Trip to Garden Of The Gods Park in Colorado

Seeing the cool rock formations at Garden Of The Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado has been a place I've wanted to travel to for a long time. We haven't been west of Missouri much and we finally got the chance to travel out there.

We rented a car and drove the 12 hour trip. We split it into 2 days of driving by staying in Lamar, Colorado which took a little over 9 hours. On our way to Lamar, I was able to capture some beautiful sunset photos, including one by the Welcome To Colorado sign. 

Lamar was a cute small country town with the historic Lamar Train Station and a steam train on display built in 1906. We got up early and walked around during sunrise before heading off for the 3 remaining hours to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The first thing we did after arriving to Colorado Springs, was visit Broadmoor Seven Falls. To visit the area, you have to go to The Broadmoor Hotel and ride the bus. Just the drive through South Cheyenne Canon is absolutely beautiful as they drive through tall mountains.

Seven waterfalls flow down a rocky mountain over 1000 feet. They even have stairs that allow you to walk up along the side of the waterfalls. Let me tell you, those stairs are steep. It's not for the faint of heart or for those with fear of heights. Going up isn't as scary as going down. If you like adventure though, it is worth it. There are several hiking trails up at the top too that go into the forest with views of some more waterfalls.

After spending a few hours at Seven Falls, we checked into our hotel in Manitou Springs. Anxious to see the Garden Of The Gods park, I headed off to the visitor center to get some information and to find the best place for sunset photos. My husband was tired from the ride and hike, so he stayed at the hotel. The staff at the center was very helpful. 

After getting my maps and talking to the staff I headed into the park looking for the Siamese Twins rock formations area. The drive through the park was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to stop at so many places but was running short on time. After a short 1/2 mile hike to the Siamese Twins, I arrived. Wow! I have to say they were one of my favorite rock formations at the park and the sky was just perfect! Being that it was June, I was shocked  I was the only one there for a little bit. I climbed around the rocks for a while and sat and enjoyed the view of the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak. Then a couple of nice guys showed up for sunset probably 20 mins after me. 

After capturing a variety of photos, I knew I only had a few days for sunset photos so I decided to go to another spot in the park that was recommended by the Visitor Center staff along Ridge Road. The rocks and view was right off of the parking lot which I thought was great as I didn't really want to hike in the dark after sunset by myself not knowing the trails. This area had the perfect view of the Rocky Mountains, Pikes Peak and the overall park. I was able to capture several viewpoints of the sunset. Here's one of my favorites.

The following day we got up early and went back into the Garden Of The Gods Park to capture some stars and sunrise. We started off at the cool Balanced Rock Formation for some twilight photos and I was able to capture this beauty with a hint of the Milkyway.

We then made our way through the park and captured some more photos during sunrise. Here are a few my favorites.

The Sleeping Giant Rock Formation:

The beautiful and largest rock formations in the park are the North and South Gateway Rocks. They are so majestic, especially when you are walking around below them.

Even spotted some young fawn deer while at the North and South Gateway rocks grazing around in the tall grass. They were cute and fun to watch.

I love how the morning glow from the sun made the rock formations glow bright orange.

There is so much to see at the park with lots of hiking opportunities and surprises along the way. One surprise that caught my eye, was this cute and unique Utah Juniper tree near the Balanced Rock. It looked like a human with arms and legs that was bending over showing me it's backside. These trees are through out the park, but this one was my favorite.

Here are a few more of the cool rock formations through out the park.

The Cathedral Spires, and Sentinel Spires.

The famous kissing camels at the top of the North Gateway Rock.

Gray rock, which as you can tell, is a different color from the orange sandstone rocks in the park.

And Steamboat Rock can be seen behind a grouping of rocks.

To conclude, it was worth the trip to see these majestic rock formations. It's truly amazing to see them in their glory. If you're looking for a trip to the Colorado Springs area, you need to take a couple days and hike around the Garden Of The Gods Park.  We visited other areas near by and I'll have separate blogs on those soon.

If you'd like to see more of my Colorado fine art photos, here are a couple links to a couple of my websites.

Fine Art America: https://5-jennifer-white.pixels.com/collections/colorado
Pictorem: https://www.pictorem.com/gallery/Jennifer.White?cat=11488&iframe=1

Thank you and be blessed!