Red Rock Canyon Open Space

People have moved through this canyon for a very long time. Archaeological evidence points to seasonal use reaching back thousands of years, when Ute, Jicarilla Apache, and other tribes camped in the shelter of the ridges and hunted the foothills. The red rock, the springs, and the mouth of the canyon made it a natural crossroads long before any road came through.

In the mining era the canyon took on a harder job. Its sandstone was quarried and cut for building stone, and for a time ore hauled down from the gold camps around Cripple Creek was processed nearby. You can still walk up to the tall, sheer quarry faces where crews sliced blocks straight out of the ridge, leaving flat gold-and-rust walls that look almost man-made against the natural fins around them.

For much of the twentieth century the canyon belonged to the Bock family. John George Bock bought the property in the 1920s and 1930s and later left it to his sons, and the eldest, John S. Bock, lived on the land and dreamed up grand schemes for it right up until his death in 2002. Traces of the old Bock homestead still sit tucked into the open space today.

In 2003 the City of Colorado Springs bought the property to hold as public open space, and it opened to everyone soon after. That is the reason it feels so unspoiled: it went almost straight from a single family's ranch to protected parkland, without the strip of hotels and shops that grew up around some of the region's other red-rock landmarks.

The trail network is the heart of a visit. An easy path loops the little lake near the main entrance, passing quarry walls and red-rock formations on a route flat enough for families and short on time. From there the trails climb into the side canyons and up onto the mesas and hogbacks, where mountain bikers grind up long grades and hikers earn wide views of Pikes Peak, the Garden of the Gods, and the city spread out below.

Because the whole canyon is one long section through the Fountain Formation, it is a fine place to read geology on foot. Ridge after ridge tilts skyward at the same angle, each a layer of that ancient sand and gravel turned to stone and stood on end. Interpretive signs along the way help make sense of the caves, the quarries, and the 240 million years of rock stacked into the walls, so a walk here doubles as an outdoor lesson without ever feeling like one.

The main entrance sits off Highway 24 at the west edge of Colorado Springs, an easy few miles from downtown and right next door to Manitou Springs, so it slots neatly into any Pikes Peak day. Parking and entry are free, and the trailheads fan out from the lot near the lake. Come early on summer weekends, when the closest lots fill and the sun climbs fast over the open ridges.

Plan for an unhurried hour around the lake or a good half day if you want to climb the mesas and link a longer loop. Carry water and sun protection, since shade is scarce up on the hogbacks and the elevation adds up, and keep to the marked trails so the fragile soil and rock stay intact. It is the kind of place that rewards a little wandering, a genuine red-rock canyon on the doorstep of the city that most road-trippers drive right past on their way to the famous names.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.