If rooms filled with walls of dolls are your thing, then you’re in luck. With over 500 dolls in their collection, the Simpich Doll Museum is one of the largest and most extensive collections of its type in the world. Every Simpich Doll you’ll see there was handmade in Colorado. The “Gallery on Strings” exhibit is also currently on display, featuring a huge variety of string operated marionettes.
Colorado Springs is home to the Space Foundation Discovery Center, a museum with the sole purpose of inspiring visitors to learn more about the universe. One of the feature items is the “Science on a Sphere,” a huge 50 pound ball. Using the world’s first dynamic spherical projection system, over 350 different maps can be displayed on it, including a live weather map of Earth, daily air traffic around the world, or distant planets like Jupiter.
Like Something out of a horror movie, a metal beetle standing well over 10 feet tall marks the way to the May Natural History Museum. A one of a kind experience, the May Museum is home to the largest private bug collection in the world with over 8,000 crazy bugs including spiders bigger than your hand, butterflies the size of birds, and deadly scorpions.
Coloradans can sleep safely knowing that the most heavily armed man in America calls Colorado Springs his home. With more than 80 military vehicles and an entire arsenal of heavy weaponry, not only is Mel Bernstein an avid collector, he also runs a shooting range, paintball course, motorbike track, and one of the most complete military museums in the world.
Seeking a means of transmitting electricity without the need for any wiring, Nikola Tesla set up shop in Colorado Springs in 1899 due to the thinner, more conductive air. A great deal of mystery surrounds Tesla’s work in The Springs, however those interested can learn a little more at the Tesla Museum of Science in Colorado Springs. Visitors will hear stories about the time a Tesla experiment blacked out the power grid in El Paso County, as well as why Tesla is thought to be the first man to receive a radio wave from outer space.
In the shadows of Pikes Peak, Crystal Creek Reservoir is a great location for hiking, fishing, and paddle boating. With almost 3.5 miles of shoreline, there’s enough room that it’s never crowded.
Dropping riders off of a 200-ft cliff side, the Terror-Dactyl reaches speeds up to 100 miles-per-hour during a 150-ft freefall into Williams Canyon. Visitors not up for the Terror-Dactyl may want to try the tamer “Bat-a-pult,” a zip line ride across the canyon.
“The future of laser tag,” Battlefield Colorado is Colorado’s first and only outdoor laser tag course. Taking up an entire city block, the company takes laser tag to a whole new level with state-of-the-art military simulation technology. Their arsenal is complete with guns that function as sniper rifles (accurately shooting lasers up to 1,000 ft.), rapid firing submachine guns, and the laser tag equivalent to a 50 caliber mounted guns.
Only 30 miles from Colorado Springs, the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center lets visitors get up close and personal with huge wild canines. Complete with wolves, wolf dogs, foxes, and coyotes, it’s one of the largest centers of its type in the country. Some of the tour options include howl sessions, feeding tours, and adult wolf interaction tours. Feline lovers visiting the Springs can also leave happy with a visit to Serenity Springs Wildlife Center, home of over 120 huge cats including lions, tigers, leopards, cougars and bobcats.
Standing 114 feet high on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun was built in 1937 from a single block of Cheyenne Mountain granite. Spencer and Julie Penrose commissioned the massive monument as one of their projects to beautify the area, as well as honor the late Will Rogers.
Inside of Colorado Springs, lies one of the coolest miniature cities in the country. Michael Garman’s Magic Town at the Michael Garman Museum and Gallery covers 3,000 square feet featuring 18 buildings built at 1:6 scale, complete with tiny sculptors of citizens walking around.
Originally built as the personal home in 1896 for a local Catholic priest, the Miramont Castle was later used as a sanitarium housing patients will serious chronic illnesses. Now a museum, popular legend is that it’s one of the most haunted places in the Colorado Springs area with apparitions and paranormal happenings regularly reported by employees and guests. The brave are welcome to tour the 42 rooms of the castle which is now dedicated to teaching the public about Manitou Springs.
With the shaft descending 1,000 feet down into the mountains of Cripple Creek, the depth of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is roughly equivalent to the height of New York City’s Empire State Building. First operating in 1891, the mine gives visitors a taste of what the mining life is like, allowing them to see gold in its natural strain state, witness air powered mining equipment in action, and ride an air powered man trip train.
Arcade Amusements Inc. in Manitou Springs is home to over 250 old school gaming machines. From pinball machines to skill games like skeeball to the 5 cent “peeping tom” game, Arcade Amusements is sure to have something for everyone. There are some newer games, but most of the machines are a true blast from the past.
It’s Christmastime year-round at North Pole Colorado. Though only 60 ft. off the ground, Cascade sits at an elevation of 7,379 ft. making the Giant Wheel attraction the world’s highest Ferris wheel. One of the coolest destinations to visit in Colorado, Colorado Springs’s unique mix of attractions make it one of the most memorable places in the world. Did we miss anything? Tell us your favorite secret spot in Colorado Springs in the comments below!
