On Walkabout On: The Mesa Road Overlook

One of the most popular places for photographers to take photos of the Garden of the Gods is at the overlook off of Mesa Road.  Here is a picture I took from the overlook last month before the recent snow storms hit:

I will need to go back over there and try to take some pictures from the overlook with Pikes Peak currently covered in snow due to the recent Spring snowstorms we have been having here in Colorado.  Regardless of whether there is a heavy snow pack on Pikes Peak, the views from the overlook are impressive.  Here is a picture of North Gateway Rock backdropped by the 14,115 foot Pikes Peak:

The easiest way to reach the overlook is by taking Garden of the Gods Road to the park and then just off of N. 30th Street the turnoff to Mesa Road is quite obvious.  Just a short drive up Mesa Road there is a parking lot where the overlook is located:

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Besides views of the Garden of the Gods the overlook also provides good views of the burn scar from the June 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire that tragically burned hundreds of homes in Colorado Springs.  Here is a view looking towards the burn scar and in the middle is the Queen’s Canyon Quarry:

The quarry has been closed for many years and a lot of effort has been made to restore it.  It is in fact home to a large mountain goat population now.  Due to the hill side being deforested because of the old quarry this actually saved the lives of the mountain goats since the mining scar did not burn.  Here is a closer look at the mining scar where the goats live:

Here is a look at Queen’s Canyon next to the old quarry that did burn:

In the foreground of the above picture you can see one of the old homes of Colorado Springs’ founder General William Jackson Palmer.  His old property includes a castle that he built for his wife named Queen who was from England.  His property was called Glen Eyrie and this historic property is now owned by the Christian group called the Navigators.  Glen Eyrie was nearly burned down during the fire.  Fortunately the efforts of the fire fighters as well as the wind changing direction helped to save this beautiful and historic property.  Here is a closer look at Queen’s Canyon where it is easily visible where the fire was stopped before reaching Glen Eyrie:

This final picture just show some more the Rampart Range hill sides that were burned during the fire:

As summer comes the concern here in Colorado Springs is that the rains are going to heavily erode the deforested hill sides and cause mudslides.  Considering how deforested these mountain now are I think this is a legitimate concern.  Anyway for anyone wanting to get a good overview of the area around the Garden of the Gods I highly recommend stopping and checking out the Mesa Road overlook.

By the way you can read more about my visits to the Garden of the Gods at the below links:

• The Garden of the Gods Perimeter Trail
• Winter Time In the Garden of the Gods
• Christmas at the Garden of the Gods
• Siamese Twins Trail