🌿 RelaxedDay trip · from Colorado Springs, CO

Garden of the Gods Drive & The Broadmoor

A relaxed Colorado Springs day built around Garden of the Gods' scenic drive and the historic Broadmoor resort. Garden of the Gods is free, always open, and entirely accessible by car — the 3-mile scenic drive through the park passes all the major formations at road level, with pull-offs at Balanced Rock, the Three Graces, and the Gateway Rocks providing views without strenuous walking. The Broadmoor is one of the grand resort hotels of the American West — a 1918 Italianate palazzo built at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, with three properties, multiple restaurants, a lake, and spa. The Broadmoor's public areas (lobby, lake terrace, restaurants) are accessible for day use; afternoon tea or lunch on the terrace is the classically relaxed version of a Colorado Springs day. Evening in the Broadmoor's Tavern restaurant or on the lake terrace watching the Cheyenne Mountain reflection closes a genuinely unhurried afternoon.

Day 1 — Garden of the Gods scenic drive (no hiking, all major formations by car), Broadmoor resort lake terrace lunch, Cheyenne Mountain State Park sunset drive, return
Day 1 — Garden of the Gods — The Broadmoor

Day 1 — Garden of the Gods — The Broadmoor

🚗 50 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Colorado Springs, CO → Garden of the Gods — Visitor Center
15 min8:00 AM → 8:15 AM
Garden of the Gods — Scenic Drive Circuit
Garden of the Gods — Scenic Drive Circuit
★ 4.9
The Garden of the Gods scenic drive — a 3-mile one-way loop through the park's core formations, accessible entirely by car with wide pull-offs at each major viewpoint. Gateway Road enters between the 300-foot South Gateway and North Gateway Rocks; the Balanced Rock pull-off is directly roadside (no walking required); the Three Graces and Cathedral Spires viewpoints are additional car-accessible stops. The park is free, open 24 hours, and designated a National Natural Landmark. Morning light from the east illuminates the red sandstone against the Pikes Peak backdrop.
8:15 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
🚗
Drive
Garden of the Gods → The Broadmoor — Lake Terrace
20 min9:15 AM → 9:35 AM
The Broadmoor — Lake Terrace & Lunch
The Broadmoor — Lake Terrace & Lunch
★ 4.7
The Broadmoor's lake terrace at its 1918 Italianate resort on Cheyenne Lake — one of the classic hotel settings in the American West. The main building's pink stucco exterior and the lake's reflection of Cheyenne Mountain behind the property create the most composed resort landscape in Colorado. The Lake Terrace Dining Room and the Golden Bee pub (an authentic 19th-century English pub imported from London in 1961, wood paneling and stained glass included) serve lunch. Public areas and restaurants are accessible without a hotel reservation.
9:35 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
Cheyenne Mountain State Park — Scenic Drive
Cheyenne Mountain State Park — Scenic Drive
★ 4.7
Cheyenne Mountain State Park at the base of Cheyenne Mountain — the park road provides views of the mountain's granite southern face and the surrounding foothill terrain without the requirements of hiking. The park is adjacent to the Broadmoor; the scenic road through the lower park section takes 20-30 minutes and passes through transitional ponderosa pine-grassland habitat with mule deer and wild turkey common roadside sightings.
12:00 PM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Cheyenne Mountain SP → Colorado Springs, CO
15 min5:00 PM → 5:15 PM
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