Denver may be known as the mile high city, with mountains that touch the heavens. And outside Denver is a park fit for a god, hence the name “Garden of the Gods.” Garden of the Gods Park is in Colorado Springs and is known for it’s beautiful and ancient sandstone formations. The backdrop of the orange and red stones are the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.
Garden of the Gods expands over 1,300 acres and has mountains of sandstone up to 300 ft tall. It is a major tourist attraction and is one of the most photographed places near Denver. There are 15 miles of trails to hike, from easy strolls to more challenging rock scrambles. It is an extremely popular place for rock climbers and they have trips through the visitor centers. There are also plenty of trails for mountain bikers and horseback climbers. It is easy for any tourist to enjoy, the ones who want a physical challenge and those who want to drive the loop in a car and just enjoy the scenery.
The visitor center contains plenty of exhibits, educating visitors on the geology of the rock formations and some of the wildlife that lives on the land. There is also exhibit on the dinosaur “Theiophytalia kerri”. The fossil was discovered in Garden of the Gods in 2008, and the exhibit has been a proud addition since then. The visitors center also contains a gift shop and a cafe, with a view that looks out over the park.
This park is unique for many reasons, and one is the name. It gained the name in the 1850’s, when surveyors from Denver came out to the area. This is what the park’s website says about this day, “M. S. Beach, […] suggested that it would be a ‘capital place for a beer garden’ when the country grew up. His companion, Rufus Cable, a ‘young and poetic man’, exclaimed, ‘Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods.’” The name stuck, and was made official when the land became a park.
I visited the park in the middle of June 2018. It was typical June Colorado weather, about 70-80 degrees and no humidity. Since my dad grew up in Denver, I had been hearing about this park for years. I had been to Colorado before and had been up in the mountains, but never to Garden of the Gods. I don’t know what I was expecting, but my visit to the park surpassed any expectations I did have. The red of the sandstone matched with the green bushes and forest covered Rockies behind was beautiful. It was to environments I didn’t think i would ever see paired. I have seen grasslands and forests, and I have seen sandstone in the desert but never imagined that the two could pair so seamlessly. The product is breathtaking.
When I went, my family decided to just drive the loop. We did not have nearly as much time as I would have liked to spend there, so we drove around, stopped at the major views and explored a little bit. At a few places, I did get to wander off and climb up to see some of the views. A red ground covered in green bushes and cacti spread out before me until it turned into towering mountains, their peaks covered in snow or hidden by clouds.
One of the things I was most fascinated by was the rock formations. The differing colors in the stone and the clear layers are beautiful. I’ve always found it super interesting how much you can tell by the colors of the rock layers, and how they formed. Garden of the Gods definitely had a few fascinating formations, including a boulder that seemed to balance on a perfectly on a much smaller rock. This rock was a major tourist stop, everyone wanted to pose underneath the giant rock. I may have also given into that tourist trend.
Though I didn’t get to hike the trails, I am so happy that I got to experience this park. There are many parks in the Denver area, and it can seem overwhelming to choose one which ones to visit but Garden of the Gods is truly worth it. It is breathtakingly beautiful and the geological history is fascinating. I mean, a dinosaur was found there. If that’s not incentive enough, then go to gape at the daring and skill of the rock climbers or take in the nature. I hope to be able to go back soon so that I can spend a whole day walking the land fit for a god.
