Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Manitou Springs

Fascinating awesome place. Amazing how they could do this before the invention of modern tools and machinery. Kids loved it they were 8. Challenging if you are handicap and not in wheelchair. Many stairs. The gift shop was big if you like that stuff. Did find some things you don't find somewhere else. They also have a lot of stuff made in the USA. Museum was not all in one place mixed in with the gift shop. Place was like a maze.

It is an amazing place, very beautiful. Kids will especially have fun running around and through the dwellings. Yes, you actually walk inside them! I did find the entry fee quite steep ($10 for adults $7.50 for children) considering there isn't all that much to do in there and it can be done in under an hour, maybe a half hour. The parking lot is small, (maybe 15-20 spots?), but considering that people don't spend too long there, it rotates relatively quickly.

The dwellings looked remodeled and not original. It was also alot smaller than expected. The museum included 2 rooms with nice artifacts but some did not look authentic. I was only there for less than an hour. But on the plus side of things, the gift shop was REALLY nice. It was big and had lots of nice stuff for the dwellings & Colorado.

This is a wonderful experience to enjoy! You get to see how the ancient people of Colorado use to live. It's a nice place to visit once for the price. It's a little expensive but if you are a fan of history or archaeology then this is worth going to at least the one time.

I'm not a huge history fan to begin with, but I can appreciate things now and again. These dwellings seem more man-made than natural and it loses it's appeal. I understand the need to preserve, but it feels overdone. It is also super short. You could spend 30 minutes or less and see everything. I feel the gift shop is where someone could actually spend most their time. Just wasn't impressed for the price.