just started to hike and went in whichever direction we decided to take.
Tip 4:
Do not swim in the lakes. I know that in most of Colorado, you can swim in the lakes, but because of the currents in this place, you don't want to do it. It was also once a quarry.
I hope you enjoyed learning about these four outdoor places and that the tips will help you once you’re out there. And remember, leave no trace!