Last weekend before I ran in the Colfax Denver Urban 10 Mile race (did you see my recap?) we spent the day with my daughter in the Colorado Springs area, visiting Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls.
Even though it had snowed on Thursday and was in the 30s when we woke up on Saturday morning, by the time we drove from Denver to Colorado Springs it was a gorgeous day.
Garden of the Gods
Our first stop was at Garden of the Gods, a park known for its huge red sandstone formations.
According to park lore, this is how the area got its name:
It was August of 1859 when two surveyors started out from Denver City to begin a townsite, soon to be called Colorado City. While exploring nearby locations, they came upon a beautiful area of sandstone formations. M. S. Beach, who related this incident, suggested that it would be a “capital place for a beer garden” when the country grew up. His companion, Rufus Cable, a “young and poetic man”, exclaimed, “Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.” It has been so called ever since.
However, there never was a beer garden because the family who donated the land put these restrictions on it:
[i]t shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park.
We stuck to the easy trails around the garden center and enjoyed the glorious day.
You can just see Pike’s Peak in the distance
Spectacular!
Hopefully this area is safe from Trump’s plans to
review National Monument designations!
Seven Falls
After a break for lunch we headed to Seven Falls. Google maps took us right to the park entrance, where we learned that we had to park at the Broadmoor and take a shuttle bus to the park. D’oh!
The bus drops you off just inside the park, and then you walk up-up-up to the falls. (There’s also an option to take a tram up the hill.)
Once again, the scenery was amazing.
Before we faced the 224 steps to the top of the falls, we climbed the 185 steps to the Eagle’s Nest, and enjoyed the views from there.
In order to spare what was left of our legs,we took the elevator down, and then headed over to the falls.
Taking a break halfway:
View of the top falls:
While the climb got me out of breath, my legs seemed to recover quickly. I actually think spending the day outside helped me acclimate to the Denver area elevation. While Denver is 5280 feet about sea level, Garden of the Gods is 6000 feet above sea level and Seven Falls is 6800 feet above sea level!
[Tweet “#Hiking in #ColoradoSprings #GardenoftheGods #SevenFalls”]
Weekly Wrap
I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap and joining Courtney‘s Training Recap link up.
After so much fun in Colorado, my week at home was pretty uneventful.
Monday: easy strength workout at home
Tuesday: easy 4.25 mi run
Wednesday: OTF
Thursday: Indoor cycling at Revolve
Friday: CPY2 at CorePowerYogaa
Saturday: 21.4 mile hilly bike ride–yes, I braved it again since I am training for the PA Dutch Farm to Fork Fondo in July.
Sunday: 5.25 mile hilly run before church–since I have one more race in June.
Don’t forget to join us for coffee next Saturday! The Ultimate Coffee Date Link Up will go live at 00:05 am on Saturday June 3rd!
Do you have a favorite hiking area?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Looks like a fun visit with your daughter. I’d love to hike there sometime. You did all of that before your race? Wow
The Garden of the Gods trails were mostly leisurely walking but the Seven Falls stairs made up for it!
I have always wanted to go there too. I think I told you the husband went to CC? His LOVED him the Broodmoor (hmmm sp :-))
Your photos are breathtaking! I’ve always wanted to travel to Colorado – it just seems like such a beautiful state!
Thanks. There is so much of the country that is breathtakingly beautiful!
Steps? Did you say “Steps?” 😉 This looks like a beautiful place! I’ve been through Colorado, but have never actually spent any time there. Thanks for the beautiful pics and info!
Wow! So gorgeous. I had a work trip to Colorado Springs last summer, but it just an overnight thing, so we didn’t get to do anything as exciting as these places.
It’s a bit of a drive from Denver, but worth it when you do have an afternoon to spare!
Garden of the Gods is so beautiful! I love all of your pictures! I wish we could travel a little more. I enjoy seeing all of your pictures from your travels! What a special time with your beautiful daughter!
Thanks. I’m a homebody at heart, but since I have to travel for work I’m trying to travel for fun too. Plus it’s really nice to get away from D.C. and enjoy our beautiful country!
Your daughter is so beautiful!
What a fun trip and I’m glad you got to spend some time together. Such a beautiful place!
It was a really fantastic weekend. And she taught me about Boomerang , although I have a hard enough time just taking a video.
Wow! How beautiful!
I love hiking near Lake George (NYS).
I would love to go back to Bryce & Zion Canyons.
How fun to spend time with your daughter. That is such a beautiful area. I don’t do a ton of hiking around here but we plan on hitting up the Grand Canyon soon.
Oh, those steps up to Seven Falls are a killer!! Such beautiful country though.
Looks like you had a great visit with your daughter and a great race! Hard to believe it was in the 30s this time of year! Mother Nature is about as hormonal as I am these days! LOL
Where do you call home? I grew up in Colorado Springs and enjoyed spending time in Garden of the Gods. Beautiful pictures!
I’m an Alexandria, Virginia native. My daughter moved to CO for college and stayed because it is so beautiful out there! 🙂
What a fun trip! That looks beautiful! I’ve never been to CO but will be going to Denver in October for the RnR Half Marathon.
That should be a great race too! And the weather in October should be fantastic!
How beautiful! It’s funny to think that some parts of the country still get snow in May!
I couldn’t believe it when I checked the weather to pack! It was darn cold in the morning too!
Your daughter is very lovely! It looks like fun trip. And what beautiful scenery. I’ll definitely remember both of these adventures for out next trip. We went to Royal Gorge on one of our visits to CO. I don’t think it is too far from Colorado Springs. Check it out if you get the chance. Thanks for linking, Coco!
Wow the Garden of the Gods is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for sharing your pictures – definitely on my list of my places to visit!
What a wonderful trip! I’m so glad that you had a great time 🙂
These pics are so unbelievably gorgeous! Sounds like you had a really nice trip. 🙂
Thanks! It was really wonderful!
Beautiful photos! That’s great that your daughter lives so close to such pretty areas. And it makes sense that spending that time out helped you acclimate to the elevation, nice side benefit 🙂
Yeah, I didn’t really plan it that way, but I think it worked out well. The hiking would have been worth doing even without that benefit!
All of your pictures make me want to visit Colorado and go for a hike. I’m glad to hear that you had a great visit with your daughter.
There are so many great hiking spots out there!
I’m always so envious of your travel adventures! You get to see so many beautiful places!
Gorgeous. We took our kids there several years ago and absolutely enjoyed it. I’d love to go again.
Looks like a stunning day in the Pikes Peak region. Thanks for making the short drive down to spend some time here!
Colorado is ridiculously beautiful. Now I’m craving to go back! Looks like you had a great time 🙂