Places to Stay

The wedding we attended was held at the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain Resort and I can't recommend staying there more if you are traveling to Colorado Springs.  The rooms have a rustic charm but are outfitted with all of the necessary amenities, including nice robes to snuggle up in. Each room has its own little balcony where you can look out and see this view: 

View out our balcony at Cheyenne Mountain Resort

That doesn't get old to enjoy any time of day, be it over coffee, wine, or beer with friends as the sun sets.  The main lobby has an outdoor pool with this same view and a deck with a fire pit for enjoying the cooler nights in a rocking chair.  And of course you have a golf course and all of the athletic facilities you need that are open for your use (the basketball courts were in severe disrepair but undergoing repair while we were there).

Things to Do

We didn't have a ton of time to explore the abundance of natural beauty in the area due to the wedding timeline, but the morning of the ceremony we did wake up early to go on an "easy" hike.  I write easy because according to the Hike Every Trail website, our trail of choice called "The Crags" was listed as child friendly and easy.  After about 2 seconds of contemplating hiking Pike's Peak, I switched gears to considering on "child friendly" tagged hikes. We actually did see children and small dogs on the trail, but these Colorado people are crazy athletic (despite all the cheese they are eating at Sam's No. 3) and what was easy to them made me feel like my heart was beating out of my chest for the second time on this trip.  The elevation is really going to get to you if you aren't from the area, and an easy incline feels like you just climbed the back staircase of the Empire State Building. The Crag's is really just a short drive from Colorado Springs (about 30 minutes to get to the  town Divide where the trail begins and then wind your way through a Mennonite camp to the trail head). The scenery on the drive is so beautiful that the extra travel time is well worth it!  You can even hike from here all the way to Pike's Peak if you make a really long day out of it and are conditioned for such adventures.  Also, if you are starting out early remember that it is going to be cold!  We were there in August, but due to the elevation when we started hiking the temperature was in the 40s.

Please post any adventures you have had in the Colorado Springs area -- I would love to get more advice on things to do whenever we are able to make it back in that direction!