HarPiyTravel

Reading Time: 4 minutes

In continuation of our Colorado series, today we will take a sneak peek at Garden of the Gods. When we first visited Colorado (RMNP) in 2018, we heard about this place and even thought of visiting, but due to limited time, we couldn’t go. On last year’s trip, we finally covered it along with Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon ,and Pikes Peak. It was the last point of our Colorado trip.

Park, as the name suggests, is something you can’t miss; c’mon, it’s GOD’S garden. As history goes, initially it used to be called “Red Rock Corral”, but later on was renamed to “Garden of the Gods” due to its wonderful rock formations. We went there twice, once in the evening of the second-to-last day of the trip and once in the early morning of the last day. Our hotel, “Quality Inn & Suites, Garden of the Gods,” was less than 10 minutes by car from the attraction, which is why it was last on our list.

On the first day, we explored the whole garden by ourselves, without a guide. There are various formations, each having a unique name and unique structure, that will leave you in awe. Structures are composed of limestone, sandstone, and conglomerate and result from the uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak.

Park entry is free, we firstly went to Visitor Center, gathered information about the recreational activities and available tours. They have a Segway tour, a bus tour, rock climbing, mountain biking, and a few other activities. At that time of evening, nothing was available, so we booked the Segway tour for the next morning and visited the park.

What to expect in Visitor Center:-

• Booking for personal or group tours at the counter
• Information about the park, operational hours, its history, and other facts
• Short movie on the history of the park, every 20 mins
• Nice cafeteria with great view of park
• Exhibit for Geology, Plants, Wildlife, and Native Americans
• Gift Shop

There are nearly 20 miles of trails; it’s kind of paradise for hikers. We also spotted cyclists and skaters in the park. Rock climbing is also a popular activity here, but we couldn’t do it due to a lack of time. Trust me, it’s a heaven for photographers and nature lovers.

Activities to do in the park:-

• Hiking
• Cycling
• Skating
• Rock-Climbing
• Segway
• Photography

After spending considerable time, we returned to our hotel. It was a great experience, and we were looking forward to our Segway guided tour the next morning. We had never tried Segways before, so we were very excited. We had dinner in Olive Garden (close to our hotel) and went to bed.

The next morning, we got up on time, packed our stuff, and checked out of the hotel after having breakfast. We arrived on time for our tour and were the only ones (wow!) on it. Our guide told us normally the park is crowded, but since it was Monday, we got lucky.

In the first 30 minutes, he covered safety and precautions for riding a Segway and asked us to practice for 2-3 rounds in the parking area to get comfortable. See the practice video yourself, which was total fun.

We covered the whole park on our Segways, following our guide, who gave us a lot of information about the rocks, their formation, and their uniqueness. It was a roughly one-hour tour which was simply unforgettable. He showed us Pikes Peak from one point and took our photo, which is below (notice the snowy mountain in the background) :-

The tour was fantastic, and the guide was too good. He was a local and told us so many things about Colorado Springs. We captured memories with him and started for Omaha.

It was a memorable trip, full of excitement. Colorado never disappoints!

Let me know what you like most about the place and which of these formations are your favorites, if any.

PEACE!