Arriving

By Plane -- Major airlines offer nearly 100 flights a day to Colorado Springs Airport, located north of Drennan Road and east of Powers Boulevard in the southeastern part of the city (tel. 719/550-1972; www.flycos.com). Airlines serving Colorado Springs include Allegiant, American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, and United.

Getting To & From the Airport -- Several companies provide airport shuttle services; call tel. 719/550-1930 or visit the airport’s website for information.

By Car -- The principal artery to and from the north and south, I-25, bisects Colorado Springs. Denver is 70 miles north; Pueblo, 42 miles south. U.S. 24 is the principal east-west route through the city.

Visitors arriving on I-70 from the east can take exit 359 at Limon and follow U.S. 24 into the Springs. Arriving on I-70 from the west, the most direct route is exit 201 at Frisco, then Colo. 9 through Breckenridge 53 miles to U.S. 24 (at Hartsel), and finally east 66 miles to the Springs. This route is mountainous, so check road conditions before setting out in winter.

Visitor Information

The Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak Convention and Visitors Bureau is at 515 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (tel. 800/368-4748 or 719/635-7506; www.visitcos.com). Ask for the free Official Visitor Guide to Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region, a colorful booklet with a comprehensive listing of accommodations, restaurants, and other area visitor services, as well as a basic but efficient map. You can also pick up more detailed maps at the Visitor Information Center as well as in local bookstores. An excellent one is the Pierson Graphics Corporation’s Colorado Springs and Monument Valley Street Map. The Visitor Information Center, at the southeast corner of Cascade Avenue and Cimarron Street, is open from 8:30am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. From I-25, take the Cimarron Street exit (exit 141), and head east about 4 blocks.

Visitors to Manitou Springs -- and every Colorado Springs visitor should also get to Manitou Springs -- can get information from the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, 354 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, CO 80829 (tel. 800/642-2567 or 719/685-5089; www.manitousprings.org). You can also contact the Pikes Peak Country Attractions Association at the same address (tel. 800/525-2250; www.pikes-peak.com).

Heads-Up -- At an elevation of 6,035 feet, Colorado Springs has two-thirds the oxygen found at sea level; Pikes Peak, at 14,110 feet, has only one-half the oxygen.

City Layout

It’s easy to get around central Colorado Springs, which is laid out on a classic grid pattern.

If you focus on the intersection of I-25 and U.S. 24, downtown Colorado Springs lies in the northeast quadrant, bounded on the west by I-25 and on the south by U.S. 24 (Cimarron St.). Boulder Street to the north and Wahsatch Avenue to the east complete the downtown frame. Nevada Avenue (Bus. 25 and Colo. 115) parallels the freeway for 15 miles through the city, intersecting it twice; Tejon Street and Cascade Avenue also run north-south through downtown between Nevada Avenue and the freeway. Colorado Avenue and Platte Avenue are the busiest east-west downtown cross streets.

West of downtown, Colorado Avenue extends through the historic Old Colorado City district and the quaint foothill community of Manitou Springs, rejoining U.S. 24 -- a busy but less interesting artery -- as it enters Pike National Forest.

South of downtown, Nevada Avenue intersects Lake Avenue, the principal boulevard into the Broadmoor hotel, and proceeds south as Colo. 115 past Fort Carson to Cañon City.

North and east of downtown, Academy Boulevard (Colo. 83) is a good street name to remember. From the south gate of the Air Force Academy north of the Springs, it winds through residential hills, crosses Austin Bluff Parkway, and then runs without a curve 8 miles due south, finally bending west to intersect I-25 and Colo. 115 at Fort Carson. U.S. 24, which exits downtown east as Platte Avenue, and Fountain Boulevard, which leads to the airport, are among its cross streets. Austin Bluffs Parkway extends west of I-25 as Garden of the Gods Road, leading to that natural wonder.

City street addresses are divided by Pikes Peak Avenue into north and south; by Nevada Avenue into east and west.

Getting Around

Although Colorado Springs has public transportation, most visitors prefer to drive. Parking and roads are good, and some of the best attractions, such as the Garden of the Gods, are accessible only by car (or foot or bike for the truly ambitious).

By Car -- The American Automobile Association (AAA) maintains an office in Colorado Springs at 3525 N. Carefree Circle (tel. 800/283-5222 or 719/591-2222; www.aaa.com), open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm.

Car Rentals -- Car-rental agencies in Colorado Springs, some of which have offices in or near downtown as well as at the airport, include Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and National/Alamo. 

Parking -- Most downtown streets have parking meters; the usual rate is 25¢ for 15 minutes to a half-hour. Look for city-run parking lots, which charge 25¢ per half-hour and also offer day rates. Outside downtown, free parking is generally available on side streets.

By Bus -- Mountain Metropolitan Transit (tel. 719/385-7433; www.springsgov.com) provides city bus service. Buses operate Monday through Friday from about 5am to 7:30pm, except major holidays. Fares on in-city routes are $1.75 for adults; 85¢ students, children 6 to 11, seniors, and passengers with disabilities; and free for children 5 and under. Bus schedules can be obtained at terminals, city libraries, and the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau.

By Bike -- Bicycles are more a form of recreation than transportation in Colorado Springs. There are trails all over town, but they don't necessarily connect.

By Taxi -- Call Yellow Cab (tel. 719/777-7777) for taxi service.

On Foot -- Each of the main sections of town can easily be explored without a vehicle. It’s fun, for instance, to wander the winding streets of Manitou Springs or explore the Old Colorado City “strip.” Between neighborhoods, however, distances are considerable. Unless you’re particularly fit, it’s wise to drive or take a bus or taxi.

Fast Facts

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Approximately 35 miles west of Colorado Springs on U.S. 24 is the small village of Florissant, which means “flowering” in French. It couldn’t be more aptly named -- every spring its hillsides virtually blaze with wildflowers. Just 2 miles south is one of the most spectacular, yet relatively unknown, fossil deposits in the world, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. From Florissant, follow the signs along Teller County Road 1.

The fossils in this 6,000-acre National Park Service property are preserved in the rocks of ancient Lake Florissant, which existed 34 million years ago. Volcanic eruptions spanning half a million years trapped plants and animals under layers of ash and dust; the creatures were fossilized as the sediment settled and became shale.

The detailed impressions, first discovered in 1873, offer the most extensive record of its kind in the world. Scientists have removed thousands of specimens, including 1,100 separate species of insects. Dragonflies, beetles, and ants; more fossil butterflies than anywhere else in the world; plus spiders, fish, some mammals, and birds are all perfectly preserved from 34 to 35 million years ago. Leaves from willows, maples, and hickories; extinct relatives of birches, elms, and beeches; and needles of pines and sequoias are also plentiful. These fossil plants, markedly different from those living in the area today, show how the climate has changed over the centuries.

Mudflows also buried forests during this long period, petrifying the trees where they stood. Nature trails pass petrified tree stumps; one sequoia stump is 10 feet in diameter and 11 feet high. There’s a display of carbonized fossils at the visitor center, which also offers interpretive programs. An added attraction within the monument is the homestead of Adeline Hornbek, who pioneered the area with her children in 1878. The national monument also has over 14 miles of hiking trails.

Nearby, about 1/2 mile north of the monument, there’s superb fishing for German browns and cutthroats at Spinney Mountain Reservoir.

Admission to the monument is $3 per adult for a week and free for children 14 and under, making a visit here an incredibly affordable outing. It’s open from 8am to 6pm daily in summer and 9am to 5pm daily the rest of the year (closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec 25). Contact Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, P.O. Box 185, Florissant, CO 80816 (tel. 719/748-3253; www.nps.gov/flfo).

Cripple Creek

This old mining town on the southwestern flank of Pikes Peak was known as the world’s greatest gold camp after the precious metal was first discovered here in 1890. During its heyday at the beginning of the 20th century, Cripple Creek (elevation 9,494 ft.) had a stock exchange, two opera houses, five daily newspapers, 16 churches, 19 schools, and 73 saloons, plus an elaborate streetcar system and a railroad depot that saw 18 arrivals and departures a day. By the time mining ceased in 1961, more than $800 million worth of ore had been taken from the surrounding hills.

Today Cripple Creek has several dozen limited-stakes gambling casinos, most lining Bennett Avenue. They cash in not only on the lure of gambling but on the nostalgia for the gambling houses that were once prominent throughout the Old West. Although gamblers must be at least 21 years old, some casinos offer special children’s areas, along with other family activities.

One of the town’s unique attractions is a herd of wild donkeys, descendants of the miners’ runaways, that roam freely through the hills and into the streets. The year’s biggest celebration, Donkey Derby Days in late June, culminates with a donkey race.

Although gambling takes place year-round, many of the historic attractions are open in summer only or have limited winter hours. Among those you’ll want to check out is the 1891 Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, 1 mile north of Cripple Creek on Colo. 67 (tel. 719/689-2466; www.goldminetours.com). It offers visitors a rare chance to join hard-rock miners on a 1,050-foot underground descent into a genuine gold mine and take home a gold-ore specimen as a souvenir. Tours last about 40 minutes; temperatures in the mine are 45°F to 50°F (7°C–10°C), and jackets are provided. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children 3 through 12, and free for children 2 and under. The mine is open from early April to mid-September daily from 9am to 5pm with shorter hours the rest of the year (call ahead).

The Cripple Creek District Museum, at the east end of Bennett Avenue (tel. 719/689-2634; www.cripple-creek.org), includes three historic buildings packed with late-19th-century relics, including mining and railroad memorabilia. There’s a gold-ore exhibit, Victorian fashions and furniture, exhibits on local wildlife, historical photos, a fully restored Victorian-era flat, and an assay office where fire-testing of local ores took place. The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm Memorial Day through September, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm the rest of the year. Admission is $5 adults, $3 seniors, and $2.50 for children 12 and under. There is another museum, the Old Homestead Museum, covering the world’s oldest profession in a family-friendly tour for $4 adults and $3 kids and seniors.

The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad Co., at the Midland Terminal Depot, east end of Bennett Avenue at 5th Street (tel. 719/689-2640; www.cripplecreekrailroad.com), takes visitors on a 4-mile narrated tour. The route runs past abandoned mines and over a reconstructed trestle to the ghost town of Anaconda, powered by a 15-ton “iron horse” steam locomotive. The train operates daily from mid-May to mid-October. The first train leaves the station at 10am and subsequent trains leave about every 40 minutes, until 5pm. Tickets are $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $8 for children 3 to 12, and free for kids 2 and under.

Cripple Creek is 45 miles west of Colorado Springs; take U.S. 24 west and Colo. 67 south. For additional information, contact the Cripple Creek Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 430, Cripple Creek, CO 80813 (tel. 877/858-4653 or 719/689-3461; www.cripple-creek.co.us).

Nearby Scenic Drives -- When you leave Cripple Creek, two drives of particular beauty offer alternatives to Colo. 67. Neither is paved and both are narrow and winding, but both are usually acceptable for everyday vehicles under dry conditions. Each is roughly 30 miles long but requires about 90 minutes to negotiate. First, take Colo. 67 south out of Cripple Creek for 6 miles to the historic mining town of Victor, a delightful, picturesque destination.

The Gold Camp Road leads east from Victor to Colorado Springs via the North Cheyenne Cañon. Theodore Roosevelt said that this trip up the old Short Line Railroad bed had “scenery that bankrupts the English language.” The Phantom Canyon Road leads south from Victor to Florence, following another old narrow-gauge railroad bed known as the Gold Belt Line. A number of ghost towns and fossil areas mark this route.

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