August in Colorado Springs is summer's last full month, and it runs right up to the wire — festival weekends, evening concert series, and the mountain race that fills the city with runners.
School starts early here (the first districts go back in early August), which quietly flips the crowd calendar: weekday attractions thin out while weekends stay full.
The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon — a half-marathon-distance climb to the 14,115-foot summit, and the marathon back down — brings elite mountain runners to Manitou Springs each August. Even as a spectator, race weekend gives Manitou its best buzz of the season.
August evenings are the payoff month for outdoor dining and concerts — warm, usually storm-washed clear by sunset. It's the best month for evening zoo visits, sunset Garden of the Gods walks, and the tail end of the outdoor concert calendars.
The Colorado State Fair in Pueblo (about 45 minutes south) runs late August into Labor Day, and the high country hits its brief wildflower-to-early-gold transition. It's also prime season for the Royal Gorge and Arkansas River day trips before fall.
Happening right now
A footrace from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak — roughly half-marathon distance with nearly 8,000 feet of climbing — held each August alongside the Pikes Peak Marathon, which runs to the summit and back.
Early-to-mid August for most districts — D49 typically starts first, with D11 and D20 following. Our parenting section publishes the current year's dates each summer.
Mornings are reliably comfortable — the city sits at 6,000+ feet, so even hot days start cool. The standard August pattern is a morning hike, an indoor or water afternoon, and an outdoor evening.