Colorado National Monument

After camping somewhere between Moab and Colorado, we woke up and drove to Colorado National Monument.  I had split thoughts about the monument.  On the one hand it is pretty, but on the other hand it's not as impressive as the national parks we'd been to earlier on our trip.  I guess that's why it's a monument and set aside for protection instead of a national park and set aside for enjoyment. 

Colorado National Monument seemed to be a locals playground.  We saw more bikers than cars on the road.   Also, as we looked at the map, the hikes were all 5+ miles long or really short, as in half a mile round trip short.  The sharp division said to me that the hikes were for the locals, while the scenic drive and little stops was for the tourists.  We didn't plan much time for Colorado NM and did the drive with a few stops, so by default we slid into the tourist category.

One of the stops we made was at Cold Shivers Point.  While we were there, I talked with a guy in his 50's who had gone to school in Grand Junction.  He told me that he & his friends would go and sit on the mushroom shaped rock in the above picture back in the day.  Crazy!  It's a huge dropoff down below. 

 We drove and stopped, then drove on.  The coke ovens was one of the stops.

 As well as several different overlooks. 

On the short "Otto's Trail" we wandered to an overlook, and noticed this small evergreen growing out of a crack.  It's determination to grow where there was no soil was astounding. 

Nearest City: Fruita, CO and Grand Junction, CO
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: at least 2-3 hours
Difficulty:
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info: $10/vehicle access fee

Florissant Fossil Beds

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument was a unique place. The fossilized redwood stumps were pretty amazing, but other than that, I found it rather disappointing.


The visitor center has only about 2 dozen fossils on display (along with several pictures). After hearing about the fossils found at Florissant that are preserved with an astonishing amount of detail, and that are shown on display at many prominent museums, I was greatly disappointed. The displays in the visitor center are remarkably underwhelming. Not only that, but some of the signs along the outside paths talk of newly excavated fossils that are catalogued and placed into files. I was left wondering how many rooms there are filled with fossils that most of us will never see. Bring some of those fossils out and let us see them! I'd much rather see actual fossils than pictures of fossils

Although I found the displays of the little fossils lacking, the larger fossilized tree stumps were pretty cool. The biggest one was over 10 feet tall, and probably 15 feet across. The triplet stump was pretty cool too.

Nearest City: Florissant, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info:

Zapata Falls

Near the Great Sand Dunes is an impressive waterfall in the crevice of a rock. It's about a half mile round trip to see the falls, and some wading depending on the season.

From outside the crevice you can't see the falls. The entrance looks pretty cool though. The creek was frozen in Mid-April when we visited, so rather than wading, we walked across the ice and into the crack.

There slot is about 50 yards deep or so and is quite a bit cooler than the outside air. You turn a corner and the falls are there. It is difficult to get a picture that sufficiently captures the feeling and a view of the falls. The falls were half frozen and looked pretty impressive.

Nearest City:
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed:
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes/No
Additional Info:

The Great Sand Dunes

We also visited the Great Sand Dunes. Let me tell you- they were great big sand dunes. We climbed to the top of the second tallest one, getting sandblasted the whole way. When we got down we discovered sand in places that we had no idea how it got there.

The big picture of the sand dunes was pretty impressive, but I liked some of the smaller features of the dunes as well such as some ripple marks and the dune crests.

Nearest City:
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: half a day
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info:

The Carbonated Springs of Manitou Springs

Manitou Springs is a pretty cool little town. We found by chance the reason it is named Manitou Springs. There are quite a few springs there, and not only that, they are carbonated springs! The city has worked hard to bring out a spring walk, showcasing many of the different springs. Each one has its own taste and carbonation level. There are about a dozen that are open to the public for viewing and tasting. It's really quite cool!

Manitou Soda Springs is in the lobby of a downtown building. I thought that it's fountain was pretty cool. The water here wasn't too bad. I do have to say that even though you expect the carbonation, it really is something else the first time you try it.


Ute Chief Spring is on the west end of town. It's a private spring, but open to the public. I thought its water was the best tasting. The plaque says it's good for lemonade.

Seven Minute Spring was pretty cool too. The water here was the most carbonated of the ones I tried. We ended up making some rootbeer with it.


Iron Spring was the most nasty tasting spring there. There's gotta be a better way of fixing an iron deficiency than drinking this water.

I thought the color in the bowl was pretty colorful. After seeing this, does anyone have any guesses why it is named Iron Spring?

Nearest City: Manitou Springs, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: Several hours
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info: Stop at the Chamber of Commerce for a map of the springs

Garden of the Gods

Nearest City: Colorado Springs, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: several hours
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info:

The Paint Mines

We visited the Paint Mines Interpretive Park near Calhan, Colorado last week. What a cool spot! They're located about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs. The indians used to come here to dig for paint. The colors are just amazing, and the rocks even feel like paint dust. There are several trails that go down among the hoodoos and colors. Here are several pictures that show just a little bit of the beauty of this cool spot.

Nearest City: Calhan, CO
GPS Coordinates: N 39.00.880 W 104.16.150
Time Needed: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info:

The Abandoned Railroad Tunnels of Manitou Springs

Just west of Manitou Springs, and south of Highway 24 are some old abandoned railroad tunnels. There are 5 of them, each of them varying in length. The longest one is dark in the middle, while you can see both ends when you're in the other ones.

The last tunnel still has timbers shoring up the entrance. It also has a "No Trespassing" sign posted, so we didn't go in and explore it at all. It definitely looks cool from the entrance though.

Other entrances do have small piles of rubble at their entrances, but overall are pretty cool.

If you're coming from the highway, someone has bolted a climbing route in the entrance of the first tunnel. It goes up one wall, then along the ceiling. It looks pretty gnarly. I wanted to try climbing it, but didn't have any gear.

Park at N 38.52.610 W 104.56. 282 This is right in the middle of the divided highway 24, and is best reached coming down the canyon. Cross the highway, going to the southeast and go up a small hill until you're on the old railroad grade. Just follow the trail from there.

Nearest City: Manitou Springs, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: No
Additional Info:

Helen Hunt Falls

Above Colorado Springs is the Cheyenne Canyon Park. Part of it is the Helen Hunt Falls area. The falls are really pretty and just off the side of the road. There's a small hike to other falls above it.

Looking downcanyon is a pretty view.

There are lots of cool spots along the creek

The upper falls are hard to get a good piture of. They go down a granite slab and look pretty cool.

You can leisurely hike to both falls and back in 45 minutes. I'm sure it's a pretty popular area on the weekends and in the evening. We visited on a weekday in the morning and there were still a handful of people about.

Nearest City: Colorado Springs, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes, but watch them.
Additional Info:

Gold Camp Road

Last week we spent some time in the Colorado Springs area. Gold Camp Road was one part of the trip that was pretty cool. We just stayed on the lower section near Cheyenne Canyon, but it was a pretty trip. There were 2 tunnels that we drove through.
On the southern end of the road are these cooll eroded rock formations. The banding in them is really quite neat.

There were several roadcuts, and although the road is dirt, the grades are gentle. Some points are narrow, but there are quite a few convenient pullouts.

We liked the tunnels though. One is straight and the other has a slight curve to it.

We even took a picture inside. I just wish that there weren't so many losers with spray paint that feel like they need to tag things up.

There are quite a few deer in the area too. They don't seem very skittish, and actually really don't care if you're there or not.

One last viewpoint of some of the scenery.

We did this as a loop drive with Cheyenne Canyon. The loop takes less than an hour and is definitely worth it.

Nearest City: Colorado Springs, CO
GPS Coordinates:
Time Needed: 1 hour
Difficulty: Scenic drive. Drive with caution.
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info: