Perkins Central Garden Trail

The trail in numbers

The park gives the trail as 1.5 miles round trip with less than 30 ft of rise; the city’s 2020 map measures the Central Garden segment at 1.56 miles. The surface is paved. Visit COS and the park describe it as wheelchair and stroller accessible, and the official map adds that it is "easily accessible in all seasons". At an easy walking pace the loop fits inside the 90 minutes to 2 hours that Visit COS gives for a typical visit, with time left for the Visitor Center.

The name

The trail carries the name of Charles Elliott Perkins, who owned the land from the 1870s. His children gave 480 acres to Colorado Springs in 1909, two years after his death, on condition that it remain free to the public. The is it free page tells the story.

What the walk passes

The trail runs through the Central Garden. The park’s red fins are layers of sandstone laid down flat between about 320 and 250 million years ago and tilted upright by the Laramide uplift about 70 to 60 million years ago. The city’s geology packet names the Lyons Formation as the tallest rocks in the park.

The park pairs this trail with the Gateway Trail: together they make an easy 2.5-mile walk from the overflow lot. The official map places the Kissing Camels on top of North Gateway Rock. The rock formations page lists the named formations on the map, and the Kissing Camels page explains that one.

Accessibility

• Surface. Paved, with less than 30 ft of rise over the loop.
• Loaner wheelchairs. The Visitor Center lends two wheelchairs free, first come, with a waiver.
• Shuttle. The summer shuttle uses ADA-compliant vans and stops at the Central Garden.
• Visitor Center. An ADA ramp, an elevator and automatic doors, per the park’s accessibility page.

A city waterline project that began in October 2024 included accessibility work at the Central Garden: it replaced the concrete path from Parking Lot #4 to the Central Garden to correct its slopes and added about 3,200 sq ft of accessible asphalt parking near the Central Garden. In April 2025 the city described the project as 97% complete, with the ADA trail work continuing. The accessibility page gives the current state.

Getting there

In summer the free shuttle stops at the Central Garden, with a loop about every 15 minutes; the season runs roughly Memorial Day weekend to late August, plus Labor Day weekend in recent years; check gardenofgods.com for this year’s dates. Drivers can use the park lots, all free; the Visitor Center lot has fewer than 200 spaces and often fills in summer and on holidays. From the overflow lot across Gateway Road, a pedestrian tunnel leads to the Visitor Center. Restrooms are at the Visitor & Nature Center and at the North Main Parking Lot (Lot 2, opened in 2019); the city is planning another near Parking Lot 7 on the west side of the Central Garden. See parking and shuttle and bathrooms.

When to walk it

The park suggests arriving before about 8 am or after about 4 pm for the light and thinner crowds. Summer afternoons bring storms that can form within minutes, and the sun is strong at about 6,400 ft, so water and a hat help. In winter the red rocks can carry fresh snow; the paved surface stays open, though ice is possible after a storm. The best time to visit page has the seasons.

Trail rules

Dogs are welcome on a leash of 6 ft at most, with waste picked up. Walkers stay on the trail: off-trail travel is prohibited, and bouldering or scrambling above 10 ft without proper equipment is illegal. Nothing may be taken. The park rules page has the full list.

Seeing the park on a Segway

The Garden of the Gods Segway Tour starts in front of the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center and lasts 1.5 hours, according to its listing, which names the Kissing Camels, Praying Hands and a park overlook. It is not a wheelchair option: the listing requires riders to walk up and down stairs and step off a curb unaided, and excludes children under 12, pregnant women and people over 250 lb (113 kg).

Frequently asked questions