Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

Located at 215 S. Tejon St, This museum is housed in the former El Paso County Courthouse (1903), which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and has exhibits illustrating the history and growth of the community, from its beginning as a fashionable resort through to the 20th century.

The admission to the museum is free, but donations are welcome.

For further information phone 719/385-5990 or go to cspm.org

Garden of the Gods

Located at 1805 N. 30th St, the 1,300-acre Garden of the Gods, is one of the West’s most unusual geological sites, and is an enormous rock garden of dramatic red sandstone formations. With 1,000 year old junipers and a variety of flora and fauna living in an area where ecosystems and life zones meet. Admission to the park is free.

For more information, phone 719/634-6666 or visit www.gardenofgods.com or www.springsgov.com

Pikes Peak Cog Railway

Located at 515 Ruxton Ave, Manitou Springs, phone 719/685-5401, this is an exciting 9-mile trip by train, taking 3 hours and 10 minutes from start to finish, with a 40-minute stopover at the peak. The scenery is spectacular, but it is not only the view that takes your breath away, and passengers with cardiac or respiratory problems are advised to forego the trip, as the air is thin at the summit. Passengers are also advised to take a jacket or sweater, as it is cold and windy at the top. Fares are $26-$27 adults, $14-$15 children under 12, free for children under 3 held on an adult's lap.

For more information visit www.cograilway.com or email cogtrain@iex.net

Cave of the Winds

U.S. 24, Manitou Springs, take I-25 exit 141, go 6 miles west on U.S. 24 to reach the Cave of the Winds. This remarkable underground cavern is a subterranean wonderland with stalagmites, stalactites, limestone canopies, and crystal flowers. Children enjoy the outdoor laser shows presented nightly during the summer at 9pm

For full information phone 719/685-5444, or visit www.caveofthewinds.com

Seven Falls

Located at the At the end of S. Cheyenne Canyon Rd, to reach this attraction where seven different waterfalls cascade over a granite cliff take I-25 exit 141, head west on U.S. 24, turn south on 21st St. for about 3 miles, turn west on Cheyenne Blvd., and then left onto S. Cheyenne Canyon Rd. A free elevator that takes visitors to the Eagle Nest viewing platform, and the grave of Helen Hunt Jackson, the 19th century novelist, on the plateau, which offers a spectacular view of Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre

Located at 30 W. Dale St, West of N. Cascade Ave, the Fine Arts Centre has a permanent collection of American Indian and Hispanic works, as well as those of Georgia O'Keeffe, John James Audubon, John Singer Sargent, Charles Russell, and other famous painters and sculptors. The centre also houses the Bemis Art School, a tactile gallery for the visually impaired, a lovely sculpture garden, a 32,000-volume art-research library, and a 450-seat performing-arts theatre.

For more information phone 719/634-5581 or visit website csfineartscenter.org

VGhost Town

Located at 400 S. 21st St, this is a great place to take the children for some ‘wild west’ fun. The park is made up of authentic 19th century buildings that have been brought in from other areas of Colorado and assembled to create what is in part a historic attraction, but more of a theme park. With sheriff's office, jail, saloon, general store, livery stable, blacksmith shop, rooming house, and assay office, visitors get the feel of stepping back in time, and wonder when the bullets will start flying, or the town drunk come hurtling out of the batwing doors.

For more information phone 719/634-0696, or email history@ghosttownmuseum.com or go to http://www.pikes-peak.com/ghosttown

Miramont Castle Museum

Located at 9 Capitol Hill Ave, off Ruxton Ave, Manitou Springs, this fascinating Victorian mansion is made up of about nine different architectural styles. With 4 stories, 46 rooms and stone walls that are 2ft thick, the mansion offers at least 2 hours of exploring.

Phone 719/685-1011, 719/685-1011, or visit www.pikes-peak.com/Castle or www.pikes-peak.com/Castle">www.pikes-peak.com/Castle or

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Located at 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Rd, on the lower slopes of Cheyenne Mountain at 6,800 feet above sea level, the zoo is home to about 500 animals, such as include lions, leopards, red pandas, elephants, hippos, monkeys, giraffes, reptiles, and snakes. Also, an antique carousel dates back to 1926, the same year the zoo was founded. Admission to the zoo includes access to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun; a granite tower built in 1937 that has information and photos of the American humorist.

For more information phone 719/633-9925, ext. 111, or go to www.cmzoo.org

Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site

Located at Gateway Rd., Garden of the Gods, visitors should take I-25 exit 146, then follow signs west to Garden of the Gods.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this ranch is a living-history farm, where historic structures have been carefully restored to their original appearance, and Pikes Peak looms in the background.

For more information phone 719/578-6777

visit www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=782

Raft Masters - Sporting Activity

Mild to Wild Rafting, great day trip ideas.