Colorado Springs
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Pikes Peak serves as a rousing welcome. From just about any vantage point in the city, you can spy the landmark hovering above in all its glory. Taking the Barr National Recreation Trail to the summit on horseback or on foot are some of the fun things to do here. You can catch the Pikes Peak Highway 10 miles west. A 19-mile toll road leading to the 14,110-foot summit begins above the timberline at 7,400 feet. While you’re in the area, investigate the Cave of the Winds. And at the base of Pikes Peak is Garden of the Gods Park, a must-see freebie where the Great Plains meet the Rockies.
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Be sure to save a day for museum hopping on your vacation. See Native American, Hispanic and 20th-century American art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, and stay for a play afterward. Take in displays about the history of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. And learn about the history and champions of rodeo at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy.
Getting There
By Car
North-south access is via I-25, which skirts the eastern face of the Rocky Mountains and is concurrent with US 85/87 through much of Colorado. I-25 is the fast route into or through Colorado Springs, with interchanges at major streets; US 85/87 leaves the interstate briefly in favor of downtown streets. Another major north-south thoroughfare is Powers Boulevard (SR 21), which runs near the airport in the eastern section of the city.Yet another north-south route leading into town is Nevada Avenue (SR 115 in the southern part of the city), which offers a shortcut from US 50 between Cañon City and Pueblo. East-west travel is via US 24, which comes into the city from the eastern plains as Platte Avenue and from the western mountains through Ute Pass.
Getting Around
Street System
I-25 is the major north-south artery and fastest means of travel through Colorado Springs. Nevada Avenue (SR 115 in the southern section of the city) runs parallel to I-25 and provides access to many downtown streets.US 24 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Bypass) travels east to west, becoming Platte Avenue when it crosses I-25 into the eastern section of the city; it leads to Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak in the west. East-west roads that interchange with I-25 are Garden of the Gods Road, Fillmore Street, Woodmen Road and Uintah Street.