Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Manitou Springs

A great trip through time. I walked and climbed through about two dozen cliff dwellings. These are thought to have been forerunners of the Pueblo Indians. The signs gave good description of the rooms and there was a small but free museum right next to it. Good size gift shop. The whole site can be seen in 2 to 3 hours.

This was a great stop on our Colorado trip. They have a great museum and gift shop. Friendly and knowledge staff. You can walk through the structure. The kids had a great time crawling throw windows and doors. It made for some great pictures. I would definitely recommend if you are in the area stopping to have a look for yourself.

Pulling up you can feel this place has an energy all its own. They do charge admission, but well worth it, and you know you help preserve this amazing piece of Native history. It's set high among the hills allowing for incredibly magnificent views. It still amazes me how these people with no modern machinery were able to dig a two story dwelling out of the side of a mountain. As you walk through the small hallways you see small rooms and staircases throughout the dwelling. I could smell sweet aroma of the mountain flower carried on the breeze as it naturally blew through this dwelling. As amazing as these dwellings are. The gift shop is no joke, being out of town this is the best place to buy souvenirs. We decided on fridge magnets and I am still kicking myself for not getting the sasquach socks. They have everything, and it is huge, rooms of beautify crafted jewelry, moccasins, an impressive collection of stones. Unfortunately the restaurant wasn't open. This was the best thing we experienced during our trip. I would visit this state just to return to this sacred place. Take it in and feel it's incredible history.

We adventured here on a Tuesday around 1pm. We got lucky and a school group was just leaving. So we had the place to ourselves. The dwellings have been maintained very beautifully. Walking through the gift shop down to the restrooms and museum was a beautiful walk as well as it’s built inside of the mountain. The dwellings themselves aren’t very big, so it shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes depending on how long you like to browse. We went and grabbed lunch after at a place nearby named Amanda’s Fonda. Amazing Mexican food! I’d recommend doing the Cliff Dwellings and Cave of the Winds in the same day as they are right next to each other.

An interesting location to visit to learn the intricate details of how and when the cliff dwellings came to be. You can experience the Cliff dwellings in an Hands-On fashion by entering the ancient homes and exploring or there are detailed descriptions outside of each location. It is a cool experience for young and old and I recommend it at least once. Also, the price is very reasonable and there is Museum, gift shop, and picnic area!