Colorado Springs: Nature, Culture and Spaceflight

Colorado Springs brings together nature, regional cultural history, sports history and spaceflight as distinct themes for a stay. If you’re looking for a hotel, it may help to first decide what you want to focus on during your trip: Would you like to plan mainly for scenery and geology, museums, or an activity related to science and spaceflight? The places below offer different perspectives. A stay can combine several of them, though they don’t all offer the same travel experience.

Scenery and nature in Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods is recognized as a National Natural Landmark in Colorado Springs. The Garden of the Gods Visitor & Nature Center offers interactive exhibits on the park’s history, geology, flora and fauna. This nature theme therefore encompasses both the site’s official recognition and the interpretation of its different aspects at the visitor center. If you’re especially interested in geology, it is one of the exhibit topics there, alongside history, flora and fauna. Since exhibits may change, check what’s currently on display before your visit.

North Cheyenne Cañon Park offers another perspective on the landscape: it is cut 1,000 feet deep into 1.5-billion-year-old granite. The two figures describe different scales: the depth refers to the cut, and the age to the rock. Visitors can drive from the entrance of the canyon to Helen Hunt Falls, as well as hike and bike in the park. For planning purposes, you can distinguish the nature portion of your trip by the way you intend to get around. Route conditions may change seasonally; if you’re planning a particular activity, check current conditions in advance.

Museums: sports history and regional culture

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum presents the history of Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games through immersive exhibits. It thus combines a clearly defined historical focus with an immersive approach to interpretation. Individual exhibits may change; if you’re interested in a particular topic, check what’s currently on display before your visit.

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum preserves and interprets the cultural history of the Pikes Peak region. It was founded in 1896 as a collecting institution. The founding year is part of the museum’s history; its mission focuses on preserving and interpreting regional cultural history. By comparison, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum focuses on the history of Team USA. The two museums therefore differ in their subject matter: one covers the cultural history of the Pikes Peak region, while the other covers the history of the U.S. team at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The zoo and spaceflight as additional areas of interest

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is located in southwest Colorado Springs, on Cheyenne Mountain. This location provides a specific geographic reference point if the zoo is among your interests. You can consider this focus when planning your trip alongside the museums’ thematic offerings and the natural areas.

The Space Foundation Discovery Center offers two activities related to science and spaceflight: with Science on a Sphere®, visitors can view the universe; in the Mars Robotics Lab, they can operate a rover. The activities offer different experiences—viewing the universe in one case and operating a rover in the other. Individual activities may change; check which offerings are currently available before your visit. This can help you decide whether you’re more interested in viewing the universe or in the rover activity.

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