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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Escapes -> Manitou Springs
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ROMANTIC WEEKEND AT MANITOU SPRINGS
By Niki Hayden
 Manitou Springs may be one of the top destinations for vans filled with
families. Looking for a Santa workshop? It’s not as far north as you may
believe. Family friendly, wholesome and dedicated to clean living, it’s a
magnet for the young set. So is there any chance that a couple could plan a
weekend getaway from traffic and the nine-to-five? Oddly enough, Manitou Springs
is friendly to romance, too. Look beyond the billboards that tout family fun.
Filled with beautiful small inns, extravagant bed and breakfasts and elegant
restaurants, not far away are spectacular walking and hiking trails, gorgeous
scenery and quiet corners. They’re all within a short distance, which makes
the place pedestrian-friendly, too.
 Pikes Peak looms over this community. The Garden of the Gods is within
walking distance. And biking, horseback riding or serious hiking will take you
into the scenery by day. By night, you’ll head for extravagant small inns
built in the late 19th century and dine on chateaubriand or lightly
smoked bison, salmon or duckling, each companioned by exceptional wine.
Like mining towns in the mountains, Manitou Springs has reinvented itself
several times. Once the economy centered on the health industry. Nearly every
building dating from 1870 was designed for tubercular patients. A priest who
established a monastery that now serves as the Miramont Museum suffered from
abdominal ills. Gout? Anemia? Consumption? Step right up. The attraction was a
series of springs that spurted from ancient aquifers. Believed to cure a variety
of ills, the sick, suffering and lame made their way to Manitou with hope and
faith.
 But nothing reveals a change in attitude quite so obviously as the springs
now, spigots tapped and running into basins that are looked upon mostly as a curiosity.
No lines form. No one arrives with drinking cups. The water runs freely without
a second thought. While you can find the derivative of this health conscious
past in current day organic food restaurants, crystals and health food stores,
most citizens enjoy robust health.
So what’s a town to do with majestic buildings and narrow, winding streets?
Tourism dominates the current economy and Manitou has adapted from health care
to vacation care. Their innate hospitality has shifted from the ill and
suffering to those looking for a Wild West experience, an encounter with Mother
Nature, or a step back in time.
 "Manitou Springs is now coming back," says Lynn Carpenter, who
manages a bed and breakfast when the owners are out of town. She has lived in
the town since 1974 and points out that some stunning old buildings burned and
were abandoned for years. But one, she points out, has been rebuilt and is
thriving—the Cliff House.
With its gracious wide porch, white wicker furniture and highly regarded
restaurant, the Cliff House touts itself as a romantic hideaway and honeymooners
destination. It’s big enough to offer seclusion, small enough to be charming
and right in town so that couples can linger over morning coffee before heading
out for nature trails.
 Many of the nearby bed and breakfasts are similar to small inns, too. The Red
Crags Bed and Breakfast originally housed patients. It was never built for a
family. With it’s four stories and large sunroom, the ill basked in a solarium
facing Pikes Peak. Soaking up warmth and filling weakened lungs with clean
mountain air, sipping springs water—it was just what the doctor ordered.
Today Lynn pads around the large B&B with a friendly dog. She provides
guests with a homey touch and first-rate history lessons as well. "Of
course, nearly all of Manitou Springs is historic," she says, while handing
over a book of a walking tour. But over the years, the town’s rocky ups and
downs can be seen in more ramshackle buildings just brushing the skirts of more
stately Victorians. Manitou Springs is an informal and easygoing town, she
notes, and has been hospitable to the grand as well as the modest throughout its
history.
 For honeymooners, or just a romantic getaway, touring the small springs could
be an exercise in tasting, but it hardly compares to nature’s bounty not far
away. Pikes Peak remains a favorite draw, providing a Rocky Mountain high
experience for both the intrepid and tepid. On a bright, brisk winter day, a
father and three husky teenage sons bounded up the trailhead. The climb is 12
miles and 7200 vertical feet. "The last two miles are straight up," a
seasoned citizen behind the Visitor’s Center warns. Judging from the sleek
outfits and water-filled camelbacks, half a dozen sturdy souls set out early in
the day for adventure.
 Others take the cog railroad tram. The elevation is too steep for an ordinary
train, so the cogs provide enough structure to keep the couple of cars firmly in
place. And if the tram is not for you, there’s a 50-minute drive to the top as
well. Just be aware of a quick altitude change and cold temperatures once you
reach the top.
A couple from Arlington, Virginia, drove up but discovered they were
suffering from altitude sickness once they reached the top. "We had
headaches and even felt nauseous," they recalled, "and the temperature
was about five degrees. It took us 45 minutes to get down." Still, the
magnificence of Pikes Peak has been etched into their memory from grade school
and it wasn’t an experience to be overlooked, they added as they filled a
canvas tote with firewood to take upstairs to stoke their bedroom hearth.
Since most B&Bs were built before central heating, it’s not uncommon to
find a fireplace in each bedroom—still working. Most are lovingly cared for
and in demand. It’s hard to imagine that tourism could support so many
innkeepers, but the brisk pace of visitors arrives in the summer. Each B&B
strives to distinguish itself by style, amenities, history or surroundings. The
Red Crags dotes on Victoriana inside and views without. Besides wine, tea,
coffee, bowls of candy and a pecan pie for evening lingerers, the instructions
that come with each eiderdown-strewn bed won’t be found in many motel rooms.
Lynn advises guests to plop in the middle of the fluffed eiderdown and roll
around. "Otherwise it just gets bigger and bigger throughout the
night," she warns. Next to the bed is a notebook with a list: "How to
Get Into Bed." The first suggestion: "Remove the decorative
bunny."
 Just after Pikes Peak comes The Garden of the Gods as a destination with
clout. This crowded natural area is more like a park than a rendezvous with
nature, but it remains stunning. True, there’s the required curio shop in the
middle and housing developments are encroaching from all sides. Too many hikers
walk off trail and leave big ruts in the fragile topography, but the natural
rock formations remain stunning. Each exquisite rock feature has been aptly
named. "Kissing camels," is as easy to pick out as "Balancing
rock." The soft sandstone hills have been eroded by winds over millions of
years and remain stunning sculptures—almost as if they have been abandoned by
some earlier culture.
One positive change in the park is the shift from a two-lane road for traffic
to a one-way loop around the park. This has freed a substantial asphalt ribbon
devoted to bicycles and makes the park a bike friendly experience. Pack a lunch
(your B&B will tell you how to do this) and head out to the Garden on bikes.
If you didn’t bring your own bikes, you can rent them. Get an early start,
before the Garden fills to the brim with devotees, and you’ll have miles of
paved lanes to enjoy.
 Back in Manitou by evening, you’ll find a variety of restaurants. There’s
not a single chain in town, so those who serve you often are the owners. From a
small pastry shop with coffee, to a Hungarian diner with goulash and dumplings,
or a fondue bistro, there’s something for everyone. But two elegant places
stand out. The Cliff House Restaurant ranks as one of the best in Colorado as
does the Craftsman Inn, which specializes in game. So if you’re in the mood
for elk, venison, wild boar or ostrich, head their way. They also offer salmon,
scallops, beef, bison and chicken, too. The Cliff House offers a varied menu
that specializes in Colorado products like quinoa, Colorado beef or goat cheese,
as well as the traditional salmon. Prices are about the same and service is
excellent at both places. Reservations are suggested and these two restaurants
are filled during the winter off-season times as well as the height of the
season. Apparently they’ve attracted a loyal following from Colorado Springs.
 Great breakfasts are the hallmark of a B&B and those you’ll find in
Manitou Springs can be grand. From a green chili strata to Belgian waffles,
omelets and pastries, hazelnut coffee and English teas, wine jellies and local
salsas, you may not want lunch. Still, breakfast is a good time to ask questions
about the town and acquaint yourself with some of the local lore: the coffin
races (based on one unfortunate flood in the cemetery), fruitcake toss and other
odd events.
Of course, you’re not far from Colorado Springs, so the bigger city is
close at hand. But heading to Manitou Springs quickly lets you sink into a small
town environment, exchange the car for a pair of walking shoes, stretch your
legs along trails and return for a wonderful dinner and cozy bedroom.
If you’d like to experience what originally made the town famous, search
for all ten mineral springs. There’s a map to show the way that’s available
at the Tourist Center or any inn. Iron Spring gives away its vital element.
There’s also Soda Spring. But Seven Minute Spring, Shoshone Spring, Stratton
Spring and others contain elements not so obvious. "There’s one spring
that’s bubbly. We use that one for lemonade with mint in the summer. And one
has lithium. You might not want to drink too much of that," Lynn says. You’ll
thank your lucky stars that some vicious illnesses, like those that once plagued
the citizens of Manitou Springs, now have effective medicines as antidotes. And
although the original purposes of the mineral spring water have retreated,
enjoying a blissful weekend with your sweetheart is good medicine, too.
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 Helpful
websites:
Pikes Peak; www.pikespeakcolorado.com or 800-318-9505
Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, 1805 North 39th Street,
Colorado Springs, 80904; 719-634-6666; www.gardenofgods.com
Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, 354 Manitou Avenue, Manitou Springs, 80829;
800-642-2567; www.manitousprings.org
Pikes Peak Cog Railway, 515 Ruxton Avenue, Manitou Springs, 80829; 719-685-5401; www.cograilway.com;
Adults: $27; reservations
The Cliff House Dining Room, 306 Cañon Avenue, Manitou Springs, 80829;
888-212-7000;
www.thecliffhouse.com
The Craftwood Inn, 404 El Paso Boulevard, Manitou Springs, 80829; 719-685-9000; www.craftwood.com
 Bed
and Breakfasts:
Blue Skies Inn Bed & Breakfast, 402 Manitou Avenue, 80829; 800-298-7949;
www.blueskiesbb.com
Red Crags Bed & Breakfast Inn, 302 El Paso Boulevard, 80829;
800-721-2248; www.redcrags.com
Rockledge Country Inn, 328 El Paso Boulevard, 80829; 888-685-4515;
www.rockledgeinn.com
Spring Cottage & Spring Cottage, Too, 113 Pawnee Avenue, 80829;
888-588-9395; www.springcottage.com
Two Sisters Inn, Ten Otoe Place, 80829; 800-2-SIS-INN; www.twosisinn.com
Victoria’s Keep Bed and Breakfast, 202 Ruxton Avenue, 80829; 800-905-5337; www.victoriaskeep.com
Bike Rentals and Tours:
Criterium Bicycles, 6150 Corporate Drive, Colorado
Springs, 80919; 719-599-0149; www.criterium-bicycles.com
Pikes Peak Mt Bike Tours, 306 S.
25th St., Colorado Springs, 80904; 888-593-3062; www.biketours.com
Garden of the Gods Horse Back Riding:
Academy Riding Stables, 4 El Paso Boulevard, Colorado
Springs, 80904; 719-633-5667; www.arsriding.com
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