No passport- no worries.  My Vacation Lady has some ideas for some fun, active vacation destinations right here in the USA.

Garden of the Gods

Our family spent a long weekend in Colorado a couple of years ago and with the current pandemic with travelers wanting to stay closer to home, this might be a great time to repost this blog post.

We added on a few days to a family wedding and found some really great things to do, see and experience during our mini get away.  What we did was pretty tame compared to what some of the adventures we saw there.

While we walked and hiked in the Garden of the Gods (a free park with great trails and absolutely beautiful), where were people rock climbing and rappelling down some of the beautiful rock formations.   We took the Central Garden Path but there were many more difficult hikes and climbs.

We tried to visit the Seven Falls at the Broadmoor but it was closed due to a fire so we went to the Helen Hunt Falls (one of the nice, short hikes the bride mentioned).

Steps up the Helen Hunt Falls

We have come to realize that when a local says that the trail is “easy” you may want to take that with a grain of salt.  Their idea of easy is a mile or less.  They didn’t mention the # of steps up or the incline!

While we took the hike up to the Helen Hunt Falls, our son and daughter in law hiked the Pike’s Peak Incline.  This is certainly not for the faint of heart.  It’s a mere 2744 steps up made of rail road ties with a 41% incline and a 2000 foot climb in elevation.  They made it to the Barr Trail which was still a great achievement.

The same day, we went to the Cave of the Winds- underground caverns.  While we did the shorter discovery tour, our son and daughter in law took the Lantern Tour where they explored the cave lit only by the lanterns they held.   We weren’t as game for adventure as some of the other visitors, who went zip lining and the even braver ones who took the Terror-dactyl- a 200 foot free fall drop into a canyon.   Even my son and daughter in law who love a good adventure passed on this one!

On our last full day in Colorado Springs, we headed down to the Royal Gorge.  We, again took the tame way of crossing the gorge- we took the tram across and walked back along the bridge but many visitors were zip lining across it.

Royal Gorge

Let’s not forget about the white water rafting at the bottom of the gorge along the Arkansas River.  Since our kids didn’t think they had enough activity at Royal Gorge, we took a “short” hike along the Canyon Rim Trail- just a short drive from Royal Gorge.

So for those travelers who want an active vacation full of adventure, let us help you plan a getaway to Colorado Springs.

The team at My Vacation Lady has the experience and know how to turn your vacation or honeymoon dreams into reality.