Colorado Springs Epic Family Vacation Day 1

This post contains affiliate links. We may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

See all of our Colorado Springs articles here.

We have had Colorado on our travel list f-o-r-e-v-e-r. 

This year we ventured out of our comfort zone, literally, and into some cold weather. When we were thinking of Colorado, we like most people thought of skiing.  However, after some research (layovers in Denver don’t count right?,) we learned that there is much more to Colorado than just awesome skiing, so we decided to break up our visits to Colorado starting with an epic non-skiing vacation. Just about this time we received an email from the Colorado Springs CVB offering to host us and explore this beautiful area. It felt like fate was speaking my love language. The only problem was that we were booked for months, and I had no idea how we would make this trip work. I told Pete about the email and he said we will find a way, and find a way we did! Just a couple weeks later, with our bags packed, we were on our way! Denver has a wonderful airport with a lot of non-stop flights from all over the country, and it is a very easy drive to Colorado Springs from there. Our drive took just over an hour. Colorado Springs also has their own airport with many non-stop flights too!

Our first stop in the area was to Manitou Springs Visitors Center. 

Have you heard of the famous natural Manitou mineral springs? There are 8 of them in the area located up and down the historic downtown street, they are open to the public and free to enjoy. If you stop into the visitors center, the wonderful staff and volunteers are happy to share more information about the area along with a map and cups to use to taste the different springs. 

The street is lined with blocks of shopping, dining and fun activities for the whole family…none of which are chain stores. They have kept the quaint community character intact for generations to enjoy.

We tried most of the springs and Pete, Ash and Emmy pretty much loved the water at each of them. Maddie and I had very strong opinions about the tastes because each one of them tastes completely different as they pass through different elements and minerals. This was fascinating for all of us and a very good real-life educational experience for the girls and the adults too. 

We couldn’t pass by the Penny Arcade. This was so fun and we could have spent hours here! 

There were rides outside and then a huge room filled with aisles of classic arcade games. 

Ash, of course, had to test her strength!

We were pretty much exhausted at this point after getting up at 2am to catch our flight. We were so happy to check into the resort we will be staying at, Garden of the Gods Club & Resort. 

The resort is absolutely beautiful with the best views of Garden Of The Gods state park. This is the view we have been waking up to!

The girls loved this delicious welcome! 

Here is a quick peek at our accommodations. We are staying in adjoining rooms. The girl’s room has two queen beds and Pete and I have a king sized bed. The rooms were recently remodeled and they did a great job bringing the natural beauty of this area into the rooms. With the temperature dipping down to 11 degrees, the fireplaces in each room are getting a lot of use, as are the coffee makers and mini fridges. 

I just can’t get enough of this view!

Among the many amenities is this infinity pool, open year-round. During the non-summer season, it is open to all guests and during the summer when the recreational pool is open it is adults only. The recreational pool is larger and has a splash pad too!

The dining room also has a breathtaking view! 

We enjoyed a delicious meal by the fireplace.

With the cooler weather and decorations, it is really feeling like Christmas around here!

I have so much more to share about this lovely resort which will be included in future articles. 

Here is our vlog of the day:

See all of our Colorado Springs articles here.

Have you been to Colorado Springs?