One of the most beautiful places I have been to: Garden of the Gods. Wonderful and picturesque. This is a place you definitely NEED to visit. It is a free public park and National Natural Landmark located in Colorado Springs; about an hour drive from Denver. Stop at the visitors center for a map and the volunteers who work there are a great resource for special sightings around the trails.
( View from the Visitor Center observation deck)
There are designated trails, all featuring something special. You can start wherever you’d like, as each trail as easy and accessible parking. We started off with the scenic paved trail. It was beautiful and there were tons of people enjoying their morning there that day, some with their dogs (made me really miss my Simba back at home). Throughout the entire park, you enjoy amazing dramatic views sandstone rock formations towering 300 feet above you and sights of Pike’s Peak (another favorite of mine) in the background. There were plenty of opportunities to explore unpaved paths, which the boyfriend and I took complete advantage of. We climbed, explored, and found the coolest areas that you otherwise wouldn’t see. Finding all of the different famous formations like the Kissing Camels, Balanced Rock, and the Window Rock, where our favorite activity. I highly suggest visiting the Window Rock. It is a rock formation with a hole in the middle that perfectly frames a sight of Pike’s Peak through it.
Garden of the Gods is a great place for easy hikes, biking, and horse trails. I swear we could have spent the entire day in Garden of the Gods, if only our trip wasn’t so short.
therestephgoes.com 