Weekend Getaway in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Recently, my husband and I took a little vacation to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I had to photograph an elopement at the Great Sand Dunes, so we decided to take advantage of the trip and hang out in Colorado Springs for a few days. I LOVE travel and photography, so getting to combine the two is literally a dream come true.
Thinking of taking a little trip to Colorado Springs? Here’s a list of all the things I’d recommend after spending a weekend there myself!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK
Urban Egg - a great, classic style breakfast location. This is where my husband and I stopped upon arriving in Colorado Springs. Let’s just say, our meal brought us back to LIFE after that 12 hour drive.
Phantom Canyon - if you love a good brewery with good comfort pub food, this spot is for you! We enjoyed flights of local beers, pretzels with beer cheese, and literally the best burgers we’ve had in a long time. Our server was literally the brew master so he knew exactly what he was talking about when recommending beers. This spot is a short walk from the hotel we stayed at too… bonus points for sure!
Denver Biscuit Company - this spot is one of the more popular restaurant options but y’all… it’s popular for a GOOD reason. If you love brunch + non-traditional breakfast options, this one is for you. So so so many different breakfast biscuit options ranging from classic combos to unique mixes. I got one with fried chicken, cream cheese butter, and maple syrup all on an amazing biscuit. Still dreaming about it lol. Would highly recommend their fries too! Drooling!!!
WHAT WE ORDERED at DENVER BISCUIT COMPANY:
Matt got The Franklin: BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN, BACON, CHEDDAR CHEESE + SMOTHERED IN HOUSEMADE SAUSAGE GRAVY
I got The Lola: BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN, BACON, HOUSEMADE HONEY BUTTER, COVERED IN MAPLE SYRUP
We also got Sully’s Fries as an appetizer: WAFFLE FRIES SMOTHERED IN HOUSEMADE SAUSAGE GRAVY OR VEGETARIAN MUSHROOM GRAVY, TILLAMOOK PIMENTO CHEESE SAUCE, BACON AND GREEN ONIONS
WHERE TO HANG OUT
Garden of the Gods - DUH. It was amazing. End of story. It’s pretty self explanatory lol. Such a beautiful and well maintained park in the heart of Colorado Springs. My husband stopped here twice during our days here and enjoyed walking around, reading all the signs about the history/fun facts, and just enjoyed taking in the scenery.
Red Rock Open Space - We stopped here while we were waiting for our Airbnb to be ready for us. It was such a nice park to just walk around and get some fresh air! Good views without being as crowded as Garden of the Gods. Worth the stop if you’re just looking to move your body for a bit!
Zapata Falls - This is a drive from Colorado Springs near the Great Sand Dunes. If you plan to venture out of the city for a day toward the Dunes anyways, this is a fun stop along the way. The road to the parking area is a low maintenance road so just make sure you have a vehicle that can handle it! It’s a short .5 mile walk from the parking area to the falls themselves. Plus, you can see the Sand Dunes from the lookout by the parking area!
Great Sand Dunes - Another DUH. If you’re looking to spend a day out of Colorado Springs, I can’t emphasize how cool this spot is. It’s other worldly! You have a desert vibe right next to a mountain vibe, and it’s so neat. The Dunes are a lot more walkable than something like mountains, so a good spot for those like me that aren’t regular hikers. ;)
Pikes Peak - Matt and I only got partially up the mountain route for this spot, but it was SUPER highly recommended to us. We weren’t able to go all the way up do to wind/snow/ice, but would love to give it another shot if we’re ever back in the warmer months!
Royal Gorge - This is another things that was highly recommended to us! The Royal Gorge is a train ride attraction located in Canon City, about 45 minutes from Colorado Springs. It’s a dinner/bar/site seeing train that goes through a historical gorge. It’s scenic, relaxing, and you learn random historical fun facts along the way! We found this to be a nice thing to do on our last night in Colorado Springs.
WHERE TO SHOP
Manitou Springs - We walked through this area for a bit and found tooooooons of little shops! Things ranging from touristy type shops, all the way to local artists. Plus lots of dinner and coffee options as well. If you love to shop on vacations, this area will absolutely have what you’re looking for!
WHERE TO STAY
The Antlers, A Wyndham Hotel - Located right downtown, walking distance to food and coffee, has a parking garage, and rooms with a view.
Airbnb with a hot tub // click here for the listing! - We LOVED this Airbnb. Seriously! It was brand new and perfect for two people. I mostly booked it because there’s a hot tub, but we ended up loving it for how beautiful it was too. Great location as it was a short drive to anything, had a fence with a gate so we would feel safe, and also had a security system. Bonus: they had apple tv so we could watch Bridgerton super easily lol.
Just look at how cute this Airbnb is!
We loved the layout about it a lot. The basement was the master bedroom, the main floor was the kitchen + dining, and upstairs was the living room. We had a great view from the upstairs too!
Matt and I both agreed that we’d love to be back in the Colorado Springs area someday! It was the perfect location for a weekend-length vacation. We live in central Iowa, so it was a perfect length road trip where we could get it done in one day! If you can handle road trips, I’d super recommend because then you have the convenience of having your own vehicle and not having to worry too much about packing for a flight. Worth the 12 hours in the car. ;)
Have you been to any of these spots? Would you recommend anything else in Colorado Springs? Let me know in the comments!
Xo, Kyndal