Colorado Spring Trip

October is a great time to sea fall foliage in Colorado. We have been to Colorado in fall in the past and we really like it. This time, we decided to visit again in another part of Colorado, Colorado Spring.

We fly into Denver airport with Southwest airline. It was around 15k Southwest reward points round trip per adult and using our Southwest companion pass for the kid. Stayed a night in Hyatt Place Denver airport with 8k Hyatt points. After a good night sleep, we rented a car and drove to Colorado Spring.

First destination is Cheyenne Moutain Zoo. We have been to multiple zoos before and this is quite unique. It is on the hill and the landscape is very pretty. The weather in the early morning was a little bit gloomy and foggy, pretty interesting experience in the zoo. The entrance ticket price varies according to the pricing calendar. They are required advanced ticket booking online. Please check their website for more detail.

The zoo is separated into 5 different zones (regions). Each of the zone has unique animals from different region, similar to another zoo layout. However, since it is on the hill, it doesn't seem to spread out too wide but also expand up hill.

First time seeing a bear up close!

A line of penguines walking around and up close. So cute!

There is also a playground well situated around the center of the zoo. Kids love it.

There is also a mountaineer sky ride that is being charged separately that take you up to the mountain summit which has a children playground. The sky ride is like open space gondola.

After few hours of zoo visit, we checked in at Hyatt Place Colorado Springs/Garden of The Gods (booked with 8k Hyatt points). We had some rest and head out to the nearby Garden of the Gods. This is one of the main destinations of this trip. We took a brief visit to the visitor and nature center, got the map and head over to the park. This park is voted as top 3 park in US. The entrance to the park is free and there are multiple easy pavements for hiking and strolling. We also see some rock climber climbing up the amazing big rocks.

What fun it does just watching other people? The kids start climbing the rocks themselves albeit much lower and safer rock.

These are some of the popular rocks: South Gateway Rock, North Gateway Rock, Kissing Camels, Gray (Cathedral) Rock, Sleeping Giant, Three Graces, Balanced Rock. Can you spot the kissing camels?

The Oscar award goes to...

After few hours of hiking, what's better than having dinner at an Indian restaurant. We had our dinner at Norbu’s Himalayan Hut. You better start eating if you ever eat Indian food together with our family..

After a good night rest and a nice complimentary breakfast at Hyatt place hotel, we headed to Pokes Peak Mountain, the second most visited mountain in the world (behind Mount Fuji). Pikes Peak is the highest peak of the farther east of Rocky Mountains. Its fame was also from the phrase 'Pikes Peak or Burst' for the year 1859 gold rush in Colorado. We headed to Pikes Peak - American's Mountain entrance and waited in the lines.

It was early morning and we can see the car lines start forming. After the gate open, we started our journey up.

The scenery is beautiful. We enjoyed our drive and took few stops along the way. It was a sunny day and the weather is great. We were a little late for the fall foliage but still able to see some at certain area. After a couple of hours, we finally reached the Pikes Peak summit. There are few ways to get to the summit. By car like us, or by train. The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway has a 3.5 hour round trip journey from the Manitou Depot to the Pikes Peak summit visitor center.

On the way down, we also take a short detour to North Catamount reservoir and spend sometimes enjoying the lake.

Next, we headed toward Cripple Creek. At this time, we haven't seen much of the fall foliage scenery. There were some patches here and there but not too much. However, on the way to Cripple Creek, there were still some beautiful fall foliage scenes from time to time.

We reached our destination at Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. The world-famous gold mine tour that takes you descend 100 stories into the earth and experience the mining sounds, equipment and see the gold veins. This was an interesting experience to all of us. We knew the kids especially didi would be very excited on this. This was actually beyond our expectation, as real as it can be to see the underground mining condition. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and hilarious.

At the end of the tour, we also got to pick a small rock as souvenir.

The next morning, we headed to the popular Manitou Incline. This is about 2768 steps to the top. Mommy somehow thought it was fun to do this lol. We came early but it was still pretty hard to find parking due to its very limited parking. The seem to be free buses from the city, or we were given some tips of park at Barr Trailhead a little bit further down from the cog railway parking lot. This parking space appears to be designated for Barr trail hiker. But it suits to us seems we would be coming back through this trail (little that we knew ahead).

The kids are determined to climb all the way up! The adults are actually behind in this lol. We took multiple breaks and at some point pass 1600 steps it seems to get a little steep. At 1800 steps, there is a place for resting with benches and also a connection to Barr tail. Nice. It is meant to be for us to stop here. We told the kids we are going to stop here. Mommy was already behind and needed break. The hikes way down on the Barr trail was quite smooth and easy. Overall it was about 2 miles hike back to our car. The weather is nice so it definitely makes the hike enjoyable.

Next, we headed north all the way to Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a national park so we were able to use the 4th grade free entrance pass. If you have any 4th grader, sign up a free pass at Every Kid Outdoors website. The pass admits all children under 16 and up to three adults for free.

Depending on the time of the year you are visiting, certain times require timed entry reservation if you are planning to visit some of the popular are of the park. See more details at the park website.

Due to time constraints, we took the Bear Lake Rd and headed to the Bear Lake. It was toward late afternoon, and we were glad to find parking. The view of the lake and the mountain backdrop are spectacular. Although there isn't any more fall color, but it was still very beautiful. We took a stroll around the lake and really enjoy the weather and scenery. This easily could be a few days visit in this huge park.