Sand Canyon, Mesa, Greenlee, Red Rock Canyon Loop

Beautiful Canyon with Red Sandstone, grassy fields and ponds. Rock climbing is only allowed if you get a permit from the Garden of the Gods visitor center and with proper equipment. The Garden of the Gods is world famous, but two miles south of the Garden "Red Rock Canyon Open Space" invites hikers to enjoy the same geological strata in a much less "Victorian" setting. The land now included in the "Open Space" has been in use for at least 9,000 years, where because of its proximity to Fountain Creek early American settlers made their homes. In the more recent past, the Dakota Sandstone layer was used to quarry building materials, and portions of the park received trainloads of gold ore from the Cripple Creek mines to be refined. Since 2003 the city of Colorado Springs has developed this property into one of its premier parks, containing nearly 10 miles of connected trails suitable for hikers, bikers, and horse back riders (some trails are restricted to only one type of adventurer). The park is open year round from dawn to dusk, and with such varied terrain, you'll never tire of visiting and creating new ways of enjoying this delightful topography.