A downtown street of brick buildings and a church tower at dusk, with cloud-covered mountains rising beyond

The Rocky Mountains, United States

Colorado Springs

Weber Street in downtown Colorado Springs, with the Front Range behind. (Lumen Wilde / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0)

Colorado's second-largest city, spread across high plains at the foot of Pikes Peak, about 70 miles south of Denver. Founded in 1871 as a railway resort, it grew rich on gold from Cripple Creek and later on military bases, and is now a large city of suburbs, red-rock parks and the US Air Force Academy.

Neighbourhoods

  • Downtown
    • First-time visitors
    • Best for food
    • Nightlife

    The original grid laid out by the city's founder, with Tejon Street's restaurants, bars and shops and the Pioneers Museum. The Olympic museum stands in the south-west part of downtown, and Colorado College's campus is just to the north.

    Open in Maps
  • Old Colorado City
    • Historic district
    • Shopping
    • Best for food

    The older frontier town on the west side, founded in 1859 and later absorbed into the city. Its main street of brick storefronts holds galleries, cafés, shops and restaurants, a short drive from Garden of the Gods.

    Open in Maps
  • Manitou Springs
    • Close to Pikes Peak
    • Quirky small town
    • Mineral springs

    A separate small town in a canyon at the foot of Pikes Peak, built as a spa around natural mineral springs. Its Victorian main street is lively and eccentric, and it is the starting point for the cog railway and the Incline.

    Open in Maps
  • Old North End
    • Quiet and residential
    • Historic homes

    A district of large Victorian and early 20th-century houses on broad, tree-lined streets north of downtown and Colorado College, built for the wealthy families of the resort and mining era.

    Open in Maps
  • Broadmoor and Cheyenne Mountain
    • Quiet stays
    • Close to the zoo

    The south-western foothills around a historic resort, with large houses, golf courses and wooded slopes leading to the zoo, Seven Falls and Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

    Open in Maps

Things to do

Red rocks and mountains

  • Garden of the Godspark

    A free public park of tilted red sandstone fins and towers against the backdrop of Pikes Peak, a National Natural Landmark with paved paths and climbing routes.

    Open in Maps
  • Pikes Peakviewpoint

    The 14,115-foot summit whose view inspired the words of 'America the Beautiful', reached by a toll road, the cog railway or a long trail.

    Open in Maps
  • Manitou and Pikes Peak Railwayattraction

    The cog railway from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak, one of only three cog railways still running in the United States.

    Open in Maps
  • Red Rock Canyon Open Spacepark

    A former quarry and industrial site on the west side, now a park of red sandstone ridges with walking and biking trails.

    Open in Maps
  • Cheyenne Mountain State Parkpark

    A state park on the city's southern edge with trails through foothill meadows and pine forest.

    Open in Maps

Museums and the Olympics

  • United States Olympic and Paralympic Museummuseum

    A museum of American Olympic and Paralympic sport, in a building clad in thousands of diamond-shaped aluminium panels, downtown in the city that is home to the US Olympic Committee.

    Open in Maps
  • Colorado Springs Pioneers Museummuseum

    The city's history museum, in the restored 1903 El Paso County Courthouse downtown.

    Open in Maps
  • Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centermuseum

    An art museum and theatre in a 1930s Art Deco and Pueblo-inspired building, now part of Colorado College.

    Open in Maps
  • United States Air Force Academylandmark

    The academy that trains officers for the US Air Force and Space Force, on a large campus north of the city that is one of Colorado's biggest visitor attractions.

    Open in Maps

Canyons and caves

  • Seven Fallsattraction

    A series of seven waterfalls of South Cheyenne Creek in a granite box canyon in South Cheyenne Cañon.

    Open in Maps
  • Cave of the Windsattraction

    A limestone cave above Manitou Springs shown to visitors since the 1880s.

    Open in Maps
  • Manitou Cliff Dwellingsattraction

    Ancestral Puebloan-style dwellings built in the early 1900s from stonework taken from a collapsed site in south-western Colorado, with a museum.

    Open in Maps
  • Cheyenne Mountain Zooattraction

    A zoo on the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain at about 6,700 feet, known for its large herd of giraffes.

    Open in Maps

Short trips from the city

  • Cripple Creekneighborhood

    The gold-mining town near the base of Pikes Peak where the last great Colorado gold rush began in 1890, now a historic town with casinos.

    Open in Maps
  • Florissant Fossil Beds National Monumentpark

    A national monument protecting giant petrified redwood stumps and fossil insects and plants preserved in volcanic ash.

    Open in Maps
  • Royal Gorge Bridgeattraction

    A suspension bridge high above the Arkansas River in the Royal Gorge, near Cañon City.

    Open in Maps

Seasonal events

  • Pikes Peak International Hill ClimbSummer

    A car and motorcycle race up the Pikes Peak Highway to the summit, held since 1916.

  • Pikes Peak Marathon and AscentLate summer

    A mountain race from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak and, in the marathon, back down again.

  • Labor Day Lift OffLabor Day weekend, early September

    A hot-air balloon festival held near Prospect Lake in Memorial Park every Labor Day weekend since 1977.

Eat and drink

Long-standing places and food districts in Colorado Springs. Hours, ratings and directions come from your maps app, always current.

Food districts

  • Tejon Streetneighborhood

    The main downtown street for restaurants, pubs, breweries and coffee shops, busy in the evenings with students and young professionals.

    Open in Maps
  • Old Colorado Cityneighborhood

    Cafés, pubs and family restaurants in historic buildings along Colorado Avenue on the west side.

    Open in Maps
  • Manitou Avenueneighborhood

    The main street of Manitou Springs, with casual restaurants, sweet shops and public mineral springs where visitors can taste the naturally carbonated water.

    Open in Maps

Experience Colorado Springs

History

The plains and foothills here were home to the Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples, who regarded the mineral springs at the foot of Pikes Peak as sacred. In 1859, during the Pikes Peak gold rush, prospectors founded Colorado City on Fountain Creek, which briefly served as the territorial capital. The present city was founded in 1871 by General William Jackson Palmer, a railway builder, as a planned resort for wealthy visitors, with wide streets and a ban on the sale of alcohol.

The dry, sunny climate brought invalids, especially those with tuberculosis, and the number of English residents earned the town the nickname Little London. In 1893 the teacher Katharine Lee Bates wrote the poem that became 'America the Beautiful' after a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak. The gold rush at Cripple Creek in the 1890s made many mine owners wealthy, and they built mansions in the city. One of them, Spencer Penrose, opened the Broadmoor hotel in 1918 and built the Pikes Peak Highway.

The military transformed the city from the Second World War. Camp Carson opened in 1942, the Air Force Academy opened in 1958, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command was established inside Cheyenne Mountain. The US Olympic Committee moved its headquarters here in the late 1970s. Since then the city has grown quickly, spreading north and east across the plains.

Culture & Customs

Colorado Springs calls itself Olympic City USA. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and many national sports bodies have their headquarters here, an Olympic training centre houses athletes, and the Olympic museum downtown is a source of civic pride. The mountains shape local life: residents hike, climb, cycle and run, and the races up Pikes Peak are celebrated events.

The military is a strong influence. Fort Carson, the Air Force Academy and Space Force bases employ many people, and many veterans settle here after retiring. The city has also attracted many evangelical Christian organisations, which gave it a reputation as a conservative city, though younger residents, Colorado College students and the arts community bring a more varied character to downtown and the west side.

The city also has a long tradition of art and performance, from the Fine Arts Center to the galleries of Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs, whose residents take pride in their bohemian identity. Hot-air balloons, rodeo and craft beer are part of the regional calendar.

Daily Life

About 480,000 people live in the city and more than 750,000 in the wider metropolitan area. The economy rests on the military bases and defence contractors, along with health care, technology, tourism and sports organisations. Many families arrive with the military and move on after a few years, while others come for the mountains and lower costs than Denver.

The city spreads far across the plains. The older neighbourhoods near downtown and the west side have Victorian houses and tree-lined streets, while newer suburbs to the north and east are made up of large housing developments, shopping centres and churches. Commuting by car is the norm, and traffic on Interstate 25 has grown with the population.

Daily life is outdoorsy. Residents fit runs, hikes and bike rides into early mornings and evenings, and weekends are spent in the mountains or at sports. Water supply, wildfire risk on the forested edge of the city and the rising cost of housing are the main local concerns.

Food

Colorado Springs has a casual, outdoor-oriented food scene. Breakfast and brunch are popular, often after a morning hike, and green chile, roasted and served diced or in sauces with burritos and enchiladas, appears on many menus. Steakhouses, barbecue and Mexican restaurants are common throughout the city.

Colorado's own ingredients feature in local cooking. Rocky Mountain oysters, which are fried bulls' testicles, are a novelty dish served in some Western restaurants. Colorado lamb and bison are widely available, Palisade peaches from western Colorado appear at markets in late summer, and the green Mirasol chiles grown near Pueblo, just to the south, are known as Pueblo chiles and celebrated at the city's annual Chile & Frijoles Festival.

Craft beer is a big part of the city's food culture, with many breweries and taprooms in downtown and the older neighbourhoods. In Manitou Springs, free public springs pour naturally carbonated mineral water, each with its own flavour, which locals and visitors fill bottles with or drink straight from the fountains.

Planning tools

Budget

Colorado Springs is cheaper than Denver or the mountain resorts, with a wide choice of chain hotels and casual restaurants. The main extras are a car, the Pikes Peak toll road or cog railway, and paid sights such as the zoo and caves. Many of the best parks are free.

Daily Budget Midrange
USD 180–350 (mid-range hotel, restaurant meals, rental car and fuel, paid attractions)
Daily Budget Shoestring
USD 80–140 (budget motel or hostel, casual meals, bus or shared rides, free parks)

Garden of the Gods is a free public park, as are most city open spaces, while the cog railway and the Pikes Peak Highway toll road charge for the trip to the summit.

Best Time to Visit

June to September for Pikes Peak, mountain trails and festivals, though summer afternoons often bring thunderstorms. Spring and autumn are mild and less crowded, with golden aspens on the mountain in late September. Winter is sunny and dry in town, with occasional snow that melts quickly, while the summit is snowbound and harsh.

Suggested Number of Days

Two or three days are enough for a first visit to the city and its foothills. Allow four or five to include the towns and canyons beyond the mountains; a visit without a car needs a little more time.

First Visit
2–3 days
With Surroundings
4–5 days

Transportation

The city is large and spread out, and a car is the easiest way to reach the parks and foothills. Mountain Metro Transit runs city buses, and a free shuttle bus runs through the city centre. Interstate 25 runs north to south through the city.

The Pikes Peak Highway is a high mountain road; drivers should use low gears on the descent.

Airport & Station Connections

Colorado Springs Airport is about 6 miles south-east of downtown, with domestic flights. Denver International Airport, about 80 miles north, has far more flights and is linked to the city by shuttle buses, or by train to downtown Denver and a state-run Bustang bus. There is no passenger train service.

Walkability

Downtown, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs are pleasant to walk, each with a compact main street. Elsewhere the city is car-oriented, with wide roads and long distances between neighbourhoods. A network of urban trails follows Monument Creek and other waterways.

Safety

Colorado Springs is generally safe for visitors, with ordinary precautions in the city. The main hazards are natural: altitude, strong sun, afternoon lightning on the mountains, and wildfire risk in dry periods. The Pikes Peak summit, above 14,000 feet, can cause altitude sickness and has rapidly changing weather.

Start mountain hikes early to be down before afternoon storms, carry water and warm layers, and watch for symptoms of altitude sickness at the summit. Check current official travel advice before travelling.

Climate

A semi-arid high-plains climate at about 6,000 feet, with plenty of sunshine, low humidity and large swings between day and night. Thunderstorms are common on summer afternoons, and chinook winds can bring sudden warm spells in winter.

Summer
warm and sunny — days typically in the low to mid 80s °F, with cool evenings and frequent afternoon storms
Winter
cold nights and mild, sunny days — highs often in the 40s °F, with occasional snow that rarely lasts long

Local Customs

Colorado Springs is known for a strong military presence and many Christian organisations, as well as an outdoor culture of hiking, cycling and climbing. Dress is casual. Tipping follows US norms: about 18–20 per cent in restaurants and a tip for tour guides.

The legal drinking age is 21. Cannabis is legal for adults in Colorado but may not be used in public places or on federal land, including the Air Force Academy and national forests.

Common Payment Methods

The currency is the US dollar. Cards and contactless payment are accepted almost everywhere, and ATMs are common. A small amount of cash is useful for parking and small shops.