Jacki A.

Visiting Colorado and trying to make the most of my time. Went here today and it was really amazing. I did think there would be more colors, but it was still beautiful. We didn't walk the whole park as I get out of breath easily sometimes. It was pretty easy going down but a little bit of an incline coming back up. Definitely worth the trip.

Josh M.

This was definitely one of my favorite and unique parks I've ever visited in Colorado. It is a bit of a drive but definitely worth it to see the natural beauty Colorado has to offer. You get several places to hike and explore the colorful caves and crevices of this park. Just don't climb on any of the rocks!

Stephanie W.

This is an AMAZING state park in Colorado. Only note to say up front: I came on Fri 9/6/25 and it was SOOOO windy and COLD. I was tremendously underdressed, and the ripping wind was making my nose run and eyes water. Nevertheless! This park is a lovely place to walk around or take pics (in fact I saw a couple taking what looked like engagement photos here, and I KNOW they're gonna turn out amazing. The formations are incredible and so very colorful to look at, plus the surroundings are so idyllic, peaceful, and green. If you walk the entire park it's actually several miles since most of the trails wrap around or form loops. It is about 1 hr drive outside of Colorado Springs, and the only bathroom I saw was a single stall toilet with no sink (only hand sanitizer, like in a national park). There was a gravel lot for a good part of the drive off the main road, and the lot is also a gravel lot. It's got plenty of space, though. Def would rec a visit if you're trying to take in the sights in and around CO springs, this park is super cool!

Shelby A.

First off it's a drive but absolutely worth the hike! The mines are so cool and the colors and insane. You can even climb inside some of the caves here for the best photos.

Jessica O.

I found out about this place through a book that I got called 50 hikes with kids Colorado. As someone who is a mom to a 1-year-old and 3-year-old I definitely agree that this is a great hike to do with kids! It is also nice because it is one you can do all year long! I like to often try to do the hikes outside of the mountain areas in the winter since I can still bring the whole family and they don't need any special gear. This place felt like a natural playground. My kids were absolutely obsessed with exploring the area. It is such a unique hike. The colors of the rocks are very beautiful. I think it is worth going a bit out of your way to see! It was not very crowded either. One thing to be aware of is that it can get muddy and icy during the wintertime. As long as the conditions aren't muddy you could bring a stroller the paths are wide! No horses, bikes, or dogs allowed on the trail.

Christie H.

This is a pretty unique park. I haven't ever seen anything like it in my life so I'm glad I went. It's quite a drive from Co Springs though. It isn't a very large park but still requires a good bit of walking. It's a half mile to get to the entrance from the parking lot. There are options to take a few trails around the area. It's in a rolling plains grassland area that was a gorgeous and peaceful drive. While it's unique it was a bit underwhelming compared to some of the larger parks around Co Springs. I am not upset I went but it wouldn't be a place I visited again. We'd already done everything else on the itinerary and this was free so it was okay. I just wouldn't skip any of the main attractions in town to see this one.

Gina K.

It's is about and 1.5 hour drive from north Denver so, we wanted to make it worth it. We arrived on a Sunday which according to the staff that was at the entrances of the paths, Sunday is the busiest day. You can select multiple hike options. We chose the short loop into the longer loop but if you just want to see the mines you can walk right from the parking lot. The staff was also in the mines and shared some information with us about the history. It was definitely cool to see but, kind of a far way to go from Denver for the short time it takes to walk through them.

Mike G.

Don't trust AllTrails on this one, as it's really outdated. Unfortunately, lots of areas are closed due to revegetation growth or other issues. The parts you can actually explore are pretty cool. Not sure we'll come all the way back, but it's a pretty easy, family-friendly trail. There is one picnic table near the bathrooms at the main parking lot.

Marissa G.

Absolutely check it out! It was really fun to see everything. We got there around 10am and the parking lot still had plenty of space. The path is gravel as well although I do recommend shoes with grip since there are muddy spots still. There is no real shade on this path at all so come prepared. The scenery is truly beautiful though.

Isaac A.

We hiked around here for a few hours and it was a quick drive from COS. It is definitely worth the drive to spend some time here. I walked all of the major loops and around the main formations. The trails are easy and low-stress/low-intensity. I recommend parking by the main formation and walking the trail down into it (you'll see two paths on the maps that dead-end: those are the two you want to do). This is the fastest way to see the most colorful and entertaining parts of the park. As you walk around, you'll see stone millions of years old layered in different colors. The crumbling pieces turn into a lot of pillars, wavy designs, and what look like (but I wouldn't call them this) miniature caves. There's a lot of interesting geometry in there highlighted by the natural colors. There weren't many animals when we were there, but weI did see a few caterpillars, random bugs, rabbits, and birds. If you run to the rear-most loop (which I don't recommend, it wasn't worth the walk) you can see 2 smaller formations with a lot less color. The highlight of this walk, which added at least a mile, was there were some birds making R2D2-type sounds where there were no trees: they were hiding in the grass, almost taunting you as you pass by. We also walked from the main (the first one coming in from the town) parking lot to the main formations, but there wasn't much to see for that leg of the walk. It was a good trail though and had some decent elevation changes. There was another back loop that maybe had one formation, but we didn't walk that. The park is well-kept and I hardly saw any litter. The worst part was there were people walking all over the formations, even though the signs clearly state not to and that they are fragile. Even the trails that went directly through the formations were closer than I expected them to be, almost inviting people to walk everywhere. They had some bathrooms, but they are the basic hole-in-the-ground type that usually intimidate or gross out small kids. No bikes are allowed.

Rika M.

Finally made it to Paint Mines today on Father's Day (2021). Have heard so much about this place for years. What took so long was I had kept asking myself. Well, while I wasted my time by making all kinds of excuses as to why I hasn't go there sooner I had a sigh of relief now that I was able to scratch one of the things off of my big bucket list. I had always imagined that this place was in the middle of a desert. I was surprised to find it being surrounded by lots of green however. Yes, like others have commented about it, this place is not shaded so if you go there during the warmer/hot months make sure to bring lots of water. If you park at the main parking lot, you have access to most of the major points of interest as they are accessible on foot (only if you don't mind walking up to two miles one way.) I only spent one hour in the park (from about 9am to a little past 10am); that was all I needed to see about 60 to 70% of the park. With that said, you only half day for a nice outdoor experience in this one of the hidden gems in Colorado.

Matt C.

New year means new places to explore! Luckily in Colorful Colorado we have roughly a billion at our disposal. I'm not experienced doing snowshoe hikes, so I wanted to find an easy spot to walk around, breath in fresh air, and see something cool. Paint Mines checked those winter boxes! You drive up to the entrance of the park via a bumpy, dirt road (like most awesome spots in Colorado). Cars weren't allowed in the lot, but you could park next to it on the sides of the main road. There is, in fact, a single use bathroom, Just don't get your hopes up, this isn't the Ritz Carlton. There are two routes you can take, which lead to the same place. When you come to the fork, make a right, not left like we did. Not the end of the world, but not much to see sans two descriptive signs speaking to the archaeology and ecology of the park. Learn from my blunder, go right and you'll start seeing the cool stuff much more quickly! There they are, painted mines. I've never seen anything like them before. The colors are remarkable. When you step back to get an aerial view, seeing the straight flat lines of different colors are something to behold. The cool thing is you can get up close and personal. There are various NO CLIMBING signs, though it's often unclear what you can or cannot climb. It was a nice day (high 40s) so we walked the majority of the loop. If it was summer, I'd skip the walk since there's zero shade and there's not much else to see. Would totally recommend coming here and seeing the mines for themselves. Without question, one of the more unique spots I've been to!

Paul L.

Great place to explore nature! Lots of different colors , paths and cool views. Open area with little shade so bring a hat.