Everyone loves an adventure and you know what makes that adventure better…when it’s free!
Check these out!
Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
Housed in what was once the early 20th-century El Paso County Courthouse, this museum is filled with old photographs and artifacts that recount the city's story. Visitors can trace Colorado Springs' evolution from a mining town to a popular tourist destination. It may be small, but this museum wins visitors over with its informative displays.
Paint Mines Park
This is one of the most unique geological parks in the country. It is a 3.4 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Calhan, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. It is a diamond in the rough. You arrive in the middle of nowhere off a gravel road, to beautifully colored rock formations. The variety of colors is mesmerizing. Featuring cotton candy walls and rainbow sorbet layers it is an easy hike that winds through the park with a picture at every turn.
Garden of the Gods
It's easy to see how this natural landmark earned such an ethereal title as one of the best city parks in the World. These magnificent red rock formations look as though deities themselves could've carved them. However, the sandstone pillars are, in fact, the work of geological activity along a natural fault line, as well as rainfall over millennia.
Manitou Springs Incline
Completed in 1907 the Manitou Incline was a 1 mile cable tram built to support the construction of a hydroelectric plant and it's waterline. After performing this service the railway was then turned into a tourist attraction. The incline boasted a 16 minute ride to "scenic splendors", 10 miles of hiking trails in Mount Manitou Park, and claimed to be the "longest and highest incline on the globe."
In 1990 the Manitou Incline closed after a rockslide damaged the tracks. Ever since then the route has seen a steady stream of runners, joggers, hikers, walkers, and even some crawlers. The route is short and steep, gaining nearly 2000 feet of elevation in 3/4 of a mile it is a Colorado workout.
