Taking the Kids: Visiting Olympic City USA

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on Oct 22, 2020

A Word about Pikes Peak. It’s one of Colorado’s famous “fourteeners,” peaks that are over 14,000 feet and one of the state’s top tourist attractions that inspired Professor Katherine Lee Bates, after a visit in 1893, to write the lyrics for “America the Beautiful.” Today, you can drive up the 19-mile toll road, hike up, take a van up and bike down, or take the Pikes Peak Cog Railway when it is open.

But as all of the options are not inexpensive (the toll road is $15 per adult and $5 per child, 6 to 15), I’d wait until the big Summit Complex visitor center — at 14,115 feet the highest construction project in the country — is completed hopefully next spring as the construction mars the views.

Time would be better spent in (free) Garden of the Gods, a National Natural Landmark with 300-foot tall sandstone rock formations. There are easy paved trails, as well as more challenging ones and the chance to rock climb with appropriate gear and permits.

Thrill seekers won’t want to miss the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, home of the country’s highest suspension bridge and zipline. Everyone in the family would enjoy a visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, at 6,714 feet the highest in the country and home to a new baby giraffe, and The Broadmoor Seven Falls – seven waterfalls and one of the state’s oldest attractions in a 1,25-foot box canyon. Ready to climb the 224 steps to the top? The historic Broadmoor Resort and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, incidentally, are known for their holiday decorations.

The best part of “The Springs,” as locals call this city: The Olympians’ stories will inspire you to get outdoors and push yourself. Isn’t that a great feeling? And that’s got to be a good thing right now.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)