The endlessly breathtaking Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
WORTH THE TRIP?
ACTIVITIES
- ATHLETES: climbing, biking, hiking, running, exploring
- ADVENTURERS: climbing, biking, hiking, running, exploring
- PHOTOGRAPHERS: photo/video scapes, portraits, landscapes and dramatic wedding photography
- FAMILIES: photography, picnicking, hiking for all ability levels, great walking paths both with and without elevation
- KIDS: YES, absolutely! I took my 3 year-old son around the entire park and he loved it and helped make many photo opportunities even better.
WHAT TO BRING?
- CLOTHING: Comfortable hiking or running shoes. Even flip flops would work in the summertime if you’re okay with brightly-colored sandy/dirty feet. A rain jacket is also a good idea year round since the weather can change quickly in/around Pikes Peak.
- CAMERA: Phone and DSLR. I only brought my phone and the scenery was definitely worthy of a decent camera body and lenses (wide angle for the scenery, telephoto for shots of your loved ones). I wasn’t very prepared but still grateful to get some wall-worthy images.
- LENSES: Wide angle will probably get you the most impressive results, but also consider a mid to long-range telephoto or combination zoom for any portraits, action shots or dramatic compositions.
- PACK: Not critical since most of the hiking trails are reasonably short, but always nice to have if you’re bringing kids, a camera or a picnic.
WHEN TO GO?
HOW TO GET THERE?
For quick travels in/around city centers, Uber and Lyft are great options if you plan on staying close to a hotel or urban center, but would strongly recommend planning ahead enough to rent a car since that will get significantly more bang-for-your buck on your trip and get you out into the wilderness to experience more of what Colorado really has to offer. Even last minute, sites like Kayak, Hotwire, Enterprise and Priceline frequently run great discounted weekend and weekly vehicle rates worth checking out. These deals regularly popup last minute when, presumably, car rental inventory is high (for rental car companies, the goal is to have as many cars on the road as possible at all times).
SUMMARY
WHAT WE USED:
- CAMERA: Apple iPhone 6
- SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom 5
GALLERY