Manitou Springs: Trails, Springs, and History

Manitou Springs combines trails and protected open spaces with mineral springs and a rich historical heritage. If you’re looking for a hotel in Manitou Springs, these different highlights can help you plan your stay around your interests: from hiking trails and Soda Springs Park to historic buildings and museums.

Trails and Open Spaces

The Barr Trail begins in Manitou Springs and leads to the summit of Pikes Peak. As a round trip, it is 26 miles long. The Manitou Incline has different dimensions: the route is less than a mile long, climbs almost 2,000 feet in elevation, and has 2,768 steps. These figures offer a concrete comparison of the two routes: for the Barr Trail, the total round-trip distance is the key measure; for the Incline, it’s the steep elevation gain over a short distance.

The Creek Walk Trail offers a different way to experience the city. The section between Mayfair Avenue and Old Man’s Trail runs through downtown and is a safe, accessible, and scenic multi-use trail. The trail improves connections for pedestrians and cyclists in that area. The described features apply to this section.

Manitou Springs has more than nine miles of trails and over 300 acres of protected open space. The Paul Intemann Memorial Nature Trail is a more than five-mile-long mountain hiking trail above the city. These figures complement the specific distances for the Barr Trail and Incline with another named hiking trail, giving you a range of distances to consider.

Mineral Springs and Soda Springs Park

Fountain Creek flows through Soda Springs Park, a 1.9-acre green space in downtown. The park is surrounded by eight naturally carbonated mineral springs and mountain views. It also serves as a venue for outdoor festivals, concerts, and recreational activities. If you’d like to plan your visit around an event, check the relevant dates.

A tour in Manitou Springs visits eight cold, naturally carbonated mineral springs. The bubbling of the mineral springs occurs naturally because of water in underground cavern aquifers. Twin Spring is used to make Manitou Lemonade and Manitou Mojitos. This geological explanation and the beverage tradition show two different sides of the springs: their natural formation and their use in local drinks.

Historic Sites and Culture

The Manitou Springs Historic District encompasses nearly the entire city and is representative of resort communities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Miramont Castle was built in 1895, is a National Historic Landmark, and combines nine architectural styles. The castle offers self-guided museum tours featuring exhibits on the Victorian era, local history, and the Manitou Springs fire department.

The stone Manitou Spa Building is also part of the area’s history: it was built around Cheyenne Spring in 1893. Navajo Spring, near the Ute Pass Trail, was a gathering place for Indigenous groups, explorers, and early settlers. Together, the two springs illustrate different historical connections—one to a building, the other to a gathering place near a trail.

The Manitou Springs Heritage Museum features the “Van Briggle Art Pottery” exhibition, with dozens of ceramic works from the collection. Since the exhibition may change, check before your visit to see if it is still on display. The Manitou Springs Penny Arcade offers a very different experience: more than 500 arcade games and children’s rides are spread across several historic buildings.

Local traditions include the Emma Crawford Coffin Races, which began in 1995. If this event is a deciding factor in your travel plans, check the current event dates. This lets you consider local history, trails, and seasonal or date-dependent events as distinct aspects of your stay.

Discover more destinations: Fountain, Cimarron Hills, Peyton, Calhan, Colorado Springs, Monument, Cascade-Chipita Park.

Go to the main travel overview: El Paso.