The Perfect Family Friendly Itinerary for Colorado Springs

Mar 1
9 min read

Whenever my family and I go on road trips, we visit all the states surrounding California, such as Arizona, Utah, and Oregon, but we always skip Colorado. So, naturally, we were excited to finally visit it! I decided to only go with my daughters, and we made it a girls trip. We booked our flight to the Colorado Springs airport instead of flying into Denver, and it was a great choice. The airport was way closer to everything that we wanted to do.

Day 1

After arriving, we picked up our rental car from Budget and immediately headed over to Broadmoor Falls. I bought our tickets online ahead of time to ensure our entry. It was a short thirty minute drive from the airport, and before we knew it, we were entering the park! Entry is $19 per adult, and $12 per youth. It may seem overpriced, but it's totally worth it. Once you arrive and park your car, there’s a shuttle that takes you in to the entrance of the falls. It's about a ten minute drive, and you get some great sightseeing on the way. The first thing you notice is the dramatic box canyon. With its jagged cliffs and narrow alleyways, its easy to understand how it gets its name as The Grandest Mile of Scenery in Colorado.

As we drove up to the waterfalls, we were amazed by how huge they are! It has seven cascading waterfalls, and together they're 1,250 feet high. You can view the falls from so many different viewpoints, which is nice, because if one viewpoint isn't accessible for you, you can just go to another one. There’s also the option of taking 224 narrow stairs up to the very top, if you're up for it. Not gonna lie, it’s very intimidating and I didn’t want to do the climb. Still, I’m glad I did it, even though I was super worried the entire time. We all worked together and counted our breaths until we made it back down safely. That is definitely a memory we’ll hold onto. On the way back out, we enjoyed a stop at the visitor center and tried their local handmade ice cream. It was so delicious. We took our time walking back as the sun went down, and we saw a bear on the way!

It was honestly so hard leaving this place. It seriously needs a full day, so you’re not rushed and can soak in all the beauty.

Afterwards, we headed to an El Salvadoran restaurant called Monses. The line was out the door, and we were in it for at least an hour, However, it was totally worth the wait! We ordered various pupusas and horchatas, and once they arrived, we dug in. The food was fantastic. The portions were huge, so we took some home but this place is one for the books! I’m still dreaming of going back for this.

After we filled up our bellies, we realized we were exhausted after a day of travel and hiking. Definitely ready for a dip in some hot springs! We made reservations at the sun water spa in Manitou Springs. At this place, you can reserve cedar soaking tubs with mineral rich waters sourced from the seven minute springs nearby. It was so relaxing to just sit and enjoy the stars. Unfortunately, the tubs aren't very private so you'll be pretty close to other people. Also, you can’t adjust the temperature of the water...and it was over priced. Plus, it’s not very kid friendly... Nonetheless, I'm glad we experienced it. It was a great way to end our first day, but I wouldn't come back with the kids. If you do come here, definitely make it a couples thing.

After our eventful first day in Colorado Springs, we went to check into the Cheyenne Mountain Resort, which is located at the base of...Cheyenne Mountain. The room was absolutely gorgeous, with rustic decor and a private balcony that had the most stunning views of the mountains and property. It was massive! There was tennis, golf, and pickleball. There were five heated swimming pools and a twenty-five acre private lake to enjoy! There’s a delicious restaurant and a spa. I was so excited to be staying here and the kids were on cloud nine!

Day 2

We woke up bright and early the next day and headed to enjoy the Mountain View restaurant breakfast buffet. Usually, I'm not a fan of buffets, but this one was to die for! There was everything from cereals, granola, yogurt, fruits, pastries, eggs, omelets, waffles and more! Anything your heart could desire was there. The appetizing food was so filling and while eating you can enjoying breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountain front range and excellent service. It was definitely a royal way to start our day.

After breakfast, we made our way to the Garden of the Gods. I researched so much about this place and I was so excited to get there and start exploring all the red sandstone formations. First, we stopped at the visitor center, which was humongous. We took our time exploring and learning as we worked on Junior Ranger booklets and learned about the geology, ecology and cultural history. We did it all before entering the park, and it made the anticipation that much greater!

We had our maps and guides in hand as we made our way in and started the main hike of the park. The park isn’t actually that big, so we were able to do the big loop that takes you through all the major rock formations within a few hours. We stayed longer after the hike because of the millions of photo opportunities. Be sure not to miss the balanced rock, kissing camels and Siamese twins! There are so many unique formations and so much beauty, so be sure to not miss any time you can spend here if you’re passing through the area or staying nearby!

Of course, we always have to make the most of every minute when we travel, so we rushed over to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Normally, I don’t like visiting zoos due to animal welfare concerns and conservation impact, but this one was actually very different! The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo participates in over 30 species survival programs and it’s a private zoo, which means they have a bit more leeway than other ones. It stands at an elevation of 6,714 feet, and this is such an advantage to the animals, because it mimics their natural habitat. It also makes for a unique and authentic experience.

When we first entered, we immediately went to enjoy the giraffe experience, where you can purchase lettuce to feed the giraffes. As you feed them, they come down so close you can almost kiss them! This was such an exceptional experience we all loved. We didn’t want to leave, but it got super crowded and we were tight on time, so we moved on.

After we left the giraffes, we came across elephants you can also hand-feed! And the best part of all was when we were walking and we saw wallabies right next to us! They were just hanging out and you can pet them! We were mind blown and just couldn’t believe our eyes. They were so cute and you can even see them carrying their babies in their pouches. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. They were in as natural an environment as possible, which made the experience that much cooler. The employees were wonderful at talking to us about conservation and the animals, and the kids really enjoyed it all. Just walking in the zoo was epic because of the high elevation, and the way it’s laid out with huge open spaces for the animals felt like a safari. I can’t recommend a family stop here enough. Hands down the coolest zoo we've ever been to!

After the zoo closed and we were practically forced out, we headed to downtown Colorado Springs to find some dinner and dessert. We headed to Bambino’s Urban Pizzeria, where you can make your own pizza or choose a pre-prepared one, which was great for an indecisive person like me. We all enjoyed this place as it was delectable, lowkey and family friendly.

Downtown is amazing with so many shops to grab cute souvenirs, multiple food options, and the yummiest dessert spots! I had heard fantastic things about this ice cream place called Frozen Gold, where they have regular soft serve, but coated with any kind of topping you want! Hot Cheetos, M&M's, Skittles, sprinkles, Pop Rocks, Oreo crumbs, even chips! Besides the amazing toppings, the quality of the soft serve was perfect and mouthwatering.

Who knew Colorado Springs would deliver when it comes to scrumptious flavors?!

Day 3: The Last Day

I was so sad that we only had one day left, because I still had an endless list of things to do and see, and this trip felt way too short! Of course, we made the most of the day....

We woke up bright and early and headed to Loyal Coffee and breakfast for a quick grab and go. We enjoyed leftovers as we made our way to Cave of the Winds Mountain Park, where we were so excited to explore caves and get on some rides and have fun! Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating, as it was pouring rain. We were worried we wouldn’t be able to do any rides. Good thing they were still open, so we decided to start with the cave tour and pray the weather cleared up by the time we got out. My girls, aged 13 and 10, wanted to do the haunted lantern tour, which is 90 minutes long and you're guided only by a lantern and scary stories. I decided to opt out of that and did the discovery tour to learn more about the cave history and geology.

The tour was very informative, it's so hard to believe that this is one of the highest caves in the United States, at 7000 feet. For more adventurous seekers, they also offer a cave tour that involves climbing and crawling through tight and dark spaces.

By the time we got out, the weather was better, but it was still raining so they couldn’t open any of the attractions. Except for the wind walker challenge course, which my daughter, Raya, did with the rain and freezing weather! She did amazing and loved it. Unfortunately, our time here was cut short due to the weather, but hopefully we can go back someday and ride the terror-dactyl. (It's a ride that drops you 200 feet into the Williams canyon at 100mph!) I’ve never seen anything like this park and really can’t wait to come back and take full advantage. Also, even if you don’t do any of the rides or cave tours, you should still drive up here and take in the views of Williams canyon, Pikes Peak and all the surrounding beauty!

As we were driving down, it was raining on and off, so I decided to check out one more spot, which was the Manitou Cliff Dwellings just a couple minutes down the road. I've always wanted to visit these structures that date back 800 to 1,000 years of the ancestral Pueblan People. The kids and I were in awe as we walked around and explored the stone rooms, while listening to the audio tour and imagining living in the days of the past inhabitants. The museum and visitor center was amazing to explore, and there were some unique pieces we brought home.

After, we headed to lunch at the garden of gods resort at the grand view restaurant. It has one heck of a panoramic view of the formations around us. This restaurant was so fancy and felt like a real treat. The service was top notch and the dishes were perfect. We enjoyed every minute here and soaked in the views as we walked outside, taking some pictures. Honestly, a stay at this property would be just as amazing, if not more. I highly recommend a stop here, even if you just come for drinks, dessert, and the views.

Later, we headed to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic museum, and the kids were so excited about this! As soon as we entered, we got your lanyards and cards after signing in on, so we could be a part of the interactive sports demonstrations. (Including a 30 meter dash, skiing, archery, hockey, and more.) It sends all of the scores to your email so you can view them later. We aren’t necessarily the biggest fans of watching the Olympics, but after this, we got so excited, especially about the paralympics. We loved the film at the end, which had us in tears, and the display of all the torches from 1936 until today! We were in awe. A stop in Colorado Springs needs a trip here, so don’t miss it!

At this point, we were cutting it pretty tight as our flight was only in 2 hours! But I knew I had to take the kids to get some of that delicious soft serve from Frozen Gold...and some cookies from Mary’s Mountain Cookies! Still dreaming of these goodies!