9 Best Things To Do In Colorado Springs That Locals Actually Love

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Colorado Springs doesn't need your permission to be extraordinary. The mountains are that close, the history goes that deep, and the food scene has quietly grown up while everyone was staring at Denver. Whether you've got one day or a long weekend, these are the experiences worth building your trip around — not the ones that just looked good on a brochure.

Eat, Drink, and Hear a Story

1. Classic 3-Hour Food Tour in Colorado Springs

Credit: Classic 3

The smell of fresh bread from a downtown bakery hits you before you even reach the first stop. This three-hour walking tour winds through four or five of Colorado Springs' best restaurants, hole-in-the-walls, and artisan food shops — enough food to constitute a full lunch, not just polite nibbles. Your guide layers in the city's gold rush past and points out the 300-plus works of art displayed across downtown's Certified Creative District. You meet at the historic Antlers Hotel, the one William Jackson Palmer built back in 1873. Parking is right underneath and your guide helps validate the ticket.

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2. Colorado Springs - Guided Walking Ghost / History Tour

Credit: Colorado Springs

The best ghost tours aren't the ones where a guide reads off a script in a cape. This one through downtown Colorado Springs leans into participation — ask questions, push back, follow your group into corners of the city that don't show up on the standard walking map. The stories toggle between genuinely eerie and flat-out fascinating history, and the buildings give both versions equal weight. At ninety minutes, it's the right length: long enough to feel the atmosphere, short enough that you won't be checking your phone by the end.

High Country, Higher Elevation

3. Colorado Springs Sunrise Balloon Ride

Credit: Colorado Springs Sunrise Balloon Ride

Silence is the thing nobody warns you about. Once the burner cuts out, the only sound from a hot air balloon over Colorado Springs is the wind and, faintly, whatever the world below is doing without you. This three-hour sunrise experience covers the full Pikes Peak region, the kind of panoramic view that resets your sense of scale. The flight ends with a celebratory toast on the ground. Go hungry for the scenery — this is one of those mornings you'll be telling people about long after you've forgotten what you paid for it.

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4. Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Luxury Jeep Tours

Credit: Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Luxury Jeep Tours

The Pikes Peak Highway climbs to 14,115 feet, which sounds like a number until you're actually up there and the treeline has disappeared and the horizon stretches far enough to feel slightly unreal. This three-to-four-hour luxury jeep tour handles the driving, the parking, and the navigation so you can keep your eyes on the ridgelines. Your guide knows the best pull-offs, the summit story, and when to stop talking. Water, Gatorade, and a snack are included. The national park entrance fee is covered. You show up and point your face at the mountains.

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5. Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods Luxury Jeep Tours

Credit: Viator

The red sandstone formations at Garden of the Gods reach up to 300 feet and were shaped by forces that predate everything you've ever worried about. This two-hour guided jeep tour gets you through the park with context — geological history, what you're actually looking at, why the light hits the rock the way it does. It's a good option if you want more than a windshield view but aren't planning to hike. The park is free to enter on your own, but a guide changes what you see when you're there.

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6. Breathtaking Colorado Springs Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight

Credit: Viator

Alpenglow is the rosy light that hits the Rockies just before sunrise, and watching it bloom across the Front Range from a hot air balloon is the kind of moment that feels slightly too beautiful to be real. This three-and-a-half-hour flight follows the wind through the mountain corridor, with views stretching a hundred miles in every direction from the Spanish Peaks north to Longs Peak. Each flight is shaped by conditions that day, guided by your pilot's read of the sky. No two flights are identical. That's the deal with wind, and it's entirely worth it.

Hands-On and Off the Beaten Path

7. Colorado Springs Hands-On Falconry Class and Demonstration

Credit: Colorado Springs Hands

The hawk lands on your gloved fist with a grip that's surprisingly firm, almost businesslike. This falconry class at the Broadmoor meets you near the Golden Bee, and from there a licensed falconer walks you through the ancient relationship between hunters and birds — hawks, falcons, and owls, each with their own temperament and story. The ninety-minute session moves from natural history into a live flying demonstration before you get your turn with the glove. The birds engage only on their own terms, which makes the moment they choose to land on you that much more memorable.

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8. Ebike 2 Hour Rental Experience in Manitou Springs, Colorado

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Manitou Springs sits six minutes from the rental shop, and the town rewards slow movement — which is exactly what an ebike is built for. The two-hour rental gives you a fully guided orientation before you head out, and the routes take you into park terrain that would cost you twice the effort on a standard bike. The gears handle the elevation change, so your legs handle the enjoyment. It's one of the more honest combinations of exercise and sightseeing you'll find in the Pikes Peak region, and it's easy to extend the day with food or a stop at the springs after you return the bike.

New experiences keep arriving in this city — a handful of new tour operators launched routes this past season, and the downtown food scene has added enough stops to justify a second food tour run. We update this list as things open, close, or get better. What's your go-to Colorado Springs experience that didn't make this list?