Colorado Springs/Pike's Peak/Etc.

[Royalfan5 2355]

Headed out to Colorado on Friday, should get down to Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs on Saturday. Planning on hitting the Olympic Museum on Saturday, and have our Cog Rail tickets for Pike's Peak Sunday Morning. Not near in good enough shape to fuck with trying to hike the incline. Besides Garden of the God's any other good recommendations of places to see or eat as we will be there through Tuesday morning. 

[Carl Spackler 3504]

Royal Gorge is pretty cool -- a little over an hour away from the Springs.  But based on your moniker, you probably already knew that.

I thought Ristorante del Lago at the Broadmoor was good for upscale Italian, but a friend was underwhelmed, so YMMV.  The Broadmoor itself is worth checking out -- the grounds are gorgeous.  It's not far from Garden of the Gods.

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Carl Spackler

[6th Street 6508]

There's a zoo next to Broadmoor that lets you feed the giraffes which is pretty cool.

Manitou cliff dwellings are worth a quick stop. Haven't been to Cave of the Winds, but heard mixed reviews.

Whataburger just opened their first CO location in Springs as well. 

[Updawg 2286]

Air Force academy is worth checking out

[6th Street 6508]

Don't forget to hit the breweries! 

https://vanlifewanderer.com/2022/04/14/the-8-best-breweries-in-colorado-springs/

 

[bluto 4942]

1 hour ago, Updawg said:

Air Force academy is worth checking out

Do look ahead to see if the chapel is under renovation still. It was a sarcophagus block when I went. 

[squib 1125]

Have done the wine pairing, chef's table at the Broadmoor multiple times. The facility is vey nice. Pretty place. 

Garden of the Gods is a nice couple of hours. 

Brewery recs above are good. 

AirForce Academy Is great. The friend I visit there has a box suite for the football games. Good times if you can catch a game. They do pretty crazy flyovers before the game as you can imagine. 

Here is rec a bit off the beaten path: The Pepper Tree. Have had multiple good steaks here and like the preparation. 

https://peppertreecs.com/

 

 

[mbtex 683]

Denver Biscuit Co, King's Chef Diner for Breakfast both are excellent.

[landman 559]

Seven Falls is pretty cool to see.  And the wife and I stopped at the North Pole last summer on a whim (free entry helped) and got a kick out of it.

Great breakfast at Mountain Shadows Restaurant.

 

[Surly Bevo 25151]

See if you can beat this time

 

[Covri 6253]

Was in Colorado Springs back in July we did the pikes rail line to the top that was cool even though fog rolled and blocked the view. There is a spot in town that has a whole ton of old Timey arcade games and rides so we did that for a few hours to kill time before the ride up to pikes Peak. We did garden of the gods that was cool various trails to walk or you can just drive around. We did the zoo only took the morning since we got there right when they opened and then did lunch at this place nearby, was pretty good Neapolitan pizza imo ducaspizza.com.  We didn’t end up doing royal gorge but some of my family did and they liked it. If you have small kids There is a year-round Santa’s workshop that has a bunch of rides that were surprisingly fun for the kids in the middle of the summer weather was nice and it’s a bunch of like kids rides basically. We drove through the Air Force Academy but the chapel was blocked by the scaffolding as mentioned above but even driving around the Grounds was pretty cool. The best thing about being in Colorado at the end of July was the weather so sometimes we just sat outside and enjoyed not sweating the whole time lol. Might be different this time of year.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

2 hours ago, Covri said:

Was in Colorado Springs back in July we did the pikes rail line to the top that was cool even though fog rolled and blocked the view. There is a spot in town that has a whole ton of old Timey arcade games and rides so we did that for a few hours to kill time before the ride up to pikes Peak. We did garden of the gods that was cool various trails to walk or you can just drive around. We did the zoo only took the morning since we got there right when they opened and then did lunch at this place nearby, was pretty good Neapolitan pizza imo ducaspizza.com.  We didn’t end up doing royal gorge but some of my family did and they liked it. If you have small kids There is a year-round Santa’s workshop that has a bunch of rides that were surprisingly fun for the kids in the middle of the summer weather was nice and it’s a bunch of like kids rides basically. We drove through the Air Force Academy but the chapel was blocked by the scaffolding as mentioned above but even driving around the Grounds was pretty cool. The best thing about being in Colorado at the end of July was the weather so sometimes we just sat outside and enjoyed not sweating the whole time lol. Might be different this time of year.

Il Vicino is pretty good for pizza.  My son works close by there and recommended it.  

[Hermanator 7174]

I didn't like the rail up to Pike's Peak. Awkward trip up staring right at strangers then they barely gave you enough time to take a peek around before you had to catch the one back down. 

I want to go back but find another way up. I'd pay more just to have a better experience. 

[Royalfan5 2355]

The Olympic Museum is really well done if you are into that sort of thing.

[EuroHorn 3268]

….

Edited October 15, 2022 by EuroHorn

[EuroHorn 3268]

On 10/12/2022 at 3:27 PM, bluto said:

Do look ahead to see if the chapel is under renovation still. It was a sarcophagus block when I went. 

It was that way last November 

[Crapinon 2269]

The arcade in down town Manitou is pretty cool. We also made a trip to Mueller State park about an hour or so away. Beautiful and not crowded. Miramont Castle is also cool if you like old architecture. Supposedly haunted. I don't really believe in the ghost stuff, But when we were there my wife and I were on the top floor and she was in a very small room where some of the nuns slept. I was in the hallway outside. She called out "what do you want?" I stuck my head in the door and ask her who she was talking to. She looked at me and said she felt someone continually brushing against her leg and hand and though it was me trying to get her attention.   

It was funny also to see how crowded the dispensaries got at 5 O'clock. There would be no one there during the day but at 5:15 there were lines out the door.

[Royalfan5 2355]

I’d also say the Buffalo Lodge that we are staying at in Manitou Springs is nice change of pace lodging. It’s an old school motor court type place that caters to bicyclists now, but doesn’t require riding. Reminds me of the cattle country motels my Grandpa used to stay at when we’d go out to looking at ranches and Native American sites.

[mchookem 16386]

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is just about the nicest one we've visited, the large animal pens built into the side of the mountain are really well done.

[UpperWestside 6190]

I would suggest stopping at The Kitchen in Manitou Springs. It is run by a local and his better half who is from Arkansas. The food is southern and it is open for breakfast and lunch. Fun fact is that the better half’s brother is Matt Turner. He would best be known as the guy who coached the McCown’s in Jacksonville and then was the head coach in Gilmer for five seasons until he retired in 2020.

[Royalfan5 2355]

Got a guided walking tour of the Air Force Academy from a 71 graduate today that was pretty neat

[Kevin O’Shea 279]

Anyone know if there’s any Texas Exes watch party or any good bars for Longhorn games? 

[Herbie Hancock 7376]

Anyone know if there’s any Texas Exes watch party or any good bars for Longhorn games? 

Not a Texas Ex spot, but Mash Mechanix is a damn good brewery and they have a shit ton of TV’s. I watched our embarrassing loss to Kansas there last year. They probably had 6-8 different games on and it didn’t get very crowded at all.