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Suggest a Feature →Colorado Springs & the Front Range
The Rockies are your backyard. Actually use them.
Colorado Springs is one of the better quality-of-life military assignments in the country, and it's not close. The city sits at 6,035 feet — you'll notice it when you run your first PT test. The Front Range of the Rockies rises immediately to the west, with Pikes Peak visible from virtually everywhere. Garden of the Gods is free and world-class. The drive up Pikes Peak Highway delivers the highest paved road in North America.
The Springs has grown significantly and the food scene has matured. There is craft beer everywhere. The outdoor recreation options — hiking, climbing, skiing, mountain biking — are exceptional. This is what people mean when they talk about Colorado living, and Fort Carson sits at its doorstep.
Must Eat
The spots worth eating at before you PCS out.
Nosh
"The restaurant that proves Colorado Springs has arrived."
Nosh is a downtown Colorado Springs restaurant that could stand on its own in any American city. Seasonal menu, locally-sourced ingredients, a serious cocktail program, and a room that doesn't apologize for trying. The brunch is outstanding. The dinner is better.
Pikes Peak Brewing Company
"6,000 feet is the right elevation for a cold pint."
One of the anchors of the Colorado Springs craft beer scene. The taproom is warm and welcoming, the beer is consistently good, and the elevation context gives every sip a certain drama. The mountain views from the patio are not nothing.
Outdoor
Get outside. The land around military installations is usually the best reason to be there.
Garden of the Gods
"300-million-year-old sandstone formations. Free. One of the most photographed places in Colorado."
Garden of the Gods is a National Natural Landmark with red sandstone formations rising 300 feet from the earth, framed by Pikes Peak. It is inexplicably free to enter. The Perkins Central Garden Trail and the Siamese Twins overlook are the iconic images. Rock climbing is permitted in designated areas. Sunrise and sunset light is otherworldly. This is a genuinely great natural wonder that happens to be inside a city.
Pikes Peak Highway
"14,115 feet. The highest paved road in North America."
The Pikes Peak Highway is 19 miles of paved road climbing from 9,000 feet to 14,115 — the summit is above treeline, above clouds on many days, and in a category of experience that doesn't quite match anything else in the continental US. Katherine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" from this summit in 1893. The crystal-clear mountain air, the 360-degree view of Front Range and prairie, and the famous summit donuts from the café make it a full experience.
Go early — afternoon thunderstorms are common above treeline in summer and the summit can be closed. The Cog Railway is an alternative if you don't want to drive.
Culture & History
Places with stories. Most military towns sit on deep history — dig in.
United States Air Force Academy
"The Cadet Chapel is the most architecturally significant military building in America."
The USAF Academy is open to the public and the Cadet Chapel — designed by Walter Netsch, completed 1962 — is genuinely one of the most extraordinary pieces of American religious architecture. 17 aluminum spires, 150 feet tall. The stained glass interior is something you cannot adequately photograph. The Barry Goldwater Visitor Center gives context. Free admission.
Family
Stuff to do with the kids. Rated by people who have brought actual children.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
"The only mountain zoo in America. Giraffes at 6,800 feet."
Built into the side of Cheyenne Mountain at 6,800 feet, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has views of Colorado Springs and the plains stretching east that most zoos would kill for. The giraffe feeding deck is the signature attraction. The zoo also sits above the Broadmoor resort and connects to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun at the summit.
Day Trips
When you need to remember there's a world outside the gate.
"Alpine tundra. Elk in abundance. Trail Ridge Road at 12,183 feet."
Rocky Mountain National Park is 2 hours north and worth every minute. Trail Ridge Road — the highest continuous paved road in the US — crosses the alpine tundra where elk graze in summer meadows and pikas call from the rocks. The park has 60 named peaks above 12,000 feet. Estes Park at the entrance is a small town worth the wander.
"A world-class city one hour north."
Denver has matured into one of America's most interesting large cities — a genuinely excellent food scene, the Denver Art Museum (one of the best in the West), Coors Field for baseball, the LoDo historic district, Red Rocks Amphitheatre 30 minutes west. Red Rocks alone is worth the drive — an outdoor concert venue built into natural red sandstone formations.
The altitude adjustment is real. Give yourself 2 weeks before running PT tests at full effort.
Afternoon thunderstorms appear with almost no warning in summer. Build this into any hiking plan.
The Palmer Park trail system is on the east side of town and offers solid trail running 10 minutes from most neighborhoods.
Military Star Card accepted at the commissary. The Commissary here is excellent — use it.
Winter driving in Colorado is its own skill set. Learn it before December. AWD/4WD + mountain-rated tires matter.
Colorado Springs sits in a valley that traps inversions — when wildfire smoke rolls in from the west, the air quality can drop dramatically. Watch the AQI in fire season (June–September).
This guide is built by people who've been stationed here. If there's a spot we got wrong or a gem we missed, tell us.