Pulpit Rock Open Space

Hiking, privacy, views and beauty

What is nice about Pulpit Rock is how quite it is. Where Palmer Park is filled with a lot of people, few people venture into the Pulpit Rock area. On a recent Friday when I took a hike there I saw two other people and none at the top of the rock formations.

The rock formations are the highlight of the park. After a short hike from either the main trailhead or from the surrounding neighborhoods, you can climb to the top of Pulpit Rock and a panoramic view of Pikes Peak and the Front Range.

Click here for a trail map of the area.

Pictures of Pulpit Rock Open Space

Directions:

From downtown Colorado Springs, head north on Nevada Ave. Shortly before Nevada reaches I-25, there are a couple entrances to a small, parallel road on the right lined with a few businesses. At the end of the road, the sharp curve to the right leads to the parking lot for Pulpit Rock Park.

Or you can enter by hiking in from one of the Austin Bluffs Open Space. (Click here for a map of the area).

Austin Bluffs Open Space

The following is the City of Colorado Springs description of the area:

Pulpit Rock is connected to Austin Bluffs Open Space.

The Austin Bluffs Open Space is comprised of 584 acres.

Austin Bluffs Open Space provides a buffer for surrounding communities, scenic resources, public recreation resources, and a wildlife refuge. Austin Bluffs Open Space includes a very important link to Pulpit Rock Open Space.

The United States Forest Service has ranked this open space as "unique" in the National Feature Inventory for its distinctive rock formations. One rock formation dates back to the Ecocene period of the Tertiary, other formations include the Denver formation, Arapahoe formation, and the Dawson arkose. Following the most recent period of regional geologic uplift, about 65 to 70 million years ago, sedimentary sandstone and arkosic sandstone units.

See more of Pulpit Rock below: