Ask what there is to do near Fort Carson and the answer usually involves a drive north into Colorado Springs and a bar at the end of it. Fine on a Friday. Less useful at 0700 on a Saturday, on a dry weekend, or when half the group is not drinking.
So here is the short list, organized by how far you actually have to go and what is open when. The good news is that the closest thing on it is a stoplight away from the gate.
The Closest Option Shares a Light With Gate 1
Cheyenne Mountain State Park is at 410 JL Ranch Heights Road, and the turn for it is the same Highway 115 stoplight that serves Fort Carson Gate 1.
That is the whole pitch. More than twenty miles of hiking and biking trails, rated easy up to extreme, with the mountain directly overhead. The park is open daily from 5am to 10pm, which covers a pre-formation hike and an evening one, and the visitor center keeps shorter hours in the middle of the day.
Entry is by vehicle pass, roughly $10 to $12 a day for Colorado plates, and an annual pass pays for itself quickly if you are stationed here. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has also run free entry days for active duty, veterans and National Guard members, usually in August and on Veterans Day. It is announced each year rather than standing, so check their site before you count on it.
Keep Going South on 115
If the state park parking lot is full, the next one down is quieter and free.
Aiken Canyon Preserve sits off Highway 115 about twelve miles southwest of the city, with a four-mile loop trail and no entry fee. It is a preserve rather than a park, so facilities are minimal and the point is the canyon.
One thing to check before you drive: published open days vary by source, and preserves like this one sometimes restrict public access to certain days of the week. Confirm it is open the day you want to go.
The Real Problem Is the Hours
The hard part about being stationed here is not what there is to do, it is that most of this city keeps bankers’ hours and you do not.
Early is the thinner side. Most places open at 9 or 10, which is useless if your morning started at 0500 and your afternoon is already free. Trails are the reliable early answer, and the state park opening at 5am is the single most useful hour on this list.
Late is better but still short. A handful of rooms run past midnight, and the rest of the city is closed by 10 or 11, earlier in winter. Things to do at night covers that side of it in more detail.
Somewhere a Squad Can Actually Sit
The other gap is a room that holds six people, has no alcohol in it, and is not going to turn the tables over.
Our bar is at 3434 North Academy Boulevard, open from 8am until 2am every day. Academy Boulevard runs from the Highway 115 junction near the gate straight up the east side of the city to our door, so it is one road and no thinking, though check your map app for the time of day you are driving it.
There is no alcohol in the building, which makes it straightforward on a dry weekend or when somebody has duty in the morning. There are darts, a shelf of board games, a Nintendo Switch usually hooked up to one of the TVs, Wi-Fi and outlets if you brought a laptop, and nobody counting how long you have been at the table. Kava is 18 and up, which covers most of a barracks floor, and we do not serve it to anyone who is pregnant. Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 9 the kava is half off, along with whatever else is on the specials page.
If you are still in at 1am, the whole room drinks a shell together, in 60 seconds or less. Hours and directions are on the Colorado Springs page.
Before You Drive Anywhere
Two rules for this city, and they hold for everything above.
Check the hours the day you go, not the week before. Winter hours are shorter than summer hours almost everywhere here, and seasonal closures catch people every year.
And buy the park pass if you are going to be here a while. The annual is cheaper than four or five day passes, and the state park at the gate is the one place on this list you will actually keep going back to.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do near Fort Carson?
The closest option is Cheyenne Mountain State Park, whose entrance road shares the Highway 115 stoplight with Gate 1. It has more than twenty miles of hiking and biking trails and is open daily from 5am to 10pm. Aiken Canyon Preserve is about twelve miles further southwest off Highway 115, with a free four-mile loop.
How close is Cheyenne Mountain State Park to Fort Carson?
The park entrance is on JL Ranch Heights Road, off the same Highway 115 stoplight that serves Fort Carson Gate 1. The park address is 410 JL Ranch Heights, Colorado Springs.
Do military members get free entry to Colorado state parks?
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has offered free state park entry to active duty, veterans and National Guard members in August and on Veterans Day in recent years. It is announced annually rather than being a standing benefit, so check the CPW site for the current year before relying on it.
What is open early near Fort Carson?
Trails are the dependable early answer, and Cheyenne Mountain State Park opens at 5am. Most of the city does not open until 9 or 10. Our Colorado Springs bar opens at 8am daily, which is earlier than most rooms in town.
Where can a group go near Fort Carson that does not serve alcohol?
Kavasutra at 3434 North Academy Boulevard has no alcohol in the building, is open 8am to 2am daily, and has darts, board games and a Switch. Kava is 18 and up. Academy Boulevard runs from the Highway 115 junction near the gate up the east side of the city to the door.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Kava is served to adults 18 and up and not to anyone who is pregnant.