1 Day in the Colorado Springs Area

Teddy and I started a rhythm of taking two week-long road trips a year after our first year of dating. Throughout the years, we’ve been to New England, the Northwest, the Southwest, the Southeast, Alaska, and the South Central parts of the United States. Road trips are our ideal way to travel. We love to make a playlist for our trips, grab some snacks, pick up items for sandwiches in our portable cooler, and just put the windows down and drive. I’ve never laughed harder than I have during our road trips and have never felt more appreciation for this beautiful country we live in. Teddy and I both feel so close to God on our trips while we’re out enjoying His creation.

On this particular trip, we were headed to Colorado. The state has 4 National Parks and then various other national landmarks and monuments. It has mountains, sand dunes, glaciers, prairies, tundra, and so much beauty. It also has a lot of history both from the indigenous people who lived there for thousand of years as well as more recent history. Our intent with this trip was to explore as much of the state as we could in the 10 days we had. We planned to fly both in and out of Denver and make a big circle throughout the state in those 10 days.

We flew direct from Baltimore to Denver and after picking up our rental car we headed south toward Colorado Springs to start the first part of our journey.

Stop 1: Downtown Manitou Springs

We landed right around lunch time so we headed into downtown Manitou Springs and checked out a few options before deciding on El Taco Loco. It was a small little place downtown but had great reviews so we went in. We started off with asada fries which we both really enjoyed and then Teddy got a quesadilla and I got three different type of tacos including asada, carnitas, and birria. Everything we had was great.

We walked in a few of the shops downtown and I went into Mountain Man which is a “muzzleloading outfitter”. I wasn’t there for the muzzleloading but did find that they had a lot of books on the west and so I purchased one called “Ute Tales” which is a collection of folktales and from three different bands of Utah’s Ute people.

While in town, we also learned that the natural mineral springs that flow through town is what the area was built up around. Since visiting Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, we’ve learned just how much of a destination mineral healing waters are. It’s no surprise then that this was the reason the town began to grow.

Stop 2: Manitou Cliff Dwellings

After grabbing lunch downtown and exploring, we headed to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. These dwellings are ancestral Puebloan ruins from around 800 to 1000 years ago. Initially located near the Mesa Verde area in the southwestern part of the state, they were moved to this area in 1904 and then opened for visitors. The reason for the move was to preserve and protect the dwellings from those looking to steal relics and artifacts and make a profit off of them. The reason this was done by an individual and not the government was that this occurred before the Antiquities Act of 1906 so the government wasn’t involved in this process at that point.

We walked through the ruins, and not only can you walk in the front, but there’s an area in the back where they would have their animals like turkeys and also discard trash. We walked through and read the signs and got to see one of the kivas which is a large room that is circular shaped and in the ground. It’s used like a community center for ceremonies and places of worship. We spent about 2 hours there visiting the dwellings and then the museum and gift shop.

Stop 3: Garden of the Gods

This is one of the most peaceful places in the Colorado Springs area. Even though it can get pretty busy with people, you can find ways to get off the main roads and into the park and enjoy. We did a scenic drive for wildlife in the afternoon and saw great horned owls and big horned sheep. While I would have loved to hike in the area, we had other plans for the evening!

Stop 4: Paint Mines Interpretive Park

We headed east out of Colorado Springs toward the Paint Mines Interpretive Park near Calhan. When we got there it was very windy and started to rain a bit, but we still had such a blast exploring the area. You can park at either parking lot and then the salt mines are kind of between the two and you can walk/hike down into them. In certain areas, you can’t go in between the rocks, but in others you can. That was my favorite park – walking back into what felt like mini hoodoos like you’d find at Bryce Canyon. Once the wind picked up and the rain did as well, we booked it back to the car to go find some dinner before hitting the hay for the night.

It was a great first day on our trip and it was fun to explore both some places I’ve visited before as well as some new places on this trip! If you’re looking to spend more time in the area, you can check out some of these other spots I visited on a previous trip to Colorado.

• Pike’s Peak – You can drive your own car up the mountain which is above 14,000 feet, or take the cog railway. I don’t like heights and drove the first time and was not a fan, so would do the cog the next time I visit.
• Hike the Manitou Incline – When I hiked this incline, there wasn’t a permitting system in place but there is now. Still totally worth it.
• Stay At Garden of the God’s Resort – Where we stayed on this trip was not good, soooo if you’re looking for somewhere that’s higher end to stay, check out the Garden of the God’s Resort. You have the most incredible view of the park as well as pike’s peak on a clearer day – such a treat.