Despite having visited Colorado Springs on a few occasions, I hadn’t made it to one of the most popular nearby attractions – Garden of the Gods. We decided to stop during our trip to Durango, Colorado, and I ended up loving our winter hike in this beautiful park.

We decided to stop in the Visitor and Nature Center the afternoon we arrived in town so we could learn a little more about the park and grab a trail map. There’s lots to explore in the center, including interactive exhibits, an interesting film, and viewing platforms looking out toward the red rocks, and the docents were helpful. We ended our time by driving the one-way loop out of the park, enjoying the views and planning for our day of hiking.

Winter Hiking in Garden of the Gods

The next morning was cold and sunny – perfect for winter hiking! We parked at the Main Parking Lot (P2), which is north of the main sites in the park and one of the few areas outside the Visitor and Nature Center that has open restrooms during the off-season.

Ultimately we hiked a big loop around the park by stitching together a number of trails. From the parking lot, we set off on the Palmer trail heading east and caught the Susan G. Bretag trail south to the Chambers trail and Ute Trail Connection until we reached the South Garden Parking Lot. There was some snow on the trails, but they were easy to navigate.

From the parking lot, we crossed the road and climbed up to complete the Ridge Trail Loop. This loop offered awesome overheard views of the park and was especially nice on our clear morning – we could see everything. Even if you’re uninterested in a long loop hike, I’d recommend parking at the South Garden lot and completing the short Ridge Trail Loop during your visit.

After completing the Ridge Trail Loop, we continued south along the Ute trail to the Niobara trail, cutting northwest on the Buckskin Charlie trail until we reached the Scotsman trail.

From here, we entered the central loop trails, which take you in among the red rocks. This area is popular, accessible, and was surprisingly busy given we hadn’t seen anyone on our larger loop!

We left the central area via the Palmer Trail and headed northwest away from the crowds.

In addition to having the trail to ourselves, this lesser traveled trail led us to some fun wildlife sightings – mule deer and coyotes!

The Palmer trail eventually opens up and offers great views of the park from above.

While the Ridge Loop also gives you an overhead perspective of the area, that view is from within the red rocks. I’d highly recommend the short climb up the Palmer trail in the northwestern part of the park for views of the whole area.

Overall our hike was 5.65 miles / 9 km. Unfortunately our app glitched so I don’t know the total elevation change, but it was moderate.

With more than 22 miles of trails throughout Garden of the Gods, there’s a lot to explore. I really enjoyed our loop around the outside of the main garden where it was less busy – a state also likely attributable to our off-season timing.

If you like cooler weather, smaller crowds, wildlife, and an atmospheric dusting of snow over the red rocks, I’d recommend our winter hiking experience.