Garden Of The Gods
Activity: SightseeingDifficulty: Easy
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Description:
We drove down to the springs to check out Garden of the Gods. A very nice, fairly crowded, spectacular collection of red rocks. Garden of the Gods is something that you may only believe if you see it. Classified as a National Natural Landmark this park is free of charge. Stop in the visitor center and grab a map from the desk before heading towards the rocks.
There are many parking areas troughout the park and most people don't stick around for too long. If you need to loop around and check for parking again, you'll probably find something quickly. We parked in the South lot. It was a short hike to the main garden area. We also took an additional .5 mile hike before we headed to the central garden. We hiked along the North loop road and picniced in a small grove of trees. It was quiet because it was outside the central garden. We had a view of rock climbers and even saw a coyote.
Our 3 year old walked the entire day. We only put our 1 year old in the carrier. When we reached the central garden we set both kids free and enjoyed walking through the rock formations. The kids found a "tunnel" to explore and we watched some climbers for awhile. After spending some time in the central garden and walking the paved paths, we hiked back to the car to drive down to the South loop.
Balance Rock is at the South end of the South loop. There are a handful of parking spots that empty quickly. Most people will jump out to snag a photo at the magnificent rock and head on to their next destination. This is exactly what we did. (A hint for the next time we visit: photograph Balance Rock from the South for a more majestic looking photo.)
We took a quick drive back to the visitor's center. They have a beautiful museum that illustrates the history of the garden. They also have a very nice collection of taxidermy showcasing the park's wildlife. Theater tickets are available for purchase if viewing a history movie is your thing. We chose to go out on the deck for a nice view of the entire park. There is also a cafe and gift shop.
After leaving the garden we headed to Manitou Springs, an interesting mountain town that I divulged gets a lot of Pike's Peak tourists. Park in the public pay lot unless you are lucky enough to get a metered street spot. We tracked down the only pizza parlor we could find. Which was a very interesting experience. The pizza was decent and it filled our bellies, not sure I'd recommend the shop, but it does make for an interesting part of our trip. We then walked down the street to get ice cream, as promised to our 3 year old. The ice cream was delicious.
