Explore Manitou Springs: seven places in walking order

Downtown Manitou Springs is Manitou Avenue, from the Visitor Center in the 300 block west past the museums and restaurants to Cañon Avenue and Soda Springs Park, with Miramont Castle on Capitol Hill Avenue. The chamber’s parking page lists two lots near the route. Hiawatha Gardens, 10 Old Mans Trail, has 84 spaces from $3 an hour, paid 5 am to 6 pm, three blocks from downtown, and is the pickup for the free Route 33 shuttle. The Cañon lot, 135 Cañon Ave, in the middle of downtown, has 46 spaces from $3.50 an hour, paid 7 am to 6 pm. Parking in both is free after 6 pm, and visitors may not park on residential streets. Park once; everything below is on foot.

01 · Manitou Springs Visitor Center

The Visitor Center at 354 Manitou Avenue is the office of the Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. Its staff and volunteers give out a walking map of the mineral springs with a chart of each spring’s minerals, and sell collapsible stainless-steel cups, $3 each or two for $5, cash only, which support the Mineral Springs Foundation. The pages read give no opening hours, so call 719-685-5089 before relying on it.

Getting there: on foot along Manitou Avenue from either lot. Best for: the springs map and a cup, before the walk west.

02 · Manitou Art Center and the Heritage Center

Two neighbours in the 500 block, beside the City’s Memorial Park at 502. The Manitou Art Center at 513 and 515 Manitou Avenue is a nonprofit with galleries, classes and a makerspace; its galleries are open Wednesday and Thursday 10 am–6 pm and Friday and Saturday 10 am–5 pm, closed Sunday to Tuesday. The Manitou Springs Heritage Center at 517 is the town’s history museum, free, and open every day noon–4 pm or by appointment.

Getting there: on foot west along Manitou Avenue from the Visitor Center. Best for: an hour of galleries and local history, from noon, Wednesday to Saturday.

03 · The mineral springs

The town’s eight mineral springs flow from public fonts, free and around the clock, each with its own taste; the Mineral Springs Foundation has restored or developed them with the City and private landowners. Several lie along this walk: Cheyenne Spring, around which the stone Manitou Spa Building went up in 1893, now runs to a bronze font by the sculptor Paul Rogers; Navajo Spring’s font is on the back wall of what was the bottling works’ sampling room, now Patsy’s Candies; and the chamber calls Twin Spring the locals’ favorite for its sweet taste. Iron Spring Geyser is up Ruxton Avenue, and 7 Minute Spring was drilled in 1909 for the Mansions Hotel’s park. The Visitor Center’s map has the rest.

Getting there: on foot, with the map, along Manitou Avenue. Best for: filling the cup as you go west.

04 · Commonwheel Artists Co-op

Commonwheel at 102 Cañon Avenue is a member-run gallery and shop, open daily 10 am–6 pm, with a gallery show that changes monthly. On Manitou Avenue on the way there are Pikes Peak Chocolate and Ice Cream at 805 (Monday noon–7 pm, Tuesday to Thursday noon–6 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am–9 pm, Sunday 11 am–7 pm), the Manitou Outpost gift shop at 807 (daily 10 am–5 pm) and SALUS bath and body care in Suite 105 at 906 (daily 10:30 am–6 pm).

Getting there: on foot, west along Manitou Avenue to Cañon Avenue. Best for: local art and a gift, any day of the week.

05 · Soda Springs Park

Soda Springs Park at 1016 Manitou Avenue is the City’s 1.9-acre park on Fountain Creek, with the Bud Ford Pavilion, a plaza, accessible walkways, boulder access to the creek, a lawn and a playground rebuilt with inclusive equipment in 2025. The City calls it a hub for the town’s outdoor festivals and concerts.

Getting there: on foot along Manitou Avenue. Best for: a break by the creek, and the playground with children.

06 · Miramont Castle Museum

Miramont Castle at 9 Capitol Hill Avenue is the Manitou Springs Historical Society’s museum, toured on your own through all four floors. Outside summer it is open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–3:30 pm, closed Monday; from Memorial Day to Labor Day it is open daily 9 am–4:30 pm. Admission is $15 for adults 13 to 59, $13 for seniors, $10 for children 4 to 12 and free for 3 and under. The Queen’s Parlour Tearoom seats at 11 am and 1 pm only, Tuesday to Sunday.

Getting there: on foot to 9 Capitol Hill Avenue. Best for: the early afternoon, so as to arrive well before the 3:30 close outside summer.

07 · Mona Lisa, the brewpub or Swirl

Back along Manitou Avenue, three kitchens in the 700 block. The Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant at 733 opens at 4 pm (to 8 pm Sunday to Thursday, 8:30 pm Friday and Saturday); its four-course fondue dinner starts at $68 a person, it sets aside two hours for each reservation, and the menu is also à la carte. Manitou Brewing Company at 725 pours its own beer on 18 taps with burgers, tacos and small plates, takes no reservations, and is open Monday to Thursday noon–9 pm, Friday noon–10 pm, Saturday 11 am–10 pm and Sunday 11 am–9 pm. Swirl at 717, a restaurant and wine bar, is open Monday to Saturday 11 am–9 pm and Sunday to 8 pm, with a patio where dogs are welcome.

Getting there: on foot, east along Manitou Avenue to the 700 block. Best for: fondue booked ahead, or a walk-in beer and burger.

A simple first visit

1. Park at Hiawatha Gardens or the Cañon lot around noon, Wednesday to Saturday.
2. A springs map and a cup (cash) at the Visitor Center.
3. The Art Center and the free Heritage Center, which opens at noon.
4. West along Manitou Avenue, filling the cup at the springs, to Commonwheel.
5. Miramont Castle before 3:30 pm outside summer, then Soda Springs Park.
6. Dinner at 4 pm or later: fondue at the Mona Lisa (book ahead), the brewpub, or Swirl. Parking is free after 6 pm.

For coffee first, Red Dog Coffee at 739 Manitou Avenue opens at 7 am every day.

Getting here

Manitou Springs is on US 24 west of Colorado Springs; the Manitou Cliff Dwellings’ directions say to leave I-25 at Exit 141 and head west on US 24. COtrip carries the live state of the highway. The chamber’s parking page describes the free Route 33 shuttle, which runs through Manitou Springs and up to the Manitou Incline and the Cog Railway, picking up at the Hiawatha Gardens lot. The Pikes Peak Library District’s page for its Manitou Springs branch, at 701 Manitou Avenue, names Route 3 as the bus that serves it.

On-street parking downtown is paid 7 am to 6 pm, from $3.50 an hour and dearer the longer you stay; each paid street space allows two free 30-minute sessions a day, registered at the kiosk. A Ruxton Avenue space cannot be paid for from a downtown kiosk, or the other way round. Parking questions go to the City’s parking management at 719-685-2600.

Accessibility: what we can confirm

The chamber’s parking page says the City of Manitou Springs offers free parking in all paid spaces, lots included, for a vehicle showing a disability placard or plate, and keeps its designated ADA spaces. The City says Soda Springs Park has accessible walkways and a playground with inclusive equipment for a range of ages and abilities.

Step-free entrances at the Visitor Center, the Art Center, the Heritage Center, Commonwheel, Miramont Castle and the restaurants, the restrooms along the way, and the state of the sidewalks and curb ramps on Manitou Avenue have not been confirmed and are not claimed here; contact a place directly before relying on it. Corrections and additions to this section are welcome and published with their date.