Manitou Springs: Springs, Trails, and Historic Discoveries

Manitou Springs combines unusual mineral springs, mountain trails, and an impressive local history. Fountain Creek flows through Soda Springs Park, a 1.9-acre green space in the downtown area. Eight naturally carbonated mineral springs and mountain views characterize this place, which also serves as a venue for outdoor festivals, concerts, and recreational activities. For planning your trip, the early question is therefore whether you want to focus your stay more on nature experiences, historic discoveries, or a mixture of both.

Mountain Trails and Paths Through Downtown

Manitou Springs offers more than nine miles of trails as well as more than 300 acres of protected open space. The Paul Intemann Memorial Nature Trail is a more than five-mile-long mountain hiking trail above Manitou Springs, Colorado. The Intemann Trail runs along the southern edge of town to Section 16. Those who want to compare different routes will also find clear differences in length and elevation gain: The Barr Trail begins in Manitou Springs and leads to the summit of Pikes Peak as a 26-mile round-trip route.

Another notable challenge is the Manitou Incline with its 2,768 steps. The route is less than one mile long and climbs almost 2,000 vertical feet. Take these details into account when planning your day and choose your excursions based on the type of route you prefer. For a different kind of activity, a section of the Creek Walk Trail runs from Mayfair Avenue to the Old Man’s Trail. This section is a safe, accessible, and scenic multi-use path through downtown. The Creek Walk Trail also improves pedestrian and bicycle connections through Manitou Springs.

There is also something to discover underground: Cave of the Winds Mountain Park offers guided cave tours into the Manitou Grand Caverns. This allows you to add an experience to a day outdoors that does not take place on mountain trails or in parks.

Mineral Springs and Local History

The special role of water is part of the character of Manitou Springs. The mineral springs are naturally carbonated by water in underground cave aquifers. A tour of eight naturally carbonated cold mineral springs is available. Twin Spring is used to make Manitou Lemonade and Manitou Mojitos. At Soda Springs Park, you can combine this history of the springs with time spent in a downtown green space.

The Manitou Springs Historic District encompasses almost the entire town and is representative of resort communities from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Notable buildings include Miramont Castle, a National Historic Landmark built in 1895 with nine architectural styles. The castle offers self-guided museum tours featuring exhibits from the Victorian era, local history, and the Manitou Springs Fire Department exhibit. The Manitou Springs Heritage Museum also presents the “Van Briggle Art Pottery” exhibit, with dozens of ceramic pieces from its collection.

Other historic sites include the stone Manitou Spa Building, built around Cheyenne Spring in 1893, and the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade. More than 500 arcade machines and children’s rides are spread across several historic buildings there. For families with children, this is a specific experience in addition to the nature and cultural attractions. Art on the Avenue complements the town’s attractions as a continuously changing outdoor gallery that supports individual sculptors and provides them with sales opportunities. The Emma Crawford Coffin Races began in 1995 and are a Manitou Springs tradition.

Which Accommodation Fits Your Trip Plans?

When choosing a vacation apartment or vacation home, you can first determine the focus you want: Should springs, museums, and historic buildings shape your stay, or would you rather spend your time mainly on mountain trails and longer hikes? Downtown connects the Creek Walk Trail with Soda Springs Park and several cultural points of interest; the mountain trails, by contrast, require their own time and route decisions. This way, you can find accommodation suited to your personal travel plans without having to separate nature, history, and shared discoveries from one another.

For further trip planning, you can also select Fountain, Colorado Springs, Monument, Calhan, Cimarron Hills, Cascade-Chipita Park and Peyton.

For the broader travel overview: El Paso.