Things to do around Colorado Springs
- Thread starter cyadict
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Find a list of hiking trails. There are a good variety that kids can handle a few miles out of town west on 24 then South on 67. The only thing I would necessarily avoid is Cave of the Winds. Takes a long time and I think it would bore your kids. If you are adventurous take a day to do a guided half day rafting trip through the Royal Gorge. Typically not too intense by July.
Garden of the Gods is free and is a good way to spend an hour or so if you are willing to walk a little bit. Really incredible place. Ive dont a jeep tour there which is fun for the kids and you learn more about the history of the place.
Pikes Peak is pretty cool, the train is the best way to get to the top. Its pretty expensive though. If you want to avoid the millions of tourists and pay a fraction of what it costs to go up Pikes Peak, while still being able to drive to the top of a 14er, go to Mt Evans near Denver. Its much more worth your time IMO. And its only $10 (free with a National Park pass) as opposed to $40 for Pikes Peak. There are also way less people on Mt Evans, and its surrounded by more mountains so its a better view from the top.
Cave the Winds is a fun place for kids to be able to see a cool cave (famed home of Man Bear Pig). Its right next to Garden of the Gods. Right next door is a bunch of Native American cliff drawings and petroglyphs.
Manitou Springs is a must if you go to the Springs. Its an old town up against the mountains (right near Garden of the Gods and cave of the Winds). Really cool town with tons of restaurants and shopping and old buildings. Great place for Dinner and a stroll around town.
Air Force Academy is great too, but kids may not like it as much if you have them. The Chapel is incredible and its cool to see the Parade Grounds too. Its free but security checks your truck of your car quickly. There is a neat museum there too to show how the cadets live and with history exhibits.
The US Olympic Training Center is there, havent been to it but I think they do tours.
If you are into military related things, the National WW2 Aviation Museum is in the Springs as well.
Victor, Colorado isnt too far away and is an old mining town, there are a bunch of old abandoned mines you can walk around and see how they used to do things.
Royal Gorge near Canon City is really cool but its kind of a tourist trap and a bit expensive. If you are ok with that, then you will enjoy it. There is rafting through the Gorge too and many other places along the Arkansas River.
If you are ok with a little bit of a drive, Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of the most unique places in the world. Huge sand dunes up against snow-capped mountains. Really neat place to explore. There are slides and things you can use to slide down the sand dunes. Denver is close by too obviously.
Plenty of good food and breweries in the Springs, as well as Denver. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Pikes Peak is pretty cool, the train is the best way to get to the top. Its pretty expensive though. If you want to avoid the millions of tourists and pay a fraction of what it costs to go up Pikes Peak, while still being able to drive to the top of a 14er, go to Mt Evans near Denver. Its much more worth your time IMO. And its only $10 (free with a National Park pass) as opposed to $40 for Pikes Peak. There are also way less people on Mt Evans, and its surrounded by more mountains so its a better view from the top.
Cave the Winds is a fun place for kids to be able to see a cool cave (famed home of Man Bear Pig). Its right next to Garden of the Gods. Right next door is a bunch of Native American cliff drawings and petroglyphs.
Manitou Springs is a must if you go to the Springs. Its an old town up against the mountains (right near Garden of the Gods and cave of the Winds). Really cool town with tons of restaurants and shopping and old buildings. Great place for Dinner and a stroll around town.
Air Force Academy is great too, but kids may not like it as much if you have them. The Chapel is incredible and its cool to see the Parade Grounds too. Its free but security checks your truck of your car quickly. There is a neat museum there too to show how the cadets live and with history exhibits.
The US Olympic Training Center is there, havent been to it but I think they do tours.
If you are into military related things, the National WW2 Aviation Museum is in the Springs as well.
Victor, Colorado isnt too far away and is an old mining town, there are a bunch of old abandoned mines you can walk around and see how they used to do things.
Royal Gorge near Canon City is really cool but its kind of a tourist trap and a bit expensive. If you are ok with that, then you will enjoy it. There is rafting through the Gorge too and many other places along the Arkansas River.
If you are ok with a little bit of a drive, Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of the most unique places in the world. Huge sand dunes up against snow-capped mountains. Really neat place to explore. There are slides and things you can use to slide down the sand dunes. Denver is close by too obviously.
Plenty of good food and breweries in the Springs, as well as Denver. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Sand Dunes National park is a really cool place, however it is a bit of a drive from CO springs(2.5 hours). It's a jaunt for a day trip, but it's a really cool place if you've got the time. The sand can get really hot in a summer afternoon, so make sure to go in the morning if you plan on hiking up at all.
We rented some sandboards right outside the park and rode them down the dunes, which was actually quite fun.
We rented some sandboards right outside the park and rode them down the dunes, which was actually quite fun.
1)United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel
This is AMAZING and the whole Academy is very impressive if you're into that kind of thing.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...Colorado_Springs_El_Paso_County_Colorado.html
I have always found this as rather credible in most areas
This is AMAZING and the whole Academy is very impressive if you're into that kind of thing.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...Colorado_Springs_El_Paso_County_Colorado.html
I have always found this as rather credible in most areas
19Clone91 pretty well nailed it.
With kids that age, I'd definitely do a rafting trip. They'll love it.
With kids that age, I'd definitely do a rafting trip. They'll love it.
Swing by Cy's Drive-In for some burgers and fries. It is a dive and the food is just average but the name and the color scheme make it someplace all Cyclone fans should consider going to when in CO Springs.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...Colorado_Springs_El_Paso_County_Colorado.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...Colorado_Springs_El_Paso_County_Colorado.html
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I am moving there in 4 weeks. If your into fitness you should try the manitou springs incline or any of the 14ers.
I'd agree with Air Force Academy and Pike's Peak.. although the cog ride seemed to be tedious to the kids of others around us most time we've gone.
I'd recommend the World War II Aviation museum. There's a bunch of WWII planes that you can get right up to and some other memorabilia (flight suits, medals, newspapers and the like). The back half of the tour goes through the restoration facility where they are working on the planes (this area can be a bit loud). It's by the runway so they occasionally have the planes they are working on up in the air for testing as well. All the tour guides they had (at that time, at least) were former pilots as well so they were very knowledgeable.
I'd recommend the World War II Aviation museum. There's a bunch of WWII planes that you can get right up to and some other memorabilia (flight suits, medals, newspapers and the like). The back half of the tour goes through the restoration facility where they are working on the planes (this area can be a bit loud). It's by the runway so they occasionally have the planes they are working on up in the air for testing as well. All the tour guides they had (at that time, at least) were former pilots as well so they were very knowledgeable.
I haven't seen Seven Falls mentioned. I thought it was gorgeous, but the stairs aren't for the timid. I've seen lots of the other stuff posted here as well...it's all good. A beautiful location.
Good catch. It's not a place you're going to spend a lot of time at, but it was neat to see.
One more recommendation from my end: The last time we went out that way, we went on an Alpine slide. I'd never heard of one before, but it was pretty fun. Again, I think the ages of the OP's kids would love something like this.
(not me in the video, just ripped it from Youtube)
[video=youtube;KqSXQVynK2g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqSXQVynK2g[/video]
