COLORADO SPRINGS
12-minute drive

Broadmoor Hotel:
Historic Five-star resort hotel. Considered one of the great hotels in the United States. Worth a visit just for its architecture, and grounds. Nice stop after visiting the Zoo and 7 Falls which are nearby.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo: America’s mountain zoo, named #3 Best Zoo in North America by USA today. We particularly like the unusual interaction with the animals in natural settings.

Airforce Academy: Much of the Academy is open to the public and we encourage you to enjoy the breathtaking views, and rich history of the campus. North Gate…exit 156 on Interstate 25.

Olympic Training Center: Year-round guided tours. The experience lasts approximately 1 hour. (719) 866-4618

Garden of the Gods Park:  Magnificent red rock formations – geological wonder with a great visitor’s center showing an excellent movie of the history of the park. Have a picnic and let the kids climb the rocks or take a horse-back or Bicycle ride through the park.  Electric Bike Tours, 719.590.6500.

Rampart Range Drive:  Scenic drive:  Starts at Garden of the Gods and ends near Woodland Park.

MANITOU SPRINGS
10-minute drive

“Manitou Springs has been the quintessential tourist town since the 1870s, when visitors discovered the healing waters the Ute Indians had been drinking for years. Many of the town’s mineral springs still function today and the water is free. It was my family’s first stop after crossing the plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. A magical place for an 8-year-old where Indians danced, artists painted in front of small galleries, silver smiths worked in shop windows and you could reach out and almost touch Pikes Peak

PIKES PEAK COG TRAIN: You won’t easily forget this 3.5-hour round-trip journey to the top of Americas mountain and your first glimpse of the Summit.

PENNY ARCADE: Historic part of Manitou, filled with modern games as well as old fashioned games like Skeet Ball and our favorite, the Derby Horse Race. Great family outing for a few hours.

Cave of the Winds: Off Hwy. 24. Try the “Lantern Tour”. It’s fascinating.

Cliff Dwellings: Museum quality replication of the Pueblo cliff dwellings.

CASCADE
6-minute drive

PIKES PEAK HIGHWAY: 19-mile drive from Cascade, off highway 24, to the summit at 14,115 feet.

NORTH POLE– Santa’s Workshop Amusement and theme park near the entrance to the Pikes Peak Highway. This is not Disneyland, but a very enjoyable place for children up to 8 years old. Rides, Santa, elves, and a petting zoo. Adults can have a “yikes” moment on the Ferris wheel that hangs off the side of the mountain.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FALLS
You can walk to most activities

The downtown area of Green Mt. Falls provides great picnic areas, walking trails, and children’s play areas, along the stream and around the lake. The lake is stocked with trout and is a favorite fishing spot for young and old. It requires a fishing license. There are three restaurants in the village. (see Critics Choice for more restaurant information)

GREEN BOX: Where art and nature collide. greenboxarts.org
Green Box provides exemplary visual and performing arts experiences during the year anchored by the annual summer arts festival, Friday, June 30th to Saturday, July 15th.

SKYSPACE: One of Green Box most ambitious projects to date, we are thrilled to welcome the Green Mountain Falls Skyspace by James Turrell to the landscape of Green Mountain Falls, as part of the new Red Butte Recreational Area. The Skyspace is a naked-eye observatory, where visitors view a sky through an opening in the ceiling, called an oculus. Reservations required: https://green-box.ticketleap.com/

WOODLAND PARK
6-minute drive

Dinosaur Museum: Downtown Woodland Park. Yes, dinosaurs roamed the Rockies!

CRIPPLE CREEK
42-minute drive

We highly recommend Cripple Creek as a full or half day adventure.  Cripple Creek is one of the last and greatest mining boom towns in the state of Colorado, attracting thousands of hopeful miners to the western side of Pikes Peak in the 1890s. By 1900, more than 50,000 people called the gold camp home.  The population has shrunk to 1,100 but remains vibrant as a casino gaming and tourism destination with summer festivals including the annual “Donkey Derby Days”.  The grand brick structures from the gold rush era remain and mine Head Frames are visible on the mountain sides surrounding the town.   The drive from Trout Creek up to Cripple Creek at 9.495 feet, almost above the tree line is one of our favorite drives.  In the fall, when the aspens have turned to gold it is beyond spectacular.

Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour:  The best gold mine experience in Colorado.

Butte Theater:  The “Butte” has presented classic melodramas and other forms of live theater in Cripple Creek for 50 years.  Acting and production quality makes this one of our favorite afternoons or evenings in the region.

FLORISSANT

26-minute drive

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument: One of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world.  Drive north of Woodland Park on Hwy. 24 to Florissant, then south on County Rd. 1.

Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center: Wolf experience and tours

DAY TRIPS

Royal Gorge: 1:26 minute drive… Royal Gorge (near Canon City, south of Colorado Springs) for the best white water rafting in Colorado. We like Echo Canyon River Expedition. Try the zip line across the gorge.

Buena Vista: 1:20 minute drive…Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, river rafting and kayaking A large part of why we like this trip is the drive there on US 24. You will experience an unusual range of Colorado’s natural wonders from expansive high plains populated by antelope and deer to the spectacular Collegiate Peaks. The big payoff just before you get to the valley is the “Collegiate Peaks Scenic Overlook”. Pack a picnic…you will never forget the view.

Breckenridge Ski Resort: 1:40 minute drive…World class skiing/boarding and great summer festivals.

HIKING

The Ute pass area is known for its excellent hiking trails that range from a casual walk to summiting the peak.

Catamount Trail at Green Mountain Falls: We highly recommend this hike and can arrange for a special parking spot close to the trail head or have someone drop you off at the trail head. At the top you will find a beautiful meadow with wild strawberries and wildflowers. A few hundred yards further up and you are rewarded with a great view of the village and mountain valley. You may continue on the trail for another 30 to 40 minutes and be at one of the Pikes Peak reservoirs.

General Green Mt Falls Trails: There are many other trails around Green Mt Falls of various difficulties and lengths that you will find in the trail’s brochure at the house. There are additional trails brochures in a holder at the Green Mt Falls sign at the lake.

The Crags: Off highway 67 on the way to Cripple Creek. A wonderful hike, on the back side of Pikes Peak. The hike takes you through meadows and up a mountain pass to a vista with the secondbest view in the region (Pikes Peak taking first place). We pack a lunch and have our picnic at the top while taking in the view.

Mueller State Parks: Off highway 67 on the way to Cripple Creek. Beautiful national forest park with many great hiking trails and picnic areas.

Lions Camp: Very close to Trout Creek Estate. Take a left on CO 67 and in about 5 miles you will see Lion’s Camp sign on the left side of the road. Two unmarked parking areas, one immediately as you turn in, and another ½ mile down the road on your left. Beautiful flat trail going 3+ miles alongside a gurgling stream – great for kids and acclimatizing to the altitude. The trail crosses the stream in several places so be prepared to wade through water up to your ankles.

Red Rocks Group Camp Ground: Across from the Lions Camp entrance on Hwy. 67. There are rock outcroppings similar to the Garden of the Gods Park but smaller and much more secluded. A great place for picnicking, climbing on the rocks and exploring the interior grottos. As you turn off Hwy. 67 onto the campground road, keep to the right, going .3 miles and you will see a very small unmarked parking area on the right with an opening in the fence which is the trail head. The trail to the rock formations is .5 miles and follows the power lines.

GOLF, FISHING, HORSEBACK RIDDING, BICYCLING

Shining Mountain Golf Course: Woodland Park. Highway 67 north 2 minutes from Trout Creek. Beautiful 18-hole mountain course with very reasonable green fees.

Fishing: Along with fishing at the estate, there is good fishing at Lake George, around 20 miles west of Woodland Park on Hwy. 24 and at Manitou Lake, 5 miles north on Hwy. 67 ($5 entrance fee). World class fly fishing at Deckers – over 25 miles north on Hwy. 67. Fishing equipment is provided for guest use and is located in the garage.

Horseback Riding: Insurance has driven most out of business, but a few remain and offer excellent trail rides including our favorites, Triple B Ranch and Garden of the Gods.

Biking: We provide bicycles to ride on the property. Off property there are peddle and electric bike rental and tour companies offering rides through the Red Rocks and down Pikes Peak. Electric Bike Tours, 719.590.6500.