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Travel guide
Colorado Springs
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
Colorado Springs, in a few days
At the foot of Pikes Peak, the 4,302-metre summit that inspired the anthem America the Beautiful, Colorado Springs lines up red sandstone spires, mineral springs you drink from fountains and a staircase of 2,768 steps cut into the slope. You reach the summit by car or by cog railway, then come back down for dinner in the Victorian streets of Manitou Springs.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Garden of the Gods free · 2 to 3 hA free city park of more than 500 hectares where red sandstone blades tilted upright by the Rockies rise before snowy Pikes Peak, with a paved loop past Kissing Camels and Sentinel Rock.
- Afternoon · Manitou Springs free · 2 to 3 hA spa town founded in 1872 at the foot of Pikes Peak, with eight free mineral springs in stone fountains, Victorian villas, 1930s penny arcades and cafés in a large historic district.
- Late afternoon · Manitou Incline free · 2 to 3 hThe former track of a 1907 funicular, now a staircase of 2,768 railway sleepers climbing 610 metres in under 1.6 km, with gradients over 60%, free but booked online by half-hour slot.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs Downtown ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum · about 2 hA spiralling aluminium museum opened in 2020 telling the Games through Olympic and Paralympic athletes in equal measure, with sprint-start, archery and ski simulators, fully accessible by wheelchair.
- Afternoon · Cheyenne Mountain Zoo · half a dayThe highest zoo in the United States, on the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain, famous for its reticulated giraffes that eat from visitors' hands, with entry to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun included.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs Downtown ↗€150 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Seven Falls · about 2 hSeven waterfalls tumbling down a granite canyon in South Cheyenne Cañon, climbed by a 224-step staircase alongside the falls, with a restaurant and a lift cut into the rock to a viewing platform.
- Afternoon · Pikes Peak · half a dayThe 4,302-metre summit that inspired America the Beautiful, reached by a 31 km toll road with unguarded hairpins or by the rebuilt cog railway from Manitou, with high-altitude doughnuts at the top.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs Downtown ↗€150 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Paint Mines Interpretive Park free · about 2 hPrairie ravines east of the city where erosion has carved hoodoos and clay cliffs striped white, pink, ochre and purple, once a source of paint for Native peoples, with marked trails and no crowds.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €160 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/colorado-springs
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.