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| Individual attractions can change their prices and hours, please double check the individual sites to verify times and rates. Also, if visiting Colorado Springs attractions in the off-season, make sure you check the specific attraction's websites (links for their sites are listed in this Colorado Springs on a Budget website) for their winter hours and rates, as these may differ from their summer hours and rates. The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park near Canon City, Colorado has been affected by the fire west of Canon City. The attraction that has had some damage. The Bridge is still standing, but the park is closed until the attractions in the park and bridge are assessed for damages and repairs made. You should contact the Royal Gorge Park officials to find out if it is open yet. Visit www.royalgorgebridge.com or call 888.333.5597 for more information. The Black Forest fire that started June 11, 2013 is at the northeast edge of the Colorado Springs metropolitan area and is a very residential area. Most Colorado Springs tourist attractions are not in the area of the fire and are open (the closest attractions to the area are the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, which is temporary closed due to the fire and the Air Force Academy) You can confirm that attractions are open by checking their websites. The Colorado Springs area has been smoky during this time. Welcome to our Colorado Springs Travel Guide
For coupons to many attractions click here. Located on the beautiful front range of the Colorado Rockies, Colorado Springs is a city with over 375,000 people. It has been a popular tourist destination for decades. Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired by the beauty she saw at the top of Pikes Peak, she penned the poem America the Beautiful which is also the lyrics to the song of the same name. With the difficulties in the economy, one might be not inclined to travel, but Colorado Springs can be seen on a budget. This site provides a Colorado Springs travel guide which will describe area attractions and show you what destinations are free and how to save money on those that charge. Thus, you can decide what to visit on your Colorado Springs vacation based on what is affordable for you and your family. Many attractions offer coupons that save you money. The difficult thing about this is knowing where to find these coupons. That is one of the purposes of this website. This page lists places which are free of charge that you can visit when vacationing in Colorado Springs. Click a button on the top of this page to find where to get coupons and other ways to save money on your visit. Click another button at the top of the page to see a chart with information on places to visit that do not charge admission, their website links, hours, and phone numbers. Click on another and find that same information for attractions that charge, and how much their admission costs. Click the Links button and you will find links to Colorado Springs attractions and other Colorado Springs tourism sites. Descriptions of Attractions With Free AdmissionsGarden of the Gods
Considered a must see for travel in Colorado Springs, the Garden of the Gods is one of the most popular attractions in the city. In 1909 the estate of Charles Elliot Perkins gave the city the Garden of the Gods with the agreement that the park shall be open to the public without cost. Thus, the Garden of the Gods has no admission charge. The Garden of the Gods is a popular spot for hiking, picnicking and taking photographs of the huge rocks that rise sharply from the ground. The Gateway Rocks with Pikes Peak in the background is one of the most photographed sights in Colorado Springs. Cars are allowed in the park. Some of the roads in the park are one way, but the main roads are all paved and in nice condition. You can get a map of the park at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center. Besides the tall Gateway Rocks at the entrance of the park, you can check out Balanced Rock and Steamboat Rock in the southwest corner of the park. (They are near the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, which is a gift shop and cafe near the southwest entrance to the park. Click here for a 2013 menu with prices for the Trading Post's Balance Rock Cafe). If you prefer to have someone else drive through the Garden of the Gods Park, you can take a 20 minute narrated bus tour. For information on the bus tour, click here.  There are hiking trails in a number of areas in the park. The main hiking trail in the park is Perkins Central Garden Trail. As you can see in the picture above it is a gentle concrete walkway making a one and a half mile loop through the towering rocks in the main part of the park. The Central Garden Trail is stroller and wheelchair accessible. For information on difficulty levels and lengths of hiking trails click here. As you hike through the park, look up on the towering rocks and you might see people climbing the rocks. Rock climbers must register at the Visitor Center and must use proper technical rock climbing equipment. Click here for pictures of the Garden of the Gods. You can begin your tour of the Garden of the Gods at its Visitor Center located at 1805 North 30th Street on Colorado Springs' westside. The center is free and has both free exhibits and free daily nature presentations, as well as an information center that will help you with information on the park and other area attractions. The Visitor Center has restrooms and a gift shop. (There is only one place in the Garden of the Gods Park itself that has restrooms and they are by the main parking lot at the entrance rocks). If you want to see the movie called "How Did Those Red Rocks Get There?", you will need to pay a fee of $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per child. The Garden of the Gods Visitor Center is open from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. from Memorial weekend to Labor Day. Winter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Visitor Center is open daily all year with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. The Cafe at Vistor Center at the Garden of the Gods is open from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the summer with shorter hours in the winter, and has both indoor and outdoor seating with gorgeous views of the Garden of the Gods Gateway Rocks with Pikes Peak in the background. Click here for a menu including prices. The Garden of the Gods Park itself is open from 5 a.m. - 11 p.m. during the summer months. Winter hours are shorter for the visitor center, cafe, and park. The Garden of the Gods' website is http://www.gardenofgods.com. A new way to see the Garden of the Gods is take a Segway tour. For more information on Segway tours click here. You can also take Segway tours in the Broadmoor area and at Seven Falls as well as other locations in Colorado Springs.North Cheyenne Canyon
Helen Hunt Falls
Located in the southwest corner of Colorado Springs, this is another city park. North Cheyenne Canyon is a rock and tree-lined canyon with a stream near the paved road. There are hiking trails and picnic areas. The road is paved up to the top of the canyon just past Helen Hunt Falls. Click here for pictures of North Cheyenne Canon. If you continue the drive past Helen Hunt Falls, you will find yourself driving on unpaved roads. You can take the High Drive back to Colorado Springs or the Low Drive (Lower Gold Camp Road). The High Drive winds through the mountains and as the name indicates is the higher of the two roads. It does not get above timberline. The Lower Road heads back to the city, also. Both roads are a little narrow. The High Drive is a one-way road, so once you start you will have to take it all the way back. To see pictures of the High Drive click here. The pictures of the High Drive were taken on June 18, 2009. The road had not been graded and was pretty washboarded in some places. It is fairly wide going up, but gets narrow in spots going down...not a road for RV's. Even though the road is one-way, watch for bicyclists who sometimes ride down the wrong direction.
Manitou Springs - A quaint villageAny travel guide to Colorado Springs must also include the attractions in neighboring Manitou Springs; a smaller town west of Colorado Springs. You probably won't know when you leave Colorado Springs and enter Manitou as the two towns have grown together. But, when you get to Manitou Springs, you will find a quaint, historic tourist area full of shops that sell everything from art to Christmas decorations and t-shirts to souvenirs. There are restaurants and snack stands selling everything from ice cream to taffy. Manitou Springs is where the depot for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway (the train that goes up Pikes Peak) is located on Ruxton Avenue. Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama is also located in Manitou on Ruxton Avenue and Miramont Castle is just off Ruxton Avenue on Capitol Hill Avenue. Also located in Manitou Springs is Arcade Amusements, Inc. which is in the 900 block of Manitou Avenue, the main street through town. Arcade Amusements is an area of arcade games that include working antique arcade games from your childhood or before, as well as Skee ball, pinball, and modern video games and kiddie rides for the little ones. There is no admission to get into the arcade area, however each game does cost. The website for Manitou Springs is http://www.manitousprings.org. To see pictures of the Manitou Springs area click here for page 1 and click here for page 2. For pictures of some of the mineral springs click here. |
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