A school year to remember
Your Home School Fall Field Trip
Autumn is around the corner, and after this hot summer of stay-at-home orders, you may find yourself in a whole new world of cooped up home-school days with the kids. Break up the boredom and field trip across Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak Region for fall fun that is surprisingly educational!
Round up the family, load the car & hit the road on your learning journey (minus the guilt for taking the kids out on vacation during the school week) Tip: Stay in one of our comfortable lodging properties for access to wifi to stay on-track with online learning!
Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings
Studying American History? These iconic dwellings were built by Ancestral Puebloans between 1200 B.C. to 1300 A.D. in the Cortez, Colorado region. In 1904, the dwellings were moved by railroad to their present location and opened to the public along with an Anasazi Museum in 1907. You can browse the museum to see real artifacts, tools, pottery and weapons and walk through the ancient ruins outside. Open every day! Check out www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com for information.
Manitou Springs Heritage Center
History rules in Manitou, so after catching up on ancient native cultures of the region at the Cliff Dwellings, head over for your local history fix at this FREE museum. Hear the story about Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway’s 125+ years in service, take a lesson in mineral water and the early 1900’s bottling plants located here claiming the water to be the “Manitou Cure”.
Get on a first name basis with past residents like Eber Duclo, WWI veteran, and Bob Jackson, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who captured the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. You’ll find friendly locals volunteering their time to talk history with you- but only if you ask questions- as this is a self-guided experience. Call or check online for hours of operation.
Garden of the Gods Nature Walk
Take your studies to new depths
Cave of the Winds
Adventures abound here! Ziplines, climbing walls, soaring in a canyon and ropes courses (oh, and cave tours happen too!) You can find all the afternoon excitement your little thrill seekers are looking for at Cave of the Winds! Start off easy with their new Homeschool Tours and learn about the cave’s history, geology and the animals who live inside them. There are age-appropriate curriculums guaranteed to get them excited about this undiscovered, underground world! The program lasts about 1.5 hours and includes a tour of the cave, a geology lesson in the underground lab, a bats and caves creatures presentation, and a forces of nature program where your students will learn about wildfires, flash floods, lightning, and their effects on nature.
For those who want to brave the deep cave darkness, the Lantern Tour guides you through an area of the cave with no concrete or electric- only an oil filled hand held lantern to light the way. Bonus: your lantern tour guide has spooky cave ghost stories to share! Open daily, reserve online or at the entrance.
Miramont Castle
Manitou’s Victorian heritage is showcased here at Miramont Castle, operated today by the Manitou Springs Historical Society. The castle was constructed starting in 1895 and has housed priests, nuns, tuberculosis patients, wealthy boarding house residents and clergymen on retreats.
Take the self-guided tour and see artifacts from the original construction and furnishings, including a legendary local art collection, firefighter and war memorabilia. Reserve a table mid-afternoon for the Queen’s Parlour High Tea, in the dining room nestled inside the castle, and experience what living in the Victorian ages were like! No reservations for tours needed, Closed Mondays. Call 719-884-4109 to make Tea reservations.
