Manitou Springs Day Trip: A Timed One-Day Itinerary from Colorado Springs

Before you go

Manitou Springs is about 6 miles west of downtown Colorado Springs, a 15-minute drive on US-24. Two things need booking ahead: a free time slot for the Manitou Incline, and tickets for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, which sells out weeks ahead in summer. Pick one of the two for your morning. Opening hours change by season, so check each stop before you leave.

7:30 am - The Manitou Incline (or 8:00 am - the Cog Railway)

If you hike, start early on the Manitou Incline: it climbs 2,000 feet in under a mile on an old railway track, and the morning is cooler and quieter. Plan two to three hours to climb it and walk back down. If you would rather ride, take the Pikes Peak Cog Railway from the depot in Manitou Springs to the 14,115-foot summit, about 1 hour 20 minutes each way and roughly three hours round trip. Bring a warm layer; the summit is much colder than town.

11:00 am - The mineral springs on Manitou Avenue

Manitou Springs was built around eight natural carbonated mineral springs, and several public fountains in town are free to drink from. Bring a water bottle and taste the difference between the iron-heavy Stratton Spring and the sweeter Cheyenne Spring.

12:30 pm - Lunch and a walk down the main street

Manitou Avenue is less than a mile long and entirely walkable. Have lunch at one of its independent restaurants, then duck into the galleries and shops, browse crystals and curiosities, and stop at the historic Penny Arcade, where old coin-operated games still run.

2:00 pm - Manitou Cliff Dwellings or Cave of the Winds

Choose one for the afternoon. At the Manitou Cliff Dwellings you walk through three floors of Ancestral Puebloan stone rooms at your own pace, and no reservation is needed; allow about an hour. At Cave of the Winds, a guided cave tour takes you into limestone caverns above Williams Canyon, and the Terror-Dactyl canyon swing is there for anyone who wants a real thrill.

4:00 pm - Miramont Castle

Just off Ruxton Avenue, Miramont Castle is an 1895 Victorian mansion that is now a museum with a tea room, an easy last stop before you leave town.

5:30 pm - Garden of the Gods on the way back

Garden of the Gods sits between Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, so it is on your way home. The late light on the red rocks is the best of the day, the park is free, and the summer crowds have thinned out by early evening.