Garden of the Gods: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Can we be honest here? Let’s talk about the Garden of the Gods. I feel like this place never gets any ‘real talk.’

And it’s because Garden of the Gods gets these amazing reviews – I’ve had friends talk this place up like it’s the Taj Mahal, when, essentially, it’s a city park.

Garden of the Gods has always been way, way down on my USA bucket list – it’s one of those, ‘if I’m in the area…” kind of places. I’ve seen photos and was mildly impressed – it’s red rocks, and I’ve seen red rocks plenty of times before.

Yet, I couldn’t shake the FOMO – just too many gushing reviews that I’ve heard from other people who have visited Garden of the Gods, so I wanted to make a point to visit on this road trip. Plus, it’s very dog friendly and I had Luke with me – any place he can go is a plus with me!

Overall, this is the place to go if you just want to snap some pics of red rocks for Instagram and get back in your car.

It’s free and maintained by the city

It is free, it’s well-maintained, and it’s pretty small. If you’re expecting National Park-like vistas and hikes, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. If you just want to drive around and snap a few pics of rock formations, you might like it (that is, if you can find a spot to pull over . If you’re looking for epic hikes, this is not the place.

Driving around isn’t the best way to explore
Want to come here and drive around, snapping pics? Well, I suppose you could do this, but there are very few pullouts, and when you do see one, it’s probably already occupied by another car. Also, be prepared to be stuck behind a trolley tour – your drive will be slowed down to a crawl; there is no way to pass these tours.

It’s well-manicured
Garden of the Gods is very well maintained. Most of the trails around the main rock formations are smoothly paved.

But to me, this is almost a negative – on one hand, I love that Garden of the Gods is well-kept. But on the other hand, I like rugged hikes and the feeling of being out in nature. This felt too much like Disneyland.

After our hike, I drove the rest of the park road. There were a few pullouts and other small parking lots for more trails, but there was no place to park – be aware of this if you’re planning on driving the road to snap a few photos.

There are plenty of trails, but the trails are very short, paved, easy and extremely crowded. To me, these aren’t hiking trails; they’re nature walks.

It’s very dog friendly – Luke was allowed on all the trails, but I did keep the walks short because although I visited in the fall, temps were still in the high 80s, and it

Garden of the Gods – Loves and Hates
Loves:
It’s free
It’s dog-friendly
Great for those with mobility issues – trails are paved and accessbile.
The gift shops are filled with every kind of touristy shit you can imagine.

Hates:
It’s terribly overrated. If you’ve been to Utah, you will be disappointed.
It’s crowded. I visited on a weekday in the fall during early afternoon and there were people everywhere.
Parking is tough
Difficult to pull over to take photos if you just want to drive the park road

Garden fo t

Bottom line:
If you’ve never seen red rocks before – and don’t have any of the Utah National Parks on your itinerary, sure, make the trip.
If you j

If you’ve been to the Utah parks or even Sedona, and have an hour or two to burn while in the Colorado Springs area, this is simply a nice place to get out and stretch your legs. This is not a place on which to build your entire Colorado road trip or go hours out of your way for, even if you’re in Denver.