I just returned from a nostalgic trip to Colorado Springs, which I got to know intimately during my adventure in higher education at Colorado College (Go Tigers!). In their rush to get to Colorado’s most excellent array of ski areas, many travelers see Denver and little else along the eastern range of the Rocky Mountains. Please correct that the next time you’re in the state.
The Springs, located about 70 miles south of Denver, offers great opportunities for sightseeing and its temperate microclimate is the reason we California student transplants happily sunbathed in the middle of winter and why we aging college alumni were golfing as recently as a few weekends ago. It’s been included on “Best Places to Live” lists in magazines like Money and Outside and still remains as one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever lived.
Pikes Peak is here, a 14,115-foot beauty that presides over town and inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” in 1893 after riding to the summit in a carriage (and also was namesake to the “Pike’s Peak or Bust” motto that defined the Colorado gold rush of 1858). These days you can still drive to the top or take the cog railway from the funky little outpost of Manitou Springs (home to beautiful Victorians, great shopping and mineral springs), which lies directly at its base.
Another natural wonder is the Garden of the Gods (photo left), a truly spectacular park that I always make a point to visit whenever I’m in town. There you’ll find enormous sandstone rock formations (some more than 300 feet high) standing like silent sentinels throughout the area.
Another must-see spot is the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy north of the city, which is the most popular manmade attraction in the entire state. The 150-foot tall aluminum spires on the glass and steel architectural masterpiece can be spotted from several miles away.
This town of about 400,000 residents also has its very own five-star hotel, The Broadmoor, which lies at the base of scenic Cheyenne Mountain, south of town. It is singular and elegant but has always struck me as a bit too European for the west. My perennial favorite place to stay continues to be the Cheyenne Mountain Resort, located just minutes away from the Broadmoor, with the same phenomenal scenery in a much more laid-back setting.
I’ve been coming to the Cheyenne Mountain Resort since the ’80s, and staying here gets better every time. I get a thrill every time I walk into its soaring wood-beamed lobby (photo left) with its floor-to-ceiling-and-then-some windows where the mountains look close enough to touch. The resort’s many amenities include an 18-hole championship Pete Dye-designed golf course (photo above); five swimming pools; tennis and racquetball courts; a health and fitness center; aquatics center (with indoor and outdoor Olympic-sized pools), plus a 35-acre lake where you can sail, swim and even roast marshmallows at night around the fire pit.
There’s just nothing better than having a glass of wine in the early evening on the massive outdoor stone deck, with the mountains in full view. The airy Mountain View restaurant specializes in Colorado Fusion, using organic meat, wild game and produce (some grown on the property) in a southwestern/western presentation and on Sundays features an impressive champagne brunch.
Finally, do not leave town without visiting the Mission Bell Inn in Manitou Springs, where the Masias family has been serving fantastic Mexican food for half a century in the same wooded, hacienda-style setting. My mouth is watering just thinking about the enchiladas …
Photos by Michael Rybak