page_title: Colorado Springs, Colorado
section_title: Parks
hierarchical_section_title: Colorado Springs, Colorado / Parks, trails and open space / Parks
caption_attribution_description: Pulpit Rock, Colorado Springs, Colorado
context_page_description: Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality that is the largest city by area in Colorado as well as the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is in east central Colorado, on Fountain Creek, 60 miles south of Denver.
  At 6,035 feet the city stands over 1 mile above sea level, though some areas are significantly higher and lower. Colorado Springs is near the base of Pikes Peak, which rises 14,115 feet above sea level on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
  The United States Air Force Academy opened just north of Colorado Springs in 1958. The city is home to 24 national sports governing bodies, including the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Training Center, and USA Hockey.
  The city had an estimated population of 478,221 in 2019, and a metro population of approximately 738,939, making it Colorado's second most populous city, behind Denver, and the 39th most populous city in the United States. The Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 712,327 in 2016.
context_section_description: Garden of the Gods is on Colorado Springs's western edge. It is a National Natural Landmark, with 300 foot (91 m) red/orange sandstone rock formations often viewed against a backdrop of the snow-capped Pikes Peak. This park is free to the public and offers many recreational opportunities, such as hiking, rock climbing, cycling, horseback riding and tours. It offers a variety of annual events, one of the most popular of which is the Starlight Spectacular, a recreational bike ride held every summer to benefit the Trails and Open Space Coalition of Colorado Springs.
  Colorado Springs has several major city parks, such as Palmer Park, America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs, Memorial Park, which includes many sports fields, an indoor swimming pool and skating rink, a skateboard bowl and two half-pipes, and Monument Valley Park, which has walking and biking paths, an outdoor swimming pool and pickleball courts. Monument Valley Park also has Tahama Spring, the original spring in Colorado Springs. Austin Bluffs Park affords a place of recreation in eastern Colorado Springs. El Paso County Regional Parks include Bear Creek Regional Park, Bear Creek Dog Park, Fox Run Regional Park and Fountain Creek Regional Park and Nature Center. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), narrowleaf yucca (Yucca angustissima, syn. Yucca glauca) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia macrorhiza) are some of the more common flora endemic to the Front Range in Colorado Springs.
caption: Pulpit Rock, in Pikeview (North Colorado Springs)
exif: {"Image Make": "HTC", "Image Model": "PC36100", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "122", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "432", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "43753", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "113", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:02:19 16:08:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:02:19 16:08:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FocalLength": "123/25", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3264", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1952", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "308"}