Ultimate 5 Days Road Trip Itinerary To Colorado

Day 4

Quality inn was very close to Garden of the Gods , prime attraction of our trip and we had still 2 days left in the trip, so we chose to cover it at the end. We inquired at the reception about nearby popular places and got some good advice. We planned to visit Pikes Peak, highest summit of southern front range of Rocky Mountains. It was not too far from our hotel, just 1 hour drive. We had a nice complimentary breakfast and left for the place. There was a small queue of vehicles at the entrance of the destination, ticket was 15$ per adult. If you are in Colorado Springs, this attraction is highly recommended. Driving till top was not easy, as it has elevation of 14,115 feet with deep and steep valleys. They also provide tourist-bus option for those who don't want to drive. There is a checkpoint just before the top, from where you must take shuttles, as it's too risky to drive. Whole drive was scenic with visitor centers in between, once we reached at the checkpoint, we parked our car and waited for shuttle. Make sure to bring your winter essentials, as it was too cold out there, people were ice-skating, yes there was snow in May. Thankfully we had loaded our car with jackets, gloves and woolen hats. At the top, it was just beautiful, whole city can be viewed from there and clouds were almost touchable. There was a restaurant and visitor center which was a savior in that cold, it's unbelievable they were selling hot coffee, donuts, french-fries and many other fresh stuff. After spending quality time there, we returned to our car through shuttle and drove to our next destination.

Seven Falls was near our Hotel so we drove back 1 hour to reach there. It's the only natural waterfall of Colorado to be listed in National Geographic's list of international waterfalls. It's privately owned by Broadmoor and opened to public since 1880. There is no parking space available there, so they provide shuttles from Norris Penrose Event Center. We parked at the Norris center and waited for next available shuttle. Once we reached the park, there was a long queue for tickets, we waited for almost 1.5 hours there. Waterfall is at 1 mile distance from the entrance, so we decided to take a walk. Fall is really cool and can be viewed from observation center or from the the top (there are 224 stairs). There are hiking trails at the top, we did a small hike, took some pictures and left for Garden of the Gods . Restaurant there was costly and so was the gift shop. On our way back, there was again a long queue for shuttle, we waited for our turn and finally returned to Norris center.

From there we headed to Garden of the Gods , which was the prime reason, we came to Colorado Springs. It was already late, so we decided to just cover the park by ourselves without any guided tour. We firstly went to Visitor Center and inquired about the park and available tours. We liked Segway tour among all available guided tours and booked one for next day early morning. Just to mention, park entry is free. After watching a movie regarding park's geology and history, we visited the park, It was amazing to see such rock formations, each unique in it's own way. Really park justifies its name. It was a good hike, we covered almost whole park and took many pictures. After sun-set we returned to our hotel.

Day 5

So last day of the trip, we were to leave for Omaha today. After having breakfast, we checked-out of the hotel and left for Garden of the Gods. Our Segway tour was at 8 AM, we were there 15 mins before. Our guide was very friendly, he taught us how to ride Segways and asked us to practice in the parking area. There was no-one else for this tour, mainly because it was Monday, also park was less crowded. Guide appreciated our timing :) . Tour was really good, he told us about each rock formation and took us to a place from where Pikes Peak can be viewed. Segway was real fun, so was the informative tour (Highly recommended). Whole tour took just an hour and we were ready for drive. It was an amazing trip with so many wonderful places. We reached at home in evening with beautiful memories still fresh.