Your guide to restaurants, shopping, and things to do in & around Florissant, CO!
This guide was created for our guests at Colorado Adventure Retreat, but will hopefully be useful to anyone visiting the Florissant area!
Please share your adventures with us by tagging us on Instagram @perrydisevacationrentals – we love to see them!
This post will cover a few different areas that are all within an hour of Colorado Adventure Retreat:
- Teller County – Florissant, Divide, Woodland Park, Cripple Creek (0-25 min away)
- Manitou Springs (40-45 min away)
- Colorado Springs (45 min-1 hour away)
- Royal Gorge (1 hour away)
Things to Do in Teller County
Restaurants/Drinks
- Wild Horses Cafe/Cap’s Pizza (Florissant) – we love this place for coffee, pizza, and sandwiches – located in the lower level of Dawn’s Hope Ranch, this cafe has a cute & cozy vibe with nice views of Pike’s Peak
- Iron Tree Restaurant/Funky Town Brewery (Florissant) – has a nice outdoor patio
- Thunderbird Inn (Florissant) – local bar/restaurant
- Costello Coffee House (Florissant) – serves coffee, breakfast, & lunch in a historic Victorian house, has a small patio, we enjoy getting coffee and breakfast here!
- Paradox Beer Company (Divide) – local brewery, unique beers, good food, great patio with views
- Fat Shack BBQ – Texas-style BBQ & live music; 13 min NW in Lake George near Eleven Mile Canyon
- Gold Camp Cafe – cute coffee shop in Cripple Creek
- McGinty’s Wood Oven Pub (Divide) – decent food, the pizza is the best thing we’ve had here
- Russ’ Place (Divide) – haven’t been here yet, let us know if it’s good!
- The Creek (Cripple Creek) – very cool historic restaurant, but our meals weren’t great
We haven’t eaten at many places in Woodland Park, but these are some of the top-rated options:
- Roy’s Crew BBQ
- Sam/s Gyros & Kabobs
- Red Diamond Gastro Pub
- Cafe Leo
Groceries/Shopping
- Florissant Mercantile – good selection of groceries, supplies, beer/liquor/wine
Divide (10 min away) has another market/grocery store called The Market. Woodland Park has a Walmart. Colorado Springs probably has any other stores you’d want to shop at.
Teller County Hiking
There are so many great hiking trails in the area. Here are a few of the top recommended trails/our favorites:
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – hiking trails, fossils & petrified wood, awesome for stargazing ($10/person, can use American the Beautiful Pass)
- Hornbek Homestead – 3.9-mile trail that leads here, or you can pull off the highway to view it
- Ponderosa Loop – 0.4 mile wheelchair accessible/stroller friendly trail
- Petrified Forest Loop – 1.1 miles, easy, passes numerous petrified stumps including “Big Stump”
- Paradise Cove/Guffy Gorge Trail – family-friendly 1-mile hike with beautiful views; swimming hole in the summer, solitude in the winter, check out our Youtube video of this hike.
- Horsethief Falls – 2.6-mile moderate trail near Cripple Creek
- Crags Trail – 4.8 mile, moderate trail, stunning views
- Mueller State Park -admission is $10-$12 per vehicle
- Raven Ridge, Red Tail and Lone Eagle Overlook Loop (4.3 miles, moderate)
- Elk Meadow Loop – (2.2 miles, easy) – great sledding hill right off the trail
- Overlook Ridge Trail (1.8 miles, easy) – excellent views, great Aspen viewing
- Grouse Mountain Overlook (2.2 miles, easy) – great views, awesome “bang for your buck”
Click here for an extensive list of hiking trails in the area. Let us know if you hike any awesome trails we should add to our bucket list!
Fishing/Water Activities
- Fishing – click here for a list of fishing spots in Teller Country
- Hike a mile to Paradise Cove – popular swimming hole in the summer
- Woodland Park Indoor Aquatic Center – see hours and prices here
- You can swim at the lake in Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – we’ve never tried it, and I’ve read parts of the lake are often slimy – let us know if you try it out!
More Things to Do in Teller County
- Tour the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center ($) – a wolf sanctuary in Divide dedicated to protecting and educating about wolves, coyotes, and foxes.
- Visit the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center ($) – a dinosaur museum in Woodland Park
- All Aboard the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad ($) – scenic open-air train tour featuring picturesque views and education about area history
- Historic Cripple Creek – walk main street, visit the restaurants, shops, and casinos, learn about the haunted history
- Drive the Gold Belt Tour Scenic Byway – a scenic 131-mile circuit that starts/ends in Florissant
- Check out the Ice Castle in Cripple Creek ($) – hoping it will be back for the 2025/2026 winter season!
- Visit the North Pole($) – Santa’s Workshop amusement park at the base of Pike’s Peak (open May-Dec)
- Tour an area gold mine ($)
- Book a UTV or Jeep Tour with Great Outdoor Adventures ($) – located in Woodland Park
- Visit Rita the Rock Planter – address here, details on the giant troll here
Pike’s Peak Area
- Pike’s Peak – drive, hike, bike, or take the Cog Railway to the summit of iconic Pike’s Peak
- Enjoy the summit – take in the views, check out the visitor center, get a donut or light meal
- Pike’s Peak Highway ($) – enjoy attractions and views on your way up (or down) the mountain
Things to Do in Manitou Springs, Colorado
- Climb the Manitou Incline – 2,768 steps up with rewarding views & a well-deserved sense of accomplishment at the end
- Cave of the Winds Mountain Park ($) – cave tours, thrilling attractions
- Manitou Cliff Dwellings ($) – ancient cliff dwellings + museum you can freely explore
- Historic Downtown – browse the shops and restaurants in downtown Manitou Springs
- Penny Arcade ($) – while you’re downtown, check out the hundreds of nostalgic arcade games ranging in price from a penny (yes, a select few still cost a penny!) to $1.50 to play
Things to Do in Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Garden of the Gods – you’ve got to stop here if you’ve never been; stunning rock formations, well-maintained, stroller-friendly trails, and it’s free!
- Red Rock Canyon Open Space – beautiful area to hike and explore near Garden of the Gods
- Broadmoor Seven Falls Waterfall Park ($) – easy paved walk through a beautiful canyon to an impressive waterfall with multiple viewing platforms. Please note, you have to park at the shuttle lot and take a bus to visit the falls.
- Helen Hunt Falls – waterfall in North Cheyenne Cañon Park
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo ($) – we haven’t been yet, but have heard it’s one of the best zoos in the U.S!
- Tour the Olympic Training Center ($)
- Visit the National Museum of World War II Aviation ($)
Click here for more things to do.
Things to Do in Royal Gorge, Colorado
- Royal Gorge Railway ($) – enjoy a meal & incredible views; different packages available
- Royal Gorge Bridge & Park ($) – numerous adventures to choose from – cross one of the world’s highest suspension bridges, via ferrata, sky coaster, gondola, zip line
- White Water Rafting ($) – tackle the Class IV rapids of the Arkansas River & enjoy the scenery of the gorge
- Biking – more than 15 miles of singletrack trail traverses the north rim of the Royal Gorge; The Maze and Dreamweaver are popular mountain bike trails
- Hiking – Canyon Rim Trail is an easy hike with incredible views
Hope you enjoyed this list of things to do in the Florissant area! Share your adventures with us on Instagram @perrydisevacationrentals. 🙂
