We run the SF trail from MVP to Bear Creek all of the time. It's as safe as anywhere, they re-did the entire trail, opened it up, took out trees, etc.
The section from Bear Creek to Kohl's is a bit iffy, but again I've never had an issue. Kohl's to Fountain is great.
Also there are tons of great places to run around Colorado Springs, the list is long.
I'm glad to hear that. I may give it a try again. I do remember having some excellent runs there. I remember a dark tunnel on the route connecting the Monument Valley Trail (or Santa Fe Trail) to Bear Creek Park. It was short but creepy. I remember it was next to a big store (sounds as though it must have been Kohl's). Is that still part of the connecting route? It seems as though it shouldn't have been necessary.
I imagine Bear Creek Park has been greatly improved since I was last there. I remember hearing about a lot of changes when it was being turned into a more suitable area for championship cross country races.
Yes, that’s the “8th Street Walmart Bridge” and still connects Bear Creek to MVP. Running south from MVP past America the Beautiful Park to this particular bridge is the one area within that trail network that gives me pause when running solo, but also don’t go left at the bridge junction, lots of homeless camps if you continue south. Go up to Bear Creek instead.
Daily murders that go unsolved, cost of living is getting worse, Apartment complexes going up everyday (and not enough people to house them ) think before moving, check your finances.
We don’t even have weekly murders let alone daily. Check your facts and stars
Where are the good/safe areas to live in COS- for both paved/flat running and also trails (if it’s possible to live in one spot and access both by foot)?
Since I'm decades past my prime running years, I avoid pavement and concrete almost entirely, unless I've decided to head north on the Santa Fe trail from Monument Valley Park up to the Air Force Academy grounds. Aside from the harder surfaces in some areas, that's a great place for doing out-and-back runs on well-kept paths for twenty miles or more without having to cross any streets or wait at any stop lights. Most of the path is close to flat with some gentle hills, but you get to be able to experience very gradual climbs and descents at altitudes between 6,000 and 7,000 feet. For shorter, steeper, dirt trails, I usually head over to Sonderman Park, which requires me to run on pavement or concrete for some short stretches between my home and the park. But I don't really seek out variety; the great majority of my running over the past 35 years has been back and forth along a one- or two-mile strip of dirt path, on which I've run 10s of thousands of miles and individual runs of up to thirty miles or more. It never really gets old for me.
Keep in mind, though, that I'm now old and relatively spoiled by my immediate surroundings. When I was younger, I might occasionally run from Colorado Springs or Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak, or run on steep, largely paved routes through the Garden of the Gods, or just wander around back roads. Keep in mind, too, that I didn't have a car or even know how to drive back then, and still never drive anywhere to run. The Colorado Springs area really has it all -- just about any combination of running on (1) flat, gradual, and steep routes; (2) dirt and hard surfaces; and (3) short and long routes, without any need for driving anywhere or dealing with any significant traffic or street lights. (I don't know if there are any good indoor tracks in the area -- perhaps the Air Force Academy, if you have permission to run there -- but who really wants to train on an indoor track unless your winter weather just sucks?) I would guess that it's less satisfying as you head east away from the mountains, which is where a lot of the newer (and probably cheaper) residential growth has taken place. I suspect that the great majority of grousing about strip malls and suburbia comes largely from people who have lived or visited in those areas.
I can think of one thing that I wish were more easily available in Colorado Springs -- the lush, relatively humid, densely forested, lightly traveled, quiet, soft-surfaced parklands that I could lose myself in when I lived in Virginia a long time ago. But I don't know anywhere in the U.S. where you get that without giving up the higher altitudes, lower humidity, sunshine, and generally mosquito-free environment of the Rocky Mountain region.
Is living up near the Air Force Academy a safe bet? On TrailRunProject I see the Santa Fe Regional Trail (has a grade) and then also the technical Falcon Trail circling the Air Force. I do out and back runs too for long runs and workouts, so not sure about the Santa Fe Trail. Appreciate recommendations on flatter paths.
Is living up near the Air Force Academy a safe bet? On TrailRunProject I see the Santa Fe Regional Trail (has a grade) and then also the technical Falcon Trail circling the Air Force. I do out and back runs too for long runs and workouts, so not sure about the Santa Fe Trail. Appreciate recommendations on flatter paths.
I’ve run the Santa Fe from about the Air Force north to Palmer Lake.
I grew up in Baltimore, so I thought that hearing about daily murders was normal. Basically any time I’d turn on local news it’d be something like shooting, shooting, fire, homicide, failing schools…
I live in Colorado and have lived in Colorado Springs. For nature access it is awesome, garden of the gods, barr trail, the 24 nearby, etc.
other than that, the place is really really weird. It is a town struggling for identity. You have a few main factions: military, ultra-evangelical groups (highest concentration of them in the world here), tech/defense contractors, homeless, etc.
there are also way more homeless than you’d expect. Entire parks are overrun. I’m saying this as someone who lives in Boulder now, the springs is worse on that front
it never struck me as clean, there is a lot of traffic, and crime continues to get worse. I don’t understand how it was rated 2nd honestly
You must be high. Boulder is better than COS on the homeless front... riiiiight. In Boulder, they own most of Pearl Street,
Visited Pearl Street with my wife and one year old about 3 weeks ago. I didn’t see a single homeless person?
This is hillarious. I'm going to be in Colorado Springs on February 21st in the most random of circumstances. My oldest sister invited me on a ski trip bc she is now working for West Point and got invited to a conference in Air Force Academy on business. We grew up skiing, so she invited me on this trip where I crash in her hotel and then on the weekend we hit the slopes.
Anyone who live in Colorado Springs want to hang out then?
Cartman takes on hippies and his friends. 0:06 Drugs are bad because if you do drugs, you're a hippie, and hippies suck. 0:10 I don't need to hear crap from ...
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