18 Best Sights in South Central Colorado, Colorado

Discovered by two boys in 1880, the cave has been exploited as a tourist sensation ever since. The only way to enter the site is by purchasing a tour, but once inside the cave you'll forget the hype and commercialism of the gimmicky entrance. The cave contains examples of every major sort of limestone formation, from icicle-shaped stalactites and stump-like stalagmites to delicate anthodite crystals (or cave flowers), flowstone (or frozen waterfalls), and cave popcorn. Enthusiastic guides host easy 45-minute walking tours, adventurous cave expeditions, and lantern tours that last 1½ hours. An outdoor ropes course and rides like the Terror-dactyl, which swings riders off a 200-foot cliff, offer more fun outside of the cave.

These magnificent, eroded red-sandstone formations—from gnarled jutting spires to sensuously abstract monoliths—were sculpted more than 300 million years ago. Follow the road as it loops past such oddities as the Three Graces, the Siamese Twins, and the Kissing Camels or get an up-close look at the rocks with a guided climbing expedition booked at the visitor center. High Point, near the south entrance, provides camera hounds with the ultimate photo op: a formation known as Balanced Rock and jagged formations that frame Pikes Peak. The visitor center has maps of the trails and several geological, historical, and interactive hands-on displays, as well as a café. It's a short, paved hike into the park from the parking lot.

Once a separate, rowdier town where miners caroused, today the stretch of Colorado Avenue between 24th Street and 28th Street, west of downtown, is a quaint National Historic District whose restored buildings house galleries and boutiques as well as kitschy shops, sidewalk cafés, and restaurants.

If you want to see the view from the top of Pikes Peak, head up this 14,115-foot-high mountain by car, train, or in a pair of hiking boots if you've got the stamina. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, visitors can drive to the summit ($15 per passenger or $50 per car) but reservations are required. The newly renovated cog train offers an alternative for those looking to avoid hairpin turns and sharp drop-offs on the highway. It's also convenient when the weather closes the road. Gaining nearly 7,400 feet in elevation, the 27-mile round trip hike is grueling. The steep, rocky terrain causes unstable footing, and unpredictable weather can be treacherous year-round, which is why many hikers camp at Barr Camp after mile 6 before the final uphill slog.  Shuttles are available to take hikers either up or down the mountain, cutting the hike in half. 

Once at the top, stop for a doughnut at the Pikes Peak Summit House café and trading post. Whichever route you choose to take up the prominent peak, you'll understand why the pioneers heading West via wagon train used to say: "Pikes Peak or Bust."

This pink-stucco Italianate complex, built in 1918, is truly one of the world's finest luxury resorts. Even if you don't stay here, stop by for lunch on one of the many restaurant patios in summer and to take a paddleboat ride on Lake Cheyenne, which anchors several of the resort's buildings. The Sunday brunch here is legendary (reservations are almost mandatory), and don't miss Play, the hotel's new gaming bar with six luxurious lanes of bowling, shuffleboard, and plenty of other diversions.

The academy, which set up camp in 1954, is one of the most popular attractions in Colorado. Highlights include the futuristic design, 18,500 beautiful acres of land, and antique and historic aircraft displays. At the visitor center you'll find photo exhibits, a model of a cadet's room, a gift shop, a snack bar in the summer, and a film highlighting the history and bravery of the Air Force. Other stops on the self-guided tour include a B-52 display, sports facilities, and the chapel. Some days you can catch the impressive cadet lunch formation that begins between 11:30 and noon. The Air Force chapel, which can accommodate simultaneous Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant services, is easily recognized by its unconventional design featuring 17 spires that resemble airplane wings. Visitors can enter only through the North and South gates.

Unlike what its silver exterior suggests, this 60-000-square-foot museum is a gold-medal experience for visitors of all ages and one of the most inclusive and accessible museums in the world. Race a virtual Olympian on the rubber track or try to keep a skeleton bobsled on course at the interactive athlete training exhibit, which also features hands-on archery, skiing, and goalball (a soccer-like game played by the visually impaired) games. After checking in, visitors work their way through three floors of displays that seamlessly combine Olympic and Paralympic history, uniforms, ice skates, running shoes, a dented rugby wheelchair, helmets, and other gear. Highlights include the Hall of Fame; a display case filled with Olympic torches, including those used in the more recent Atlanta, Sydney, Sochi, and PyeongChang games; and a gift shop where you can "virtually" try on apparel. Electronic visitor passes allow you to quickly find your favorite sports and learn about your favorite athletes as you make your way through the museum; you can also save the information to an online locker for future reading. Don't miss one of the last and most popular exhibits—one of the most complete collections of Olympic medals in the world. If you're lucky, you might even hear staff cheering as current and former Olympians visit the museum, which is located next to America the Beautiful Park connecting to miles of walking and biking trails. Hour-long guided tours are available.

This five-story tower was dedicated in 1937, after a tragic plane crash claimed the life of Will Rogers, America's favorite—and funniest—cowboy. The shrine's viewing deck provides an impressive panoramic view of Colorado Springs and the surrounding area. The tower interior is painted with all manner of Western murals in which Colorado Springs benefactor Spencer Penrose figures prominently, and is plastered with photos and homespun sayings of Rogers. In the chapel are 15th- and 16th-century European artworks.

America's only mountain zoo, at 6,700 feet, has nearly 1,000 animals housed amid mossy boulders and ponderosa pines. You can hand-feed the giraffe herd in the zoo's African Rift Valley, ride the chairlift-style, open-air Sky Ride, and check out the animals living in Primate World, Rocky Mountain Wild, or the Asian Highlands.

This regional museum has a fine permanent collection of modern art and excellent rotating exhibits. Some highlight the cultural contributions of regional artists; others focus on famous artists such as the glassmaker Dale Chihuly and American pop artist Andy Warhol. Enjoy the view of Pikes Peak and the mountains from the patio in the summer.

You can see and hear a real player piano and a nickelodeon at this indoor "town," a permanent example of Colorado’s Wild West towns complete with a stable, general store, saloon, and smithy. There's also gold panning in the summer.

Some Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings that date back nearly 1,000 years have been moved from other sites in southern Colorado and faithfully reassembled beneath a red rock cliff at this museum. While the reconstructions resemble the original dwellings, the workers used cement instead of the original adobe mud method. For that reason, the museum is much less precious and visitors can roam and climb and touch, which makes it much more kid friendly than most archaeological sites. Two rooms of artifacts in the museum offer information on the history of the dwellings. Smartphone codes provide a free audio tour through the space.

The town of Manitou grew around its springs, and there are eight mineral springs around town that you can drink from. Competitions to design the fountains that bring the mineral water to the public ensured that each fountain design is unique, so you may want to visit all of them on an easy self-guided walking tour of the town. It's a bring-your-own-cup affair; the water (frequently tested) is potable and free. The chamber of commerce publishes a free guide to the springs and the Mineral Springs Foundation offers tours.

Commissioned in 1895 as the private home of French priest Jean-Baptiste Francolon, this magnificent architectural hodgepodge and museum in Manitou Springs is still decorated, in part, as if a family lived here. More than 30 rooms in this 14,000-square-foot space offer a wide variety of displays and furnishings primarily from the Victorian era, while the building itself includes a Gothic front door, medieval battlements, and nine styles of architecture. You can also have lunch or high tea in the Queen's Parlour Tea Room (reservations required).

The 1,600 acres of this city park, which is open year-round, manifest nature and natural history without a hint of commercialism—or charge. The canyon's moderate hikes include the Lower Columbine and Mt. Cutler trails, each less than a 3-mile round-trip. Both afford a view of the city and a sense of accomplishment.

The world's highest cog train departs from Manitou Springs and follows a frolicking stream up a steep canyon, through stands of quaking aspen and towering lodgepole pines, before reaching the timberline, where you can see far into the plains until arriving at the summit. Advance reservations are recommended in summer and on weekends, as this three-hour trip sells out regularly. Reserve a spot next to the engineer, the Engineer's Seat ($78.50), for front-row views for the uphill direction of the journey.

Once the Old El Paso County Courthouse, this repository has artifacts relating to the entire Pikes Peak area, including a Native American collection, bound newspapers and city directories dating from the 1870s, the personal papers of city founder and railroad builder General William Jackson Palmer, and early images of the Colorado Springs. The historic courtroom is absolutely elegant, and so perfectly appointed that it looks as if a judge will walk in any minute to start a trial.

Surrounded by towering red-rock canyon walls, these seven steep waterfalls plummet 181 feet into a tiny emerald pool that shimmers below. Hiking the steep 224 steps to the top of the falls is worth it for the view but you can also take an elevator to the Eagle's Nest look-out. Parking is free at the Penrose Equestrian Center, where a shuttle will take passengers to and from the site. Guides at Soaring Adventures sail patrons across the nearby canyon on 10 zip lines and lead those daring enough to make the trip across rope bridges and on rappelling adventures that feature views of the falls. Restaurant 1858 serves Southern comfort food with a Rocky Mountain twist (try the mixed grill with quail, bison, and venison or Colorado trout served one of seven ways) that is best enjoyed out on the patio overlooking the falls.