Colorado has been on the top of my travel bucket list for a very long time. I just knew I would love this state, its natural beauty and the vibe I had heard so much about, but nothing could have prepared me for how beautiful it really is! Now that we live in California and flying to any part of the Western United States is much more doable, I was finally able to visit and explore everything this state has to offer. Even just spending 48 Hours in Colorado Springs was surreal.
Well, not everything. This state is huge and has so many outdoor wonders to experience, I don’t think it’s possible to do it all in just one trip. Since we really only had 48 hours in this state, rather than doing a full on guide (which would do much better for me on SEO and pinterest, haha) I’m going to just share what we did personally for the memories and just for the dedicated readers here!
I didn’t even want to label this “What to do with 48 Hours in Colorado Springs” because I don’t think there’s one set of activities that would be perfect. This state has so much to offer, so you can really mix and match what you do to your preferences! At the end of this post, I can list some activities we thought about but didn’t have time for or want to explore next time.
Firstly, where to stay? We stayed with our friend, so we don’t have a personal recommendation, but here are a few places that I think would be amazing.
The Broadmoor
We really want to splurge on this next time we go back! I think it would be worth it for all the amenities and activities on property.
AirBnB
I think AirBnB would be a great option for Colorado Springs too! You’re really going to be out and about exploring more than a usual vacation, so if this is your first time you don’t necessarily need to be in a luxe setting. Here’s a little cabin with a fun view.
Downtown Colorado Springs
Staying downtown just always makes sense, and I think the food scene and activities justify staying in the middle of all the action. This mining exchange hotel would be cool!
This boutique hostel/regular hotel looks so, so cute and it’s right downtown! They have a mix of shared rooms, bunk rooms you can buy out if you have a big group and just regular, private suites with queen and king size beds.
Day 1
Fly Into Denver
Both Denver and Colorado Springs are options for flying into Colorado, but Denver is going to most often be the cheapest option. It’s a fairly central location for Colorado, so I highly recommend just saving a little bit of money and flying in and out of Denver for wherever you’re heading to in Colorado! There are a lot of other airports like Aspen, Telluride too, but generally the cheapest is going to be Denver.
Day 2
Sunrise at Garden of the Gods
Garden of the Gods is definitely one of the most popular destinations in Colorado Springs. It’s free and completely open to the public 365 days of the year, and it’s a very crowded destination for locals and tourists alike. The crowds can get pretty heavy, so we decided to wake up early for sunrise at these unique formations. You can always just walk through the park (extremely easy and pretty flat), or if you’re looking for more adventure, you can also go on a hiking trail, segway tour, mountain biking, rock climbing and more. Whatever you decide to do, it’s extremely beautiful and unique, especially if you’re not used to that type of landscape.
The Manitou Incline Hike
Located above the town of Manitou Springs, this incline is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s a 2,000 feet incline and 2,744 steps. Essentially, it’s an outdoor stair master! At some points, there’s a 68% incline, and just looking up and down the trail can make you dizzy. Parking at the bottom of the trail is $10, but the incline itself is completely free. I really want to stress that you should probably only do this if you’re in fairly good physical shape and have a serious desire to feel like you’re accomplishing something on this vacation!
Seriously, that sounds dramatic, but I promise you it was HARD. Do not go into this blind, haha. We were pretty unaware of just how tough it was, and looking back it made us entirely too sore for the rest of our time in Colorado. There were other hiking activities we were looking forward to, but we had to pivot our plans to involve things with minimal leg movement haha.
Make sure you take your time looking over the Manitou Incline Hike website so you can make sure you’re good to go on this! It’s not something to decide on lightly.
Lunch in Downtown Colorado Springs or Manitou
We had lunch at the Skirted Heifer, and it was a really good and indulgent meal to have right after a hike. We also went to Oksar Blues, and it had amazing beers as well!
I also think the town of Manitou would be really cute to explore, but we didn’t eat lunch there so I don’t have a ton of recommendations.
Dinner at Coati food hall
Spending a few hours in Coati was one of the highlights of our trip, and we could have let ourselves go back multiple times if we needed to! It’s one of those special micro food halls that’s basically an upscale food court that’s actually good. I am obsessed with these because it fits for everyone’s price range, everyone’s cravings of the night, etc.
We try to visit one in every single city we’re in, and this one was one of my favorites. They also have live music and different special events a lot of nights, and the atmosphere was so good. Don’t miss this place!
Our stomachs were very full, so we only got the fried cauliflower wings from Anju Korean Eats, and they were amazing. All three of us loved them. See all the different food stands and their menus here. Next time we also want to try Luchals seafood bar! Seafood in Colorado doesn’t sound naturally good, but everyone has said it was amazing!
Day 3
Breakfast at Denver Biscuit Co.
There are Denver Biscuit Co. locations all over Colorado, and we really liked it! It’s similar to Maple Street Biscuit Co. that has a lot of locations all over the Southeastern United States if you’ve tried that.
We got the Winona, the Franklin, a cinnamon roll and the homemade iced coffee. All really good and filling! We definitely didn’t need lunch after this.
The Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge
This was a little bit off the beaten path, but it was extremely interesting and neat! Since it’s about 1.5 hours from Colorado Springs, we decided to pay the $27 (steep I know) to enter the park since we had driven all that way. When we went, the gondola was out of order for repairs, so it was a little bit frustrating that the ticket price wasn’t reduced accordingly. We still had a great time thought.
If you’re afraid of heights, I would not recommend going across the bridge. It’s very high up, and the slats are wooden so it can feel really scary at times! Haha if there’s one thing we learned about Colorado, it’s a great destination for adrenaline junkies.
You can also rock climb, zipline, aerial coaster, etc. at the royal gorge bridge park, so definitely check that out if you’re up for something really adventurous.
Day 4
Leave via Denver
Then we were on our way back to California! It’s just an hour drive from Colorado Springs to the Denver airport, so even though we had to get up pretty early, it wasn’t too bad.
Next time we go to Colorado, I really want to spend more time in Denver and so some more outdoorsy activities! I think going in the summer would offer a whole new set of options up to us.
If you have any Colorado or Colorado Springs questions, please do not hesitate to let me know, and I’ll do my best to answer. It truly is such an amazing and unique state, so if you have the option to go, do it!! Even if you just have 48 hours in Colorado Springs, it’s so worth it!
