Colorado Springs 2.0
We spent a month in Colorado this summer working at a Young Life camp called Wilderness Ranch and ended our trip with a short visit to Colorado Springs. One of my brothers is stationed there so we were excited to see him and his family after a year and a half thanks to COVID. We drove in on a Tuesday afternoon and met up with the rest of my family at the Airbnb we were staying at together. My Dad, 2 more brothers, and their families came as well. We scored a good deal because it was a newly listed home needing reviews. We spent the evening cooking dinner and playing games while catching up. We hadn’t all been together in two years.
We headed up to Cheyenne Mountain to see Helen Hunt Falls and take a small hike. The mountain is beautiful on the way up. The road winds in between large carved out rocks and trees. There is a parking lot right next to the falls. After viewing the falls you can take a short hike up to see some beautiful views of Colorado, just be careful because it can be a little slippery in certain places. Afterwards we drove further up the mountain. It is filled with tons of trail options ranging from easy to difficult. We saw quite a few mountain bikers weaving in and out of different trails along the way. All of this is free and is great place to take in nature no matter what level of “outdoorsman” you might be.
Manitou Springs
We visited this place the first time we came to Colorado Springs. It is full of shopping, restaurants, an awesome arcade and some pretty amazing cliff dwellings. We headed that direction per request of my 7 year old. All she wanted to do was go to the arcade again and honestly it was so fun the first time I didn’t hesitate to say yes. If you want to read more about the arcade visit my original blog post.
I returned to Manitou Springs the next morning with two of my brothers to do the incline. It is only 2,774 steps straight up the side of a mountain! We started at 6:30 in the morning and honestly if you are going to do it in the summer, I recommend going at 6 am! It gets hot by 8 in the morning and you do not want to be hot climbing all those stairs. It was intense! I did an interval method like when I train in running. I did 50-80 steps and then took a 1 to 2 minute break. You will NEED water. It is always best to take more than you think you will want. When at the top you have two options take the steps back down or take the switch backs. We took the steps back down but honestly half the time I felt unstable because it is so steep. Next time I’ll take the switchbacks. OH, and yes my calves were ridiculously sore the next day but it was 100% worth it!
My dad and brothers have jeeps so we decide to see how far we could off road up the mountain. Mt. Baldy is actually located on Almagre Mountain South. The first 8 miles or so up the mountain is a dirt road that any car could drive! I saw cars, SUVS, trucks ect. It is a two lane dirt road that has some great views along the way! We hit the bumpy roads and that was definitely the exciting part of the drive. At no point did I feel unsafe or worried about falling off the side of the mountain. Haha! You can do jeep tours with a company and get the same experience without having to purchase a jeep of your own. 😉
This is a newly completed park located in downtown Colorado Springs. It includes a massive ring water fountain that rotates, a playground, a sky bridge, and the Olympic and Paralympic museum. We did not go into the museum but it is on my list of things to do next time we visit. We visited the training facility two years ago and loved it so I can only imagine how awesome the museum will be. The water fountain is a great place to bring the kids to play and cool off with a great mountain view. The sky bridge is the perfect place to get a great photo of the family with the mountains in the background. You could easily spend an afternoon here soaking up some quality time with loved ones.
We visited Palmer Park twice during our visit. Once for sunset and another the next day. The best view of the city and Pike’s Peak can be accessed here at the Grandview Overlook. The park does have some great trails but the overlook can be reached without major walking. We had hoped to catch a great sunset but due to the smoke being blown in from wildfires in the west it was hazy both days. It was still a beautiful view and a great place to sit, relax, and hang out.
We celebrated July birthdays in my family at Edelweiss. My family loves to come and eat here anytime we visit. This is the most authentic German food and tastes so good! We started out with potato pancakes and moved into wienerschnitzel, rouladen, and bayrische schweinshaxe (which was so massive by the way!) They of course have a great beer selection and if you can’t decide which one to get just order a flight and try them all.
Remember to visit my first post about Colorado Springs to find more places to visit and things to do! Click here to read!
Barrons on the go... 