On Walkabout On: A 3.5 Hike Around the Garden of the Gods

Basic Information

• Name: Garden of the Gods Trail
• Where: Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Distance: 3.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: 480 feet
• Time: 2 hours
• Difficulty: Easy – Moderate – Hard – Difficult
• More Information: Garden of the Gods website

Topographic Map of the Trail

Narrative

With the warm spring weather we have had recently I decided to take my family out on another hike.  The weekend prior we had hiked the Overlook Trail in Eleven Mile Canyon.  This weekend I let my 4-year old daughter choose where she wanted to go hiking.  Unsurprisingly, considering how much she loves the Garden of the Gods she chose to go to the Garden.  The Garden of the Gods has an extensive trail network so I chose a route around the Garden that would be up to 4-miles in distance that my daughter could handle.  Plus I had to carry my 1-year old son on my back; so up to 4-miles in distance is perfect for me too. Here is a map from the City of Colorado Springs website that shows the Garden’s trail network:

After deciding on the course we would take, my family and I made the drive over to the Garden and parked at the main lot adjacent to North Gateway Rock:

The parking lot was totally full, but fortunately right when we drove in a car was backing out and we were able to quickly snag a parking space.  From the lot we crossed over the road to access the Palmer Trail.  We followed this trail East and passed the below rock outcropping which is well known for being a place to spot bighorn sheep that frequent the area:

Unfortunately as we walked by we did not see any bighorns.  As we continued down the trail it eventually turned into the Susan G. Bretag Trail.  On this section of the trail we had a really nice view of South and North Gateway Rocks backdropped by the 14,115 foot Pikes Peak:

You can read more about Pikes Peak from my previous hikes up this iconic mountain at the below links:

• On Walkabout On: Pikes Peak via Barr Trail
• On Walkabout On: Pikes Peak via the Crags

I could also see the 10,707 foot Cameron Cone rising up in the distance as well:

You can read more about the difficult hike up this mountain at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: Cameron Cone, Colorado

Here is a nice panorama of the Garden of the Gods from the Susan G. Bretag Trail that I took using my iPhone 5S:

As we continued down the trail we had to cross over the main park entrance road.  From there we continued south now on the Ute Trail.  Here is a picture I took looking back towards the North and South Gateway Rocks from the Ute Trail:

The Ute Trail next enters into a small dry lake bed that was covered with green grass:

As we continued down the trail we next found ourselves passing a giant rock formation called “Gray Rock”:

Gray Rock is one of the most impressive rock formations in the Garden and is popular with rock climbers:

In the above picture for those who look closely a group of rock climbers can be seen.  Here is a close up look at these climbers:

As we walked passed Gray Rock we could see the large red rock formation known as “Sleeping Giant” appear:

We next came upon the biggest elevation gain of the hike around the garden which was this small hill:

From the top of the hill we had a really nice view looking back towards Gray Rock:

Also on top of the hill there was a gazebo that had some information signs in them.  I always find old pictures of the Garden of the Gods of interest such as the one pictured below that shows that people a hundred years ago loved this park just as much as the people today:

Here are some more pictures of the Native-American Ute Indians that once frequented the Garden of the Gods:

From the gazebo we crossed over the road to walk the short .5 mile Ridge Loop.  The Ridge Loop had a really nice view of Pikes Peak:

Here is a closer look at Pikes Peak where the Manitou Incline could be seen right below it:

From the top of the Ridge Loop there was a nice view of the small canyon between Gray Rock and the Sleeping Giant:

Here is a panorama picture I took of Gray Rock and the Sleeping Giant from the Ridge Loop:

As we continued around the loop trail we next had to traverse a section of red rock that my daughter had a lot of fun scrambling on:

As we descended down from the Ridge Loop we also had a nice view of the nearby mountains hovering over the Old Colorado City area in the distance:

Finally here is a panorama I took from the Ridge Loop before we crossed back over the street to get back on to Ute Trail:

We then continued to follow Ute Trail south before taking a right on to Niabrara Trail which took us to yet another road crossing:

On the other side of the road we found ourselves now on the Buckskin Charley Trail.  This trail had a few small hills that it went up and down on which provided us some more good views of the area.  For example we were able to easily spot the Siamese Twins out in the distance:

You can read more about my prior hike to the Siamese Twins at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: The Siamese Twins Trail

As I followed the Buckskin Charley Trail I also found myself being envious of the people who own homes that border this great park:

It would be a dream come true to be able to live adjacent to this awesome park.  As we continued down the Buckskin Charley Trail we eventually came to the intersection with the Scotsman Trail.  We took a right on to the Scotsman Trail which had us now walking adjacent to the Sleeping Giant:

The Scotsman Trail then took us to our final road crossing where we then next walked towards the Central Garden area of the park:

As we walked through the Central Garden we saw some more rock climbers:

As we neared the center of the park my daughter as well as my wife were both getting pretty tired by now so they were happy to see us headed towards the center of the park where there are a few benches to sit down on and rest:

As we walked towards the center of the park we saw many more rock climbers taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather:

At the center of the park my family decided to sit down and rest while watching the various rock climbers ascending South Gateway Rock:

While my family was resting I went over to check out the plaque honoring Charles Elliot Perkins that is installed on the side of North Gateway Rock:

Perkins was a wealthy railroad executive who bought 480 acres of land that composed the Garden of the Gods with the intention of building a summer home there.  He eventually decided just to let the land remain in its natural state and let the public continue to have access to it.  After his death his children decided to carry on their father’s wish to keep the land in its natural state and open to the public; thus they donated the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909 for the promise that it would be forever free to the public to visit and no permanent structures would be built on the land.  Considering the amount of times I have visited this park I am especially grateful for Perkins family’s generosity from over 100 years ago.  Here is the view looking up towards the top of North Gateway Rock above the plaque:

Here is a panorama I took of the plaque and North Gateway Rock:

My family rested and watched the climbers for about 15 minutes before deciding to walk the short distance back to the main parking lot:

Along the way we passed “White Rock” where I made sure to point out the buffalo on top of the rock to my daughter:

We soon reached the parking lot again where I took one final panorama photo of North Gateway Rock:

Conclusion

Overall we once again had a fantastic time at the Garden of the Gods.  I was especially proud of my daughter who hiked what turned out to be 3.5 miles on varying terrain in 80 degree weather.  She was quite tired afterward, but she had a blast.  No matter how many times I come to the Garden I never get tired of visiting it and it appears that my daughter now feels the same way.