Tag: happy trails
-
Happy Trails: A water escape in wilds north of Colorado Springs
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save To find a lake in Colorado’s mountains, you might expect a long venture. And so the scene between the state’s two biggest cities is a surprise: emerald waters between forested slopes that feel remote but…
-
Happy Trails: Appreciating the Paint Mines east of Colorado Springs
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save On the plains east of Colorado Springs, a blank canvas breaks for a colorful wonderland. Tucked between grassy hillsides is an enclave of sandstone-capped spires and hoodoos that turn pink, purple and orange of clays…
-
Happy Trails: Section 16 gets a refresh, but the climb and rewarding views remain
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save If you haven’t been to one of Colorado Springs’ great trails in a couple of years, Palmer Red Rock Loop, popularly known as Section 16, then you’ll notice some changes when you return. The changes were part of a 2023 project that, in the city…
-
Happy Trails: Palmer Park loop boasts 2 stunning overlooks and much more
In Colorado Springs, we love the many parks and open spaces set against the western foothills. But does a nature escape to the east best represent the city’s uniqueness? So we wondered at last visit to Palmer Park. We charted a loop incorporating two overlooks, Grandview and Sentinel Point, and along the way admired rock…
-
Happy Trails: Palmer Park loop boasts 2 stunning overlooks and much more
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In Colorado Springs, we love the many parks and open spaces set against the western foothills. But does a nature escape to the east best represent the city’s uniqueness? So we wondered at last visit to Palmer Park. We charted a loop incorporating two overlooks,…
-
Happy Trails: Looping a peaceful valley between the bustle of Colorado Springs
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Summit fever? You won’t be able to resist the top of one of Colorado Springs’ most prominent, rocky points. Quick serenity and the simple pleasures of nature? You might opt instead for this trail below Pulpit Rock, looping the grassy, wooded sanctuary that white monolith…
-
Happy Trails: West of Colorado Springs, a humble summit with humbling views
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In Manitou Springs, the Manitou Incline gets all the love. And all the pain. The town’s busiest trail is also its most brutal — a straight-up set of timber steps that can’t be called a classic summit experience. Iron Mountain, however, could be called that.…
-
Happy Trails: Appreciating the new and old at Monument Valley Park
Monument Valley Park loop In a hidden pocket of Monument Valley Park, tucked against a hillside away from this greenway at the edge of downtown Colorado Springs, a colorful wall of rock rises. This is the Geologic Column proclaimed upon the park’s opening in 1907 — lines of granite, sandstone and limestone spanning time and…
-
Happy Trails: Splendid loop at the base of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs
The large Limekiln parking lot at Cheyenne Mountain State Park was by no means full at our last visit. But it was as full as we had ever seen it. It got us thinking: Were more people in Colorado Springs taking advantage of the Keep Colorado Wild Pass? That’s the vehicle registration add-on that was…
-
Happy Trails: Going for gold at Castle Rock’s Philip S. Miller Park
In 2014, Castle Rock opened an outdoor destination to meet the growing population between Colorado’s biggest cities. Philip S. Miller Park would have something for everyone. There would be Challenge Hill — the vertical 200 steps resembling a much smaller Manitou Incline. There would be a turf field for sports and a state-of-the-art playground. There would…