Garden of the Gods is located in Colorado Springs, CO. This massive park covers more than 400 acres and attracts visitors from all over the world. The park is located at 1805 N. 30th St in Colorado Springs. Be sure to check their website prior to going as they were doing some heavy construction when we visited that left one of their entrances closed. The park is open early from 5am-10pm, and the nature center is open 9am -5pm.
Our family was able to also check out Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs.
I was impressed by the many different kinds of rock in such a small proximity.
Standing at the visitors center balcony and looking out over it, it appears much smaller than it is. So definitely take a closer look and explore some of the many trails.
We parked at the visitors center when we arrived, but that didn’t seem to be the ideal spot for hiking. Upon realizing this (thanks to All Trails app) we walked back to the truck to move it to a better spot. Having the truck closer meant our picnic and water bottles were more readily available. I would have saved myself some time if I had picked a good parking lot ahead of time.
The main parking lot was perfect. This parking lot is larger than most of them, but can’t accommodate anything larger than a passenger vehicle. RVs/motor homes can find parking in a dirt lot just below the visitor center. At the main lot there is a restroom and water fountains. This lot is wheelchair friendly as well as the restroom and many of the trails. There are several different parking lots, which is perfect if you aren’t able to do all the walking to move around the park to all the formations. The Garden of the Gods website has a great downloadable park map showing parking lots, restrooms, and formations.
There is rock climbing at Garden of the Gods, but it looks to be such a challenge with all their requirements you would be better off having a climbing guide with you. We did see several people throughout the parking climbing.
There are so many trails throughout the park and named rock formations. I was glad I had All Trails to see which trails we wanted to take to get to the various formations. On the All Trails app it is easy to see where you are with the location dot, so finding our way to the next formation is easy. While we were in the park we did have Verizon cell phone service. We didn’t see the entire park, but you can feel confident that most of the park will have service.
We went early one morning and were pleasantly surprised to have plenty of parking and few people. But the difference between our 8am arrival and the place just a few hours later was drastic. The people begin flooding in as the day goes on and the parking lots fill up.
In the visitors center you will find so much information about the animals that live there, and the geology/history of the park. The visitor center had plenty of hands on exhibits that can really hold the attention of the kiddos. We got our junior ranger booklets in the gift shop for a small price. ($2.00 as of August 2023)
There is a cafe located in the visitors center. I was impressed with the wide range of options. And you can enjoy balcony seating and take in the view of the park.
There are tours you can pay to take of Garden of the Gods. We had seen one of the tour jeeps a few days before on one of the back roads near the park. So they certainly give you some great views of the park as well as of Colorado Springs. There was also segway and bike tours of Garden of the Gods.
The park is very picturesque. We saw several groups coming in with photographers to take photos with some of the amazing formations.
It is possible to drive around the park and see a lot of it from your vehicle. We did see some areas of the park that are a tight squeeze. And we even saw some very scarred rock formations next to the road that have clearly left their mark on RVs that attempt to drive through. So, while you can drive through the park with passenger vehicles, I wouldn’t go through in anything you wouldn’t take to a fast food drive through.
Going to the Garden of the Gods is free, parking is free. It was such a wonderful way to spend the morning that we went back the very next day. I foresee us making a trip back there again one day.
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