The first thing I did, upon arriving in Colorado Springs, was drive across the city to North Cheyenne Canon Park. The day was already getting on towards dusk and I wanted to take some pictures from the top of the Mt. Cutler trail before it got dark. Colorado Springs is as level as any cornfield in Kansas, but at the western edge of the city the Front Range suddenly rears up like a three-thousand foot high granite wall. Cheyenne Park is located here, in the foothills of the mountains. Even before I reached the park I was mesmerized by its setting. The eastern slope of the mountains was already in deep shadow and some sort of haze or mist, backlit by the westering sun, hovered above the peaks that day. The dark silhouette of the looming mountains and the incandescent silver-grey haze combined to create an almost mystical-looking landscape. Staring at it through the car windshield as I approached the Broadmoor neighborhood, I momentarily had the odd feeling that I was leaving Colorado and driving directly into some distant, exotic land-------the foothills of the Himalayas, perhaps. North Cheyenne Canon Park is one of the most scenic municipal parks I've ever seen, and it was a great way to begin a visit to the city.

This park is free, not far from Colorado Springs, and has some beautiful trails. There are several trails that range from easy to hard. I recommend going here...but be sure to bring plenty of film and water.

The park is more like a National Park than a City Park. With waterfalls, miles of hiking trails, picnic areas and outstanding scenery, you won't want to miss this beautiful destination! This is a four-season attraction and is wonderful any time of the year. The only drawback is that the Visitors Centers are not open year-round. They open in the spring and stay open until late fall.

We enjoyed our drive through North Cheyenne Canon Park. The road is narrow and on the edge of a cliff (scared our daughter) - but the views were beautiful! It was fun going through the two tunnels carved into the mountains. We stopped at Helen Hunt Waterfall - it was 98% frozen. Which is neat to see if you've never seen a frozen waterfall before. My biggest complaint is that I called that morning to the Starsmore Discovery Center to ask about the trail conditons to the waterfalls and told her we were planning to go there and to the Starsmore Discovery Center that day --- never once did she mention that the Discovery Center would be CLOSED that day! Boy, were the kids disappointed! Nothing but a little sign in the window that said "Due to budget constraints - will not open until April 6th". It would have been nice if she could have told us that so the kids didn't have their hearts set on visiting the Center.