This building is quite beautiful. I had heard about this library and I was in Old Colorado City…read morewith my bestie, so we walked in to check it out! First, this is one of three Carnegie libraries here in the Springs. Carnegie was a philanthropist and one of the things he built were libraries. His foundation would allow cities to apply for grants and agree to certain requirements and made sure they would remain public. Supposedly, he was inspired by the reading rooms that women were organizing throughout the country. The collection of books are only on the main floor of the building, but this library (like with most libraries in the Springs) is part of the Pikes Peak Library District so you can order, borrow, and drop off books at any of the locations within the system. This library will celebrate 120 years this Saturday on Dec 7, 2024. They will be offering a swap out of your library card with a limited edition card if you drop in on Saturday. Never stop exploring!

I love the Old Colorado City library because it's such a cute location in the staff are very…read morehelpful. It's right across from the park so I'm usually running multiple errands at once and only have to park in one spot. They do have their own parking lot as well which is super convenient especially if you're just doing a quick book drop off. I just saw that they are expanding their hours as well, and they are open till 7 PM most evenings to make it more accessible for those that work until 5 PM.

This has been the smallest library I've been to in the Colorado Springs area so far - I'm not sure…read moreif it's actually smaller than the Monument location, but the amount of materials available must be smaller at this location. There's a community room that's pretty sizeable, which likely takes up a lot of the area that books would be stored, but it was actively being used as I was here today. Also, this location has been the least populated of all the locations I've been to (which I tend to visit at the same day/time, so it feels like a fair comparison), although the adult side had the most people reading and using computers, with nobody at all in the kids or teens areas while I was here. This location still has a decent sized kids play area (though there aren't a lot of play items, but they're all great quality and in good condition), and the different areas are better separated than Monument as well, so it didn't feel like my kiddo was being too loud while we were playing. I have yet to experience anybody working at a location treating us in a less Tham welcoming way as well - and that was no exception with us today!

I have found the library staff consistently and kindly responsive to my inter-library and other…read morerequests. They are exemplary! Judith Schaeffer

My kids and I love Library 21C! Please continue to help fund our local libraries; they're such an…read moreessential resource for our community.

Good for anyone...kids, adults, elders... However, does not…read morehave the books I am lookibg for often, but does well at filling reservations.

The visitor center is a must stop before sightseeing the academy. It has a small theater and museum…read morethat details the history of the academy. If available, absolutely join the free walking tour that is lead by a fomer cadet. There is also a large gift shop. Bathrooms were clean. The snack bar was closed on the day of my visit, but there were vending machines available.

My son toured us as he is in the AF working here. It's a beautiful campus, much larger than I…read moreexpected. The selection in the gift shop was good. We will have to return when the chapel reopens. I was sad to have missed seeing it.

This is a really cool library and their kid section has a ton of fun stuff like a car kids can take…read moreapart and pretend to repair. Outside is a a skating area, cool jacks sculptures, and a splash pad.

We were pleasantly surprised by this whole experience. We drove a couple hours to check this out…read moreand had no expectations based off of the reviews (take the negative reviews with a grain of salt). When we showed up, they were at capacity but the lady kindly told us to come back in a couple hours and suggested we check out the area in the meantime. There's plenty to do within a 20 minute drive. We came back a couple hours later and the attention and service provided was above and beyond. She recognized that she turned us away and apologized, through no fault of her own, they were just busy. She explained the fossil finding process thoroughly and we had a great time! At the end of the experience, they included a card with instructions on how to care for our fossils and how to preserve them. Overall the experience was 10/10. Would recommend if fossils interest you

This place may not look like much, but it is a perfect place to spend an afternoon if you like…read morerocks and are interested in fossils. Located in the small town of Florrisant, this is a family run business which makes it extra special. Dixie, who gave us the tools and showed us how to open the shale to find the fossils, was friendly and pleasant. She explained that her 91-year-old mother still owns the quarry and her and her sisters as well as her nephew take turns running it. The cost is $10 an hour. My husband and I had so much fun, that we decided to stay for two hours. We used a razor blade and a knife to pull back the delicate layers of shale, and were lucky enough to find fossils of leaves, mosquitos, a cattail, and even a feather. It is a small operation. They hand you a box of shale that has been dug out of the side of a hill. You sit at a picnic table, some are shaded some aren't, and use tools to pull the layers of rock apart. Also, you get to take home a box of the fossils that you found. We packed them up and were able to fly them home with no damage. It was an amazing experience very relaxing. I would love to do it again.

This was my favorite mineral spring in Manitou because of the sculpture, the interesting way we…read morefound it, and it just says "magic" to me. We only found 4 out of the 8 springs in town, but that's because we were walking around in snow and it was getting late. Prior to finding this spring (by accident) - This particular spring makes a high pitch noise that I mistook for birds screeching, so we walked over to investigate, and here it was! We also found the Shoshone Spring (not working), Cheyenne Spring and the Navajo Spring. All of these springs have their own stories. According to the Mineral Springs Foundation, this particular spring was named after Winfried Scott Stratton, who struck it rich with gold in the early 1900's. When he died he left his fortune of several millions of dollars to indigent children and the elderly. "On February 21, 1936, at a depth of 283 feet, sparkling soda water was struck flowing at 25 gallons per minute. Today, Stratton Spring stands as one of Manitou's iconic mineral spring assets along its downtown corridor, ensuring Winfield Scott Stratton's legacy. (from Mineral Springs Foundation webpage)" The water here is sparkling, but not as salty as the Cheyenne Spring. It had the mildest taste of all the springs in town and the sodium, potassium and calcium content here was less than all of the other springs.

You will find this natural spring right on the Manitou Springs strip near the traffic circle. It…read morenot only serves as a spring but is also has a nice sculpture on it. The bronze sculpture depicts a lady, known as "the maiden of the water", bending over. The statue is on a semicircular pedestal and under a semi-circular pergola. It is a very nice spring set-up and draws you to the spring. The statue, spring, and little plaza area that it is located could use a little TLC and is in need of some maintenance. It is still operational, but just needs some attention. The spring is named in honor of Winfield Scott Stratton, who became the region's first self-made millionaire in 1891, after discovering a huge payload of 1.3 million ounces of gold. In 1936 his Foundation drilled the Spring in his honor after his untimely death in 1902. The spring flows at about 25 gallons per minute and appeared to having air coming out with the water as evident from its hissing. It has a seltzer water taste, and this and water from the other springs are rumored to have healing properties. The water is an acquired taste, but drinkable. This is not a very long stop and is one of many springs in the area. This is something that you would probably just stumble across and not a destination. There is metered street parking within a reasonable walking distance from here but I recommend combining a stop here with other activities like a visit to the tourist strip, with shops and restaurants, that it is located. The good news is that you can fill your water bottles here as well as look at a nice piece of street art. It is definitely worth a look if you are in the area.

It was closed when we visited March 2024 (also snowing). Apparently there are 8 natural springs in…read moreManitou Springs, and each spring has it's own distinct flavor. We only found four of them - Shoshone, Navajo, Cheyenne and Stratton. It's a bit magical to find spring water pouring out of the earth for you to drink, but not so much as this fountain. I'm still rating it a good 4-stars. It's probably open when it's not freezing, is my guess. Close to this spring is the Navajo (in a restaurant area) and Cheyenne (off the main strip), and those were working.

This is a nice natural spring located right off of the busy Manitou Springs tourist district. There…read moreis metered street parking available and there are paid lots nearby. It is labeled healing water, even though I cannot verify that. The water contains some sulphur, which was highly recommended by physicians for its curative uses, before modern medicines. You can bring your own container and get some water straight from the spring. It is easy to get to and get your water. However, be warned, the water is not your usual water. It looks great, but is an acquired taste. It has a carbonated calcium taste. I could only stand a few sips of it and I tapped out. According to the Mineral Springs Foundation, the water has some of the highest amounts of mineral content, and it's some of the warmest, with a temperature just over 70 degrees. This place is definitely worth a quick stop to check off the box, but meter your expectations