Exploring Garden of the Gods and Manitou Cliff Dwellings
Although there is a TON to do in the Colorado Springs area, exploring Garden of the Gods and Manitou Cliff Dwellings came highly recommended and we just had to check them out! After visiting both, not sure we could pass through the area again without stopping by.
Garden of The Gods
We were staying just south of Pueblo, CO at the time, which as you may already know, is no where close to Colorado Springs. Just so happens that picking Memorial Day weekend to explore Colorado Springs isn’t the wisest of choices due to availability in campgrounds/RV Parks. So Pueblo it was.
Both Deanna and I had seen tons of other YouTubers swinging through Garden of the Gods of course prior to wanting to go ourselves, one of our main influencing factors. However, one thing I’ve noticed with many vlog style videos, it tends to focus on the vloggers rather than the beautiful nature that surrounds them. I know you don’t want to look at my face, so if you haven’t already, check out our video showing off the area at the top of this post.
Parking/Trails
Although there are quite a few places to park along the road that loops around Garden of the Gods, unless you get there early, finding a parking spot can be a chore. We ended up giving up and just parking in the overflow or large lot towards the east entrance of the park. The advantage of parking along the loop is that you are right next to the trails and the huge towering rocks, if you can find a spot.
None of the trails that we encountered throughout Garden of the Gods were really all that difficult. Most everything was paved and the trails that weren’t were under construction to eventually be paved. I believe there are a few dirt trails you can take during particular seasons, but they were closed due to some different animals nesting along those sites.
All in all there are about 15 miles of trails throughout the park you can check out. Since we had the dog with us, we took it a bit easier, but there is quite a bit to explore.
Garden of the Gods Dog Friendly?
Garden of the Gods is most definitely dog friendly. We saw tons of other dogs along the hike and everyone of course wanted to know what type of dog Blaze was or if he was a retired racer (typical greyhound questions we get on each hike). Just keep the dog on a leash and they will have the time of their lives!
10 Garden of the Gods Fun Facts
If you are like me, I enjoy learning a few interesting or fun facts about a location to keep in the back of my mind while exploring the area. Here are a few about Garden of The Gods.
- Elevation of the Area is 6,400 ft
- There is evidence that prehistoric people visited the area around 1330 BC.
- There are multiple entrances, a few from the south and one from the east.
- Main Parking Lot is on the North End, with overflow at the east entrance
- There are Horseback Tours of Garden of the Gods
- Garden of the Gods is completely free of charge
- You can drive through Garden of the Gods rather than hiking
- What caused the Garden of the Gods? They were once sand dunes like Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Garden of the Gods is a registered National Natural Landmark
- Garden of the Gods is 480 acres in size.
Manitou Cliff Dwellings
While heading towards Colorado Springs, we were for sure going to hit up Garden of The Gods as it was our ultimate goal for the trip. However, when researching before driving that direction, we came across some epic CLIFF Dwellings called Manitou Cliff Dwellings. Neither of us had ever been to a place like that before, so if we had time we were going to check it out.
Guess what!? We had time!
Cost/Parking
Manitou Cliff Dwellings costs $10 per adult and $7.50 per kiddo as of May 2019. To us, this was more than worth the price just to see the very first cliff dwellings we had ever seen in our lives…in person.
There is plenty of parking even on a busy day, but you may have to walk up a bit of an incline if you get there when the parking lot is already packed. We happened to get a spot right by the entrance and it was time to explore!
What is so special about Manitou Cliff Dwellings?
These cliffs dwellings….were dwellings! People actually used to live in these structure and it is amazing to see how they planned out the different layers of each household. Some buildings held 3 families and others held 9! No, these are very large into today’s standards of living as our RV is actually more spacious, BUT still amazing.
These dwellings are 800-1000 years old so just being able to experience these well-preserved dwellings is absolutely fantastic.
To find out more on the history of this area, check out the official Museum website.
Dog Friendly!
I must admit, as we were originally looking at this place, we didn’t have any idea how dog friendly it was. We figured we would be able to have Blaze chill in the parking lot while we took turns. BUT, Blaze was able to go explore literally everything include the museum itself. I like me some dog friendly places in Colorado!
OTHER NEARBY ADVENTURES
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park
NOTE FROM WRITER
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Also be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog, The Harvest Skillet, when you get the chance! A lot of awesome and healthy recipes to use there!
Adventure On!
