Seeing Garden of the Gods

The options at a glance

The free ways come first. Tour details are taken from each GetYourGuide listing and apply to that product only.

Driving the park roads

The park roads are one-way loops with paved bike lanes. The Garden Drive and Juniper Way loop runs about 6 miles, and the speed limit is 20 mph throughout. Visit COS gives 20 to 30 minutes for a drive-through without stops; with a walk or two added, the usual visit runs 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Parking is free. The Visitor Center lot has fewer than 200 spaces and often fills in summer and on holidays; an overflow lot sits across Gateway Road, linked to the Visitor Center by a pedestrian tunnel. Inside the park, the official map shows the Main (North) lot, the South Garden lot, the Scotsman Picnic Area and the Balanced Rock area. The drive-through page and parking and shuttle page have more.

Walking

The paved 1.5-mile Perkins Central Garden Trail is the park’s paved walk: less than 30 ft of rise, and suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. Beyond it the park has more than 20 miles of trail, from the half-mile Ridge Trail loop to the Siamese Twins Trail, where a natural rock window frames Pikes Peak. The trails page lists them with lengths from the official map.

The free summer shuttle

In summer two ADA-compliant 14-passenger vans run a loop about every 15 minutes, stopping at the Visitor & Nature Center, the Central Garden, Parking Lot 1/Overflow and the Rock Ledge Ranch entrance. The season runs roughly Memorial Day weekend to late August, plus Labor Day weekend in recent years; check gardenofgods.com for this year’s dates (the free summer shuttle page).

Cycling

Cyclists share the park roads, which carry paved bike lanes. Off-road mountain biking is allowed on designated trails only, and the city says about 5 miles of trail reached from the South Garden lot are open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. E-bikes and mountain bikes can be rented at the Visitor Center. In recent years the park has also held Motorless Morning dates, with the roads closed to vehicles from 5 am to noon, and a monthly Early Bird Hike & Bike from 5 to 8 am; dates change each year.

Without a car

Mountain Metro Route 3 (Colorado Ave / Manitou) stops near the south side of the park; check Mountain Metro for the current route. The summer shuttle loops inside the park rather than from town. The how to get there page covers the options from Colorado Springs and Denver.

The guided nature walk

The park runs a short guided nature walk daily at 10:30 am, lasting 45 to 60 minutes. A fee applies and reservations are required.

Paid ways with a guide

Six GetYourGuide products include the park. They are six ways through the same free park, and differ in vehicle, length and what they add beyond it. According to their listings:

• Segway. The Garden of the Gods Segway Tour lasts 1.5 hours, meets in front of the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, starts with a mandatory "Cone Zone" safety orientation and names the Kissing Camels, Praying Hands and a park overlook. It is not suitable for children under 12, pregnant women or people over 250 lb (113 kg).
• Jeep, park only. The Luxury Jeep Tour lasts 2 hours, with private or small-group options, photo stops and walking along hiking trails. Its listing states that it is not suitable for people with mobility impairments.
• Jeep, park and foothills. The Garden of the Gods and Foothills Jeep Tour lasts 2.5 hours with up to 6 participants and adds Helen Hunt Falls, the Shortline Railroad grade, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs, on roads about 70% paved and 30% dirt.
• E-bike. The Manitou Springs e-bike tour lasts 2 hours, starts at 306 Manitou Ave and adds mineral spring water and the Victorian Miramont Castle. Riders must be 13 to 80.
• Jeep with Pikes Peak. The Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods Jeep Tour lasts 4 hours and drives the 19-mile Pikes Peak Highway to the summit before the park.
• From Denver. The 8.5-hour guided tour from Denver visits the park, the Pikes Peak summit and Manitou Springs.

The jeep tours, Segway and e-bike tours, Pikes Peak tours and tours from Denver pages go into each, and which tour sets all six side by side.

Accessibility across the options

For wheelchair users the park offers the paved Perkins Central Garden Trail, two free loaner wheelchairs at the Visitor Center (first come), and the ADA-compliant shuttle in summer, according to the park’s accessibility page. Among the tours, the Segway listing requires riders to walk up and down stairs and step off a curb unaided, and the Luxury Jeep Tour listing states it is not suitable for people with mobility impairments; the other listings do not state wheelchair access.

This page carries no booking links. The park needs no ticket, and nothing on this page depends on buying a tour.

Frequently asked questions