Hiking Garden of the Gods: By day, by dusk, and by night
If Pikes Peak is Colorado Springs’ biggest attraction, Garden of the Gods is its most awe-inspiring one. We visited this amazing spot a couple of times, both during the day and right at sundown, to get a full, gorgeous experience and really get to enjoy hiking Garden of the Gods.
Daytime hours at Garden of the Gods
Look at those blue skies!
Red rocks guarding the park entrance
Hogback rock formation
The best part of Garden of the Gods by day?
- Wildlife! Seeing an entire herd of bighorn sheep standing on a rise in the distance just about made our day. Also, there were very nearly a couple of accidents in the park’s parking lot as people scrambled to hang out of their cars for photos!
- The entire reason you’re there: the rocks. Have you ever seen rocks so lovely?! East Coasters like us are close enough to the mountains to be used to enjoying rocky hikes and beautiful scenery, but these are something else, entirely. And such a treat!
- The walking paths. This is the antithesis of a real hiking experience. In fact, this park is beautifully open, the walkways are nicely paved, and it looks very well-kept and well-curated.
Perhaps the only “negative” to keep in mind is that parking is limited and can be a bit of a battle. But overall, Garden of the Gods is everything it’s hyped up to be!
Boyfriend Perspective: Get there early, bring snacks, water, and a long lens to get some amazing pics of these local sheep. Or the rocks. Or the birds. …Just bring a camera.
Such dramatic sheep :P
Garden Gate hogback rock formations
What an interesting resting place!
Dusk at Garden of the Gods
So, we just kept plugging along, enjoying the scenery, taking pictures, ignoring our feet, and making goofy videos. When in doubt, have fun, right?
The best parts about Garden of the Gods at dusk are:
- Wildlife (still)! Mule deer are flipping adorable, as we discovered in Banff and Jasper. And these mule deer are really accustomed to people, and are very patient and ready for pictures. We had a goober of a child right next to us who decided to start throwing rocks at the deer while his mom looked on, so we didn’t get as long with them as we might have liked. But up until them, it was a really quiet, special experience as a small family of does made their way through.
- Sunset. Warm, lit skies behind warm, dusty rock formations? Y’all. It’s like candy for the eyes.
Mule deer holding still for a portrait
Enjoying the park at dusk
Sunset at GotG
Sunset near one of GotG’s unique rock formations
Orange rocks, and a bit of orange in the sky
Boyfriend Perspective: Speaking of getting lost in the park, we saw a path at one point that seemed to go towards the parking lot, only to be a loop that put us exactly where we started. We were not happy. AVOID THE RIDGE LOOP. It’s a cruel tease.
Evening at Garden of the Gods
Kissing Camels by night
Be still our hearts :)
They’re even beautiful in silhouette!
We sped back here to catch the sunset, and had no regrets about the rush — after all, just look at that lovely sky! We didn’t get to stay for any full-on night photography — though, the nearby city lights would’ve made that a challenge. That said, this place is beautiful no matter the time of day. Just keep in mind that, while this park is very urban, it’s not very well lit after dark, so bring a flashlight or simply forego a visit after full dark.
Boyfriend Perspective: We went back and forth on staying for some night photography, deciding against it because it was a long day, but if you have any desire to do this we ask that you post some night pics from Garden of the Gods for us to look at. Pretty please.
Ever been to Garden of the Gods? Did you love it as much as we did? Let us know below!
And while you’re here, would you mind sharing the pin love? :)
Originally published at Two Restless Homebodies.
