Plenty of what there is to do in Colorado Springs at night has nothing to do with a drink order. The mountains are still there after dark, Manitou keeps its lights on, and a handful of rooms in this city stay open long past when the kitchens close.
This is a list for the nights when you want to be out and the usual answer does not appeal. Hours move around here, especially between summer and winter, so check before you drive.
Catch the Last of the Light Outside
The easiest thing to do at night in Colorado Springs is get outside for the hour before the parks close, which is also the hour the rock looks best.
Garden of the Gods is the obvious one and it earns it. The sandstone goes from orange to deep red as the sun drops behind the ridge, and the Perkins Central Garden loop is paved, a mile and a half, and walkable in shoes you already have on. The park closes in the evening and the closing time shifts with the season, so check the city’s park page before you head over. The main lot empties out as the light goes, which is the one time of day parking is not a problem.
Palmer Park is the version locals use on a weeknight. It is in the middle of town off Maizeland, the overlooks face west, and you can be there ten minutes after you decide to go.
Manitou Springs Keeps Its Lights On
Manitou Avenue is the walkable option after dark, and the Penny Arcade is the reason most people end up there.
The arcade is a set of connected rooms full of machines, some of them from the 1930s, running on actual coins. Pinball, skeeball, air hockey, a mix of very old and fairly new. It stays open later than most things in town and it costs whatever you decide to feed it. Park where you can on the way in, because the lots near the arcade fill early and Manitou is not a place you drive around looking for a spot.
The rest of the avenue is worth the walk. The shops close at a normal hour, but the town is lit, the creek runs alongside the street, and it is a good place to end up with nothing planned.
Downtown and Old Colorado City on Foot
Downtown works best at night when there is a reason to be there, and First Friday is the reliable one.
On the first Friday of the month the downtown galleries open in the evening and the crowd moves between them on foot. The Fine Arts Center runs its own evening programming through the month, including artist talks and performances, and its First Friday events are often free when regular admission is not. Check what is actually on before you go, since the schedule changes month to month.
Old Colorado City is the quieter one. It runs along West Colorado Avenue, the storefronts are historic, and the whole strip is a few blocks you can cover slowly. It is less crowded than Tejon Street on a weekend and easier to park near.
Drive a Little and Look Up
For stars, you have to leave the city, and the closest organized option is Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.
The monument runs a Night Sky Program on scheduled evenings, about an hour west of town. A ranger gives a presentation at the visitor center, then volunteers from the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society set up telescopes outside and let people use them. You can bring your own if you have one. Dress for colder than the forecast, because it is higher, drier and darker out there than it is in town, and check the schedule ahead of time since the programs are seasonal and weather dependent.
Find Somewhere That Is Still Open
The late hours in this city belong to a short list of places, and they are worth knowing before 11pm rolls around.
All ages live music happens earlier in the evening at several venues around town, with the 21 and up shows running later, so an early ticket is often the way to catch a band without the drinking that usually surrounds it. Bowling and arcade complexes stay open late on weekends and hold a group of five without a reservation. Late night food downtown exists if you know which taco places run past midnight, and the answer changes often enough that it is worth checking the night you go.
Our Colorado Springs bar is one of the rooms that stays open, at 3434 North Academy Boulevard, from 8am until 2am every day. There is no alcohol in the building. Kava is 18 and up and the tea menu is 21 and up, and at 1am the whole room drinks a shell together, in 60 seconds or less. People come in from a show, from a shift, or from nothing at all, and nobody asks which. There is usually a Nintendo Switch set up, and the shelf holds board games like Farkle, Guess Who, Cards Against Humanity and Life. You are also welcome to bring your own games or trading cards and take over a table. If you have not been, the Colorado Springs page has the hours, the directions and what is on this week. There are four Kavasutra bars in Colorado, and anything scheduled across them is on the events page.
Whatever you pick, call ahead or check the page. Winter hours in this town are shorter than summer hours almost everywhere, and the difference catches people every year.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Colorado Springs at night that does not involve drinking?
Garden of the Gods and Palmer Park are open into the evening and are free. The Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs runs late. Downtown galleries open in the evening on First Friday each month, and the Fine Arts Center schedules evening programming through the month. Florissant Fossil Beds runs a Night Sky Program on scheduled evenings about an hour west. Bowling and arcade complexes, all ages early shows and a handful of late night rooms cover the rest.
Is Garden of the Gods open at night?
The park is open into the evening and closes at night, and the closing time changes with the season. It is worth checking the City of Colorado Springs park page the day you go rather than relying on a time you read somewhere, since published hours for the park vary by source.
Where can you go stargazing near Colorado Springs?
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, roughly an hour west, runs a Night Sky Program with a ranger presentation followed by telescope viewing, with volunteers from the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society bringing scopes. Programs are seasonal and weather dependent, so check the schedule first.
What is open late in Colorado Springs?
Later hours are the exception here rather than the rule. The Penny Arcade in Manitou runs late, bowling and arcade complexes stay open late on weekends, some downtown food runs past midnight, and Kavasutra on North Academy is open until 2am daily. Most everything else in town closes earlier than people expect, and earlier again in winter.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Kava is served to adults 18 and up.