Red Rock Canyon (Garden of the Gods for locals)

How many years had passed since I considered Red Rock Canyon Open Space? Really, its absence in my hiking/walking routine was unconscionable 

Since I started my daily step routine (10,000 is the goal), I had not tried it. In early April, I asked myself why I hadn’t. I had no answer, but on this overcast Friday, I knew the perfect lunchtime escape. 

Pulling into its empty parking lot, Red Rock Canyon rewarded my intuition. I consider Red Rock Canyon the local's Garden of the Gods. It receives far less attention despite boasting the same geology. 

Red Rock Canyon had an industrial past versus Garden of the Gods’ longtime protections. The family that owned it spent decades trying to profit off the land and sell it for some major development but eventually sold it to the city. It’s hard to argue that it would be better if the land were part of some exclusive resort. Public ownership fits. 

 Considering I can see Garden of the Gods from Red Rock Canyon, it is a perfect alternative. Twenty feet from the parking lot, fins and bluffs of red sandstone rise from the landscape. That night, winter would move in. The storm already lashed the mountains, and I could see the steps of the Manitou Incline coated at its upper levels. 

Several canyons run through the landscape, and more than a dozen trails snake through and above them. No one ventured out – the temperature was comfortable even if the incoming weather would not drop it considerably. 

I don’t take advantage of these parks in my own backyard nearly enough. Too many laps around Memorial Park or Quail Lake grow old. But the open space is a different animal, a patch of wild land in the city. 

With no people around, the opportunities for solitude and wildlife encounters felt endless. Wilderness present itself quickly. I passed more people than mule deer in the first mile thanks to a multigenerational herd of nine. Most had shaggy coats, their thicker, winter fur holding on. They eyed me warily, but didn’t break from their grazing for long. 

I felt like venturing to the top of the open space, or as far up as I could go before work beckoned me back. I landed on the Mesa Trail, where only two other men came and went that afternoon. It does not loop around. But at the end of the trail, there’s an overlook. The whole open space spread out below. 

Red Rock Canyon is far from perfect. The evidence of industry is myriad. Red rock has been mined at right angles and carted away. There are pricey houses wedged right along the property, and it could be tough to escape their presence. I could easily focus on the increasingly snowy peaks behind them. 

A few groups of people emerged as I closed on the open space entrance. I wondered how far they might roam. Most people loop around after the first bump in elevation. 

Snowflakes started to fall, and I stared south at the high spot where I stood not even a half-hour earlier. Immediately I found myself craving a steep trip back to that point.

Garden of the Gods in the distance