On Walkabout At: Palmer Park After a Ice Storm

Basic Information

• What: Palmer Park
• Where: Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Cost: Free
• More Information: Colorado Springs website

Narrative

This winter the Colorado Springs region has been hit with a number of ice storms that are caused when foggy weather rolls in and freezes everything in its path.  This causes temperatures, visibility, and driving conditions to be rather miserable while the fog lasts, but when it lifts the scenery becomes quite beautiful while the ice remains on the trees:

Here is a closer look at the ice that clings to the branches of all the plant life while it melts off of all the harder surfaces such as rock and the roads:

On a recent weekend after the fog lifted I quickly drove over to Palmer Park in the middle of Colorado Springs to take some pictures.  You can learn more about the park at the below link which describes my prior hike around the park:

• On Walkabout On: Palmer Park’s Templeton Trail

Getting to the park was a race against time because the ice melts pretty quickly once the sun comes out.  As I neared Palmer Park I could tell I was going to be able to take some really nice photos:

As I drove into the park I kept having to stop on the road to take pictures of the spectacular scenery:

The first place I drove over to was one of the most prominent over looks in the park, Sentinel Point to take some pictures of the 14,115 foot Pikes Peak which had just emerged from the quickly receding fog:

Needless to say the view was absolutely spectacular:

I kept moving to different locations along the cliff to take pictures of the beautiful view:

Here is a panorama photo I took of the view from Sentinel Point at Palmer Park:

I next drove over to Grandview Point to take a few more pictures of the quickly melting scenery.

Once again the views looking out across the park were quite spectacular:

Here is a panorama from Grandview Point looking out across the various bluffs that compose Palmer Park:

Conclusion

Palmer Park is a great place to visit within Colorado Springs to go hiking and to take pictures of the scenery.  However, I found that after one of these ice storms the scenery is only further enhanced and makes for even better photographs.  I highly recommend heading over to the park after one of these ice storms and seeing it for yourself.