The Visitor & Nature Center

The building and who runs it

The park belongs to the City of Colorado Springs; the Visitor & Nature Center is run by the Garden of the Gods Foundation, a nonprofit. The center opened in 1995 and marked its 30th anniversary with a festival on August 10, 2025. It sits across Gateway Road from the overflow parking, which connects to it through a pedestrian tunnel. The building has an ADA ramp, an elevator and automatic doors, per the park’s accessibility page.

The exhibits

The exhibits page lists free galleries on:

• Geology, including a Geological Time Tunnel. The rocks outside span the Fountain Formation, 320 to 300 million years old, to the Lyons Formation, the tallest rocks in the park. See the rock formations page.
• Plants and animals, with mentions of falcons, bears and bighorn sheep. See the animals page.
• People and history, including the Ute (Nuu-ciu) people, whose Ute Trail passes through the park and who used Camp Creek Valley as a base camp before their removal to reservations in the 1870s.
• Theiophytalia kerri, the dinosaur found in the park.

The dinosaur replica

The skull of Theiophytalia kerri was found in 1878 by Professor James H. Kerr of Colorado College. It was first taken for a Camptosaurus and was named as a new genus and species in 2006. The name means “belonging to the garden of the gods”, plus Kerr’s name. It is the only known specimen of the species; the original is at the Yale Peabody Museum, and the center shows a replica cast. The dinosaur page has the full story.

The Geo-Trekker Theatre

The film “How Did Those Red Rocks Get There?” runs under 15 minutes and is shown every 20 minutes, per the Geo-Trekker Theatre page. Unlike the exhibits, the film has a fee; the current amount is on the park’s site. The theatre has space for two wheelchairs.

Cafe, shop and restrooms

The center has a cafe, a gift shop and restrooms. Other restrooms in the park are at the North Main Parking Lot (Lot 2, opened in 2019) and, in summer, at the Scotsman Picnic Area. See the bathrooms page.

Wheelchairs and e-bikes

Two loaner wheelchairs are available free at the center, first come, first served, with a waiver, per the accessibility page. The paved Perkins Central Garden Trail is wheelchair and stroller accessible, and the summer shuttle vans are ADA-compliant. E-bike and mountain-bike rentals are also available at the Visitor Center, per the park’s site; the park roads have paved bike lanes, and mountain biking is limited to designated trails.

The center as a starting point

The center is a stop on the free summer shuttle loop, alongside the Central Garden, Parking Lot 1/Overflow and the Rock Ledge Ranch entrance. Two GetYourGuide listings use it as a meeting point:

• Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods Segway Tour: meets in front of the Visitor Center; 1.5 hours, limited to 5 participants, starting with a mandatory “Cone Zone” safety orientation. The listing names Kissing Camels, Praying Hands and a park overlook. It is not suitable for children under 12, pregnant women or people over 250 lb (113 kg), and riders must be able to step off a curb unaided. Brian, from the United States, called it informative, safe and fun. See the close-up.
• Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods Jeep Tour: the listing names the Visitor Center as the meeting point from November to March.

Frequently asked questions