Perkins Central Garden Trail

Front Range • Colorado Springs, Colorado

easyloop

1.1

Miles

Elevation Gain (ft)

Hours

6,200

High Point (ft)

Overview

The Perkins Central Garden Trail is the paved loop through the heart of Garden of the Gods, between the big red sandstone fins of the Cathedral Spires, the Three Graces, and Sleeping Giant, with Pikes Peak behind them. It is 1.1 miles, nearly flat, and wheelchair and stroller accessible, and it is the walk that shows the park to more people than any other.

Trail Highlights

Wheelchair accessible paved loop

Cathedral Spires and Three Graces formations

Best Pikes Peak views in the park

Visitor center nearby

The Route

From the main parking lot on Juniper Way Loop, the paved trail heads south into the central garden between the two biggest formations. The loop circles the Cathedral Spires and the Three Graces on a wide path with benches, interpretive signs, and side spurs to the base of the rock where climbers work the routes. Pikes Peak fills the gap between the fins at the south end.

The loop returns along the west side past the Sleeping Giant and the Kissing Camels, which are best seen from the north lot. Dirt trails branch off the paved loop into the rest of the park: the Palmer trail climbs the ridge to the west for the overview, and the Scotsman and Siamese Twins trails reach the quieter south end.

Getting to the Trailhead

Garden of the Gods is a Colorado Springs city park, free, and open from 5 AM to 10 PM in summer and 5 AM to 9 PM in winter. The main lot for this trail is on Juniper Way Loop off Gateway Road, inside the park; it holds about 100 cars, fills by mid-morning on weekends year-round, and the smaller north lot on Gateway Road serves the same loop. The visitor center on 30th Street, across from the park entrance, has water and toilets, and a free shuttle runs from it into the park daily from early June through late August, plus the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.

Best Time to Hike

The park sits at 6,400 feet and the loop is walkable every day of the year. Sunrise and the last hour before sunset are when the rock glows red and the photographers come. Summer midday is hot on the pavement; spring and fall are the comfortable seasons, and winter mornings after a snow are the quietest. The storm that builds over Pikes Peak reaches the park by mid-afternoon in July and August. The park closes trails when they are muddy, but the paved loop stays open.

🌸spring

☀️summer

🍂fall

❄️winter

Good to Know

Dogs are allowed on leash. This is the most accessible trail on this site after Bear Lake: paved, gentle, with benches. Stay on the trail and off the rock; climbing needs a permit from the park, and the soil crust between the formations does not recover from footprints. Rattlesnakes live in the rocks in warm months. Carry water; there is none on the loop. Manitou Springs and the Manitou Incline are 10 minutes west, and the Colorado Springs hikes guide covers the rest of the park and the foothills.

Sources

Figures and access details on this page were checked against these pages on 2026-09-04. Conditions change; confirm with the managing agency before you go.

Who to call

Conditions, closures, permits, and anything left behind on Perkins Central Garden Trail.

Managed by: Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, park owned by the City of Colorado Springs
(719) 634-6666 (Colorado Springs, daily 9 to 5, 9 to 6 Memorial Day to Labor Day) · website
City parks department: (719) 385-5940.
Lost and found, non-emergency: El Paso County Sheriff's Office
(719) 390-5555 · website
Lost property can be filed through the online reporting system. Items found inside Colorado Springs or Manitou Springs go to that city's police.
Emergency: 911. Cell coverage is patchy on most of these trails; a text to 911 can get through where a call cannot.

Numbers checked 2026-10-04. Colorado United is an independent guide, not the land manager; wallets, keys, and dogs found on the trail go to the offices above.