Curious and wondering what to do in the Colorado Springs area? The place offers no shortage of activities, with at least 55 attractions available for you to check out. Natural parks and wildlife areas, trains, museums, a zoo, and so much more come together to create a wide-ranging experience for tourists. The state is covered with majestic forests and mountains appealing to the outdoorsman, and a rich history that is yours to explore.
Keeping your family and kids entertained shouldn’t be a problem. Colorado Springs offers a wealth of educational and fun activities based around that same history. Colorado has a diverse array of activities available so that people from all walks of life and interests can enjoy themselves. Whether you’re the indoor type who likes to keep to museums, or the outdoorsy adventurous type who likes to camp and climb mountains. Here are 10 awesome things to see and do in Colorado Springs.
10. Pikes Peak
Everyone who visits Colorado Springs should go see and climb Pikes Peak. It is known as the largest summit in the United States. The peak is 14,115 feet tall and is located in the Pike Nation Forest. It is 12 miles southwest of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. The peak has been designated as a National Historic Landmark, and is one of Colorado’s 53 ‘Fourteeners’, meaning it’s a mountain that rises above 14,000 feet. The first person to climb the peak was Edwin James. He was a young student who had just graduated Middlebury College in Vermont.
James and two other men climbed the peak in 2 days and found little difficulty along the way. He was the first person to describe the blue columbine, which is also Colorado’s state flower. After gold was discovered in Denver in 1858 newspapers referred to Pikes Peak as a cold mining area. This increased the habitation of the area and mining activities as well. Major gold was not discovered in the area until 1893. It was considered one of the last gold rushes in the lower 48 states.
9. Pikes Peak Cog Railway
You can either climb to Pikes Peak or you can take the railway. The Pikes Peak Cog Railway extends all the way to the peak of the mountain. The train ride is over 3 hours long. While on the train you’ll have a 360-degree view of the wild life and the local flora and fauna. There are cascading streams, mountains, forests, and a view of the City of Colorado Springs itself.
In 1880 Mr. Zalmon G. Simmons, after riding to the top of Pikes Peak on a donkey, was distressed by the trip. He decided that there should be a more comfortable way for people to make the trip to the top of the mountain summit. Despite the difficult task and weather the railway was completed on October 20th, 1890. The train was not ridden though until June the 30th 1891 due to that very same troubling weather. There were spring snows that froze the railways, the first passengers aboard the train were members of the Denver church choir. Steam engines were the first ones used when the railway first opened in the 1950s, but they were later traded in for the diesel-powered variety.
8. Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods Park is located in Colorado Springs as a registered national landmark. The parks land formations were created by a natural geological upheaval along the natural fault line millions of years ago. There is archaeological evidence that shows that prehistoric people lived in the area. The native peoples lived in cave like residences carved into the rocks. There are also many Native American tribes connected to the Garden of the Gods. The park has some amazing rock formations, and it was written once by Hellen Hunt Jackson that, “You wind among rocks of every conceivable and inconceivable shape and size… all bright red, all motionless and silent, with a strange look of having been just stopped and held back in the very climax of some supernatural catastrophe”.
The park attracts over 2 million visitors a year and is popular for rock climbing, hiking, biking and horseback riding. The Perkins Central Garden trail is handicapped accessible so the park is friendly to people of all types. The park has an educational information center that has 30 exhibits providing visitors with information about the park and its incredible rock formations.
7. Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon is an open space city park consisting of 789 acres of land. The park sits next to Manitou Springs, close to the Colorado Springs area. It consists of parallel ridges called hogbacks; the park is a continuation of the Garden of the Gods. It was never originally reserved for conservation land as the park used to contain a number of industrial sites such as quarries, gold refining mills and a 53-acre landfill. The city of Colorado Springs adopted and repurposed the parks for use as a recreational area in 2003. The land was originally owned by John George Bock in the 20’s and 30’s. The only evidence of the park previously being used for industrial reasons is the Kenmuir Quarry, which scars the landscape.
The quarry’s remains are off limits to park visitors for safety reasons. The park does however contain several miles of trails and rock formations. The trails offer different levels of difficulty and wind guests through the rock formations making it popular amongst joggers and cyclist. Technical rock climbing is also allowed in the park as long as you have a rock climbing permit.
6. Miramont Castle
The Miramont Castle is a very interesting place that is supposedly haunted. The visitors and staff of the museum have made several claims of seeing apparitions as well as strange unexplained occurrences. The castle was originally built in 1895 and was the private home of Father Jean Baptist Francolon. Mr. Francolon was a French born Catholic priest, and his residence was used by nuns and priests from the neighboring mental asylum for food preparations.
The Miramont Castle is now a museum in the Manitou Springs Historic District, and is on the National Register of Historical Places. It was restored by Philip Lawrence Hannum, and the restoration was funded by the Centennial-Bicentennial grant in 1976. It was completed meticulously with photos taken during the whole process. The house now is a Victorian-era Museum that is owned and operated by the Historical Society in Manitou Springs. It has 42 furnished rooms paired with beautiful gardens for visitors to see. The house has 9 styles of architecture and is filled with secret passageways. The museum also has a Victorian era tea house that serves Victorian era foods and also has a lovely gift shop.
5. Manitou Springs, Colorado
Manitou Springs, Colorado is located in El Paso County; the place was founded back in 1872 by William Jackson Palmer and Dr. William Abraham Bell. They intended the town to be a scenic health resort. The small city might seem like it is part of Colorado Springs, but it’s actually not in the eyes of the city’s residents. Manitou Springs has its own industry that revolves around tourism. The small town’s main revenue circulates around a small horde of gift shops that carry almost everything you can think of. Pikes Peak, The Pikes Peak Cog Railway, The Miramont Castle Museum, and Red Rock canyon all inhabit the area. There are also many other educational historical museums in the city.
The small town has many of the accommodations that other small tourist towns offer such as a plethora of hotels to stay in ranging from haunted and old-timey, to modern 4-star joints. There are quite a few culinary establishments, and the city also offers plenty of other great places to check out. The town of Manitou Springs has eleven natural mineral springs which are open to the public to enjoy.
4. Battlefield Colorado
This place may sound like some sort of historic museum or park but it’s actually a laser tag park. Battlefield Colorado is the area’s first and only outdoor laser tag adventure park and offers a brand new urban layout battlefield at the moment. The park is located in the downtown Colorado Springs area. It’s said to be similar to playing a real time video game because it gives you the kind of adrenaline rush you used to experience growing up. The laser tag games consist of two teams that participate in teamwork and team building exercises. The park has several different terrains and scenarios to choose from. They also have options for people who are newer to playing laser tag and consider themselves a beginner.
You do have to call to make reservations in order to play, but you’ll be glad you did because it’s a lot of fun. It’s designed in a way similar to paint ball fields but there’s no paint, pain or heavy duty gear necessary. Battlefield Colorado offers options for birthday parties, corporate team building events, and more. This is a great idea for physical activity, and is definitely enjoyable for the whole family.
3. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
This museum is actually the old county courthouse of El Paso County, Colorado. The courthouse was used in 1903 and displays the history and culture of the Pikes Peak region. There are exhibits emphasizing the unique character of downtown Colorado Springs too. The downtown area consists of several historic structures, with inviting green lawns. The museum itself offers colorful flowers, outdoor sculptures, and a granite foundation. The courthouse was turned into a museum in order to preserve all of that wonderful history. Several different exhibits are displayed in the courthouse at different times on an array of broad topics. The types of exhibits you can expect to see when you visit typically include Western art, the history of the era, antique quilts and many other kinds of artifacts that represent the local culture
The museum also has several murals which are often the center of attraction. The museum has over 60,000 objects in its collection, including items such as pottery and fine arts. There is an exhibit primarily dedicated to early Pikes Peak and the city’s attempts to make it a health resort once upon a time. There are many films, books, articles, and school projects on the city’s founder General William Jackson Palmer exhibited by the museum. There are many different family festivals offered during different times of the year as well.
2. The Western Museum of Mining and Industry
The Western Museum of Mining and Industry collects information about and interprets the history of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak area. The Museum has more than 55,000 visitors a year. The main interest of the museum collection is mining artifacts as well as other pieces that circulate around the industrial uses of the area. The industrial uses of the area consisted of several different types of mining including gold mining. All of the key artifacts were contributed by Mr. Fredrick McMenemy Farrar and Mrs. Katherine Thatcher Farrar. Today there are over 4,000 artifacts on display.
In 1972 the name of the museum was changed in order to focus it on the primary collection of artifacts in the museum’s possession. The museum has a 27-acre exhibit area, which includes a ten-stamp ore mill, and many other multipurpose exhibit areas. There is a 5,000 volume research library in the museum, and it also houses a large theater. The museum complex is educational and fun at the same time. You could spend all day learning in the museum about Colorado’s history, mining, geology, the environment, industrial technology and many other topics.
1. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is America’s only mountainside zoo and is located in downtown Colorado Springs. The site is at an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level. It consists of 40 acres and includes more than 750 animals representing 150 different species. More than 30 of the animals at the zoo are an endangered species. The location was found in 1926 by the philanthropist Spencer Penrose, and was part of his growing collection of exotic animals. The zoo is a nonprofit organization and belongs to the people of Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has one of the largest giraffe herds in the Southwestern United States.
The exhibits offered include Rocky Mountain wild animals, African Rift Valley, My Big Backyard, Australia/Budgie Buddies, Wolf Woods, Encounter Africa, Aquatics Monkey Pavilion, Asian Highlands, and the Primate Worlds. One of the coolest parts of the zoo is that people can hand feed the giraffes romaine lettuce for a small fee. Even if you’re not at the zoo, you can watch the giraffes online via webcam. An advanced giraffe breeding program has been implemented by the zoo to ensure stabilization of the giraffe population. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is definitely the coolest place to visit in all of Colorado Springs.
