We've decided to do a long weekend there at the end of October and have a 2 and 5 year old. We have Garden of the gods and either a ride on Cripple Creek or Royal Gorge rail.

What else would be fun for a family with two 5 and under?

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo near the Broadmoor.

Broadmoor zoo is great, can also do Pikes Peak cog rail up to the top. Santas Workshop is a great mini amusement park.

We did this trip a few years ago as a part of the Colorado game.

Kids had a blast at all 3. We had a meltdown at Garden of the Gods but outside of that it was great.

Awesome, thanks for the recommendations!

Cripple creek is bit under whelming and full of casinos. The cripple creek train not worth the trek out there from CS either. The royal gorge park is pretty neat and even has pretty good playground for the kids. We didn't do the royal gorge train but the views have to be good. Garden of the god's is worth a stop. The cog railway up to pikes peak looks good but was still under construction and we drove instead. USAF outside CS has a museum and on our list on the next trip.

We did Colorado Springs last summer with 7 and 10 year old. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is awesome but lots of walking and on the side of a mountain. For under 5, make sure you have a stroller. We did the Cog rail up Pikes Peak and while cool, I wouldn't do it a second time. Long ride, and you barely get any time at the top of the mountain. We didn't do Garden of the Gods and instead did Red Rock Canyon Open Space, which is basically right across highway 24. Everyone said Garden of the Gods would be super crowded and that Red Rock Canyon open space was very similar and not nearly as much traffic. Really enjoyed it. We also did the Gold Camp Road drive. Really cool drive some awesome views. Probably my kids favorite thing we did

Check out what events are going on at the Air Force base too. It didn't work for us, but there is some sort of theater and regular movie / documentary playing there.

We enjoyed it last august with a 4 year old. Most of what we did has all been mentioned, but it's a great getaway and easy in and out of their airport.

Went to CS/MS last summer. There are some good suggestions already. I will add to take the Cog Railway up to the top of Pike's Peak (provided it is operating at the time of your travel).

Edit - didn't see that this has already been suggested. So I will also suggest the National Museum of World War II Aviation. Lots of great planes on display.

Colorado wolf and wildlife sanctuary. Just west of Woodland Park.

Can go in the evenings to watch a feeding and have them howl.

Do the zoo.

Flying W Chuckwagon Dinner and Concert was great. Lots to do before the show starts, too. Not sure what their fall schedule is though.

Pikes Peak Cog Railway was okay, but I prefer just driving up to the summit.

Zoo was really good and they had it staffed well with docents that provided lots of educational content.

Only things I'll add is a walk around manitou and the penny arcades would be good for your kids ages. Also the cripple creek mine tour is pretty cool but not sure if they've reopened it since the death last year.

Red rocks is cool but if you're coming from out of town I'd say still try and get to garden of the gods. Just get there early as parking does fill up, although the fall is probably better than it is in the summer.

I'd skip seven falls as the broadmoor has basically ruined the experience. I believe they've reopened the road after it got washed out a couple months ago up to Helen hunt falls which is a nice hike if you're looking for something else like that.

Agreed that Manitou Springs and the penny arcade is really fun. And Seven Falls is a complete waste of time.

Stop by Maggie's Farm.

End of October can be very cold, we have had fresh snow at Halloween about 6 or 7 years in a row.

Zoo has a promotion called Boo at the Zoo that is very good. I normally hate Zoos but it is really a great place. They sell hot chocolate all over the place so it works fine.

The arcade in Manitou is always a hit but right now they have a really high percentage of broken machines. We were there a week ago and I bet a third of the machines were down.

Garden of the Gods is fantastic, so is red rocks open space

Going to the top of Pikes Peak, either by car or rail, is very overrated. You will feel sick, you can't drive all the way to the top, and you don't actually see much on the rail route. The royal gorge railroad is much better.


Last... Maggie's Farm closed almost all of their locations

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you can't drive all the way to the top,

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I drove to the top on Sunday.

But I will say drink water and have some advil just in case.

And I do prefer the Royal Gorge train ride over the cog railway, but we had fun on both.

Never did Seven Falls, but if you want an easy hike with the kids (and free) go to Helen Hunt Falls.

We did the Royal Gorge rail in early spring of 2023, the day after a 18 inch snow. It was stunning.

Definitely recommend making sure the kids go pee before boarding the Pikes Peak train.

Was just there for a week. Some things we did and liked. A lot were already suggested.

-Cheyenne Mt Zoo
Feed the giraffes

-Garden of the Gods
Hike the loop trail in the middle of the park.

-Cave of the Winds
Did the cave tour. There's also other stuff there like a ropes course & zip line.

-Seven Falls
Not my choice. It was neat but idk if I'd do it again.

-Drive Pike's Peak
Driving sounded better than sitting on (and paying for) the train.

Panorama Park also had a really cool playground.

Breweries
-Red Leg
Nice outdoor space

-Manitou Brewing
Right in downtown Manitou

-Ivywild School

Don't sleep on Bear Creek park with your kids. Great pavilions and play ground plus its a really nice space just to let them play.