Pueblo, CO
One of the places we were looking forward to visiting during our time in this area is the Painted Mines Interpretive Park. Located about 30 miles east of Colorado Spring the park consists of 4 miles of trails that rise over 500 feet in elevation. It covers 750 acres, containing grassland and geological formations of hoodoos, colored clay, and sandstone-capped spires. Approaching the park, one might start to wonder if they are in the right place as there is nothing but flat grasslands for as far as the eye can see. But soon the ground opens up to a small ravine that has eroded away over time, revealing richly colored clayish rocks, in shades of yellow, purple, red, and gray.
There are two parking areas next to the park. One is near a viewpoint where you are standing above the formations looking down at them.
The second parking area gives you access to a trail that leads down into the formations.
Once at the bottom of the trail, visitors are free to just wander through the formations. From this point in this post we’ll let the photos tell the story of our visit to the Painted Mines.
On our final day in the Pueblo area we went downtown to walk the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk. This one mile long canal through the center of the downtown is a tourist attraction inspired by the San Antonio Riverwalk.
The water follows the former route of the Arkansas River. At one time the river ran right through the center of town before a devastating flood in 1921 destroyed the downtown and changed the course of the river south of the city.
That’s it for our visit to Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Next up is a stay in Salida, CO. More on that in our next post . . .
Oh, the Places They Go! 
The Painted Mines Trail looks like so much fun. Is there a guide book that identifies the various colors?
Jeff, there was no information but a couple plaques that described the rock and how the Native Americans and modern day artist used the color clay. There isn’t a VC. All the info I had for the hike I got online.
The Painted Mine looks so awesome…what a great place to explore!
This spot has been on my radar ever since I saw another blog on it. It definitely needs to be seen in person.
That purple color sure is pretty. What a fun pair of walks!
They certainly were fun!
Lovely photos! You guys are having so much fun!
Thanks, Janna! We are having a wonderful trip. So good to be back out.
The mine reminds me of Fantasy Canyon in Vernal but with more color variety. What a fun place to explore!! Love the pretty river walk – nice that it’s not as crowded as San Antonio. Or maybe the nimble photographer just “missed” the people again :-))) Whew!! I’m caught up with your wonderful posts. So nice to have you back on the road!
The Painted Mine was so unique. I did think of Bill and his geology background. The colors needed to be seen in person. The Riverwalk was quite empty and it was Sunday. There were only a handful of people, but ti was in the 90’s. Thanks for following along!!
Wow!! I’ve never heard of the Painted Mines. It looks like a combination of The Toadstools in Utah and Kasha Katuwe in New Mexico. It must be a fun place to explore. And I always love riverwalks in cities. That looks like a sweet one.
I had never heard of the Painted Mine either until Erin posted a blog on it after they moved to Colorado Springs. It was a fun time with unbelievable colors. The town did such a nice job with the riverwalk. A nice mile loop.
I’ve not heard of the Painted Mines….now it’s added to my continually growing “list”! Everything looks like melted ice cream!
We thought of ice cream, too, with whipped cream on the top!!
Thank God there are still RVrs roaming around and exploring for us who retired from roaming around.The Painted Mine is an interesting new discovery and it even have an arch for you Pam!
We thought there was nothing to explore in Pueblo so we just cruised along years ago. Now you proved us wrong that there is always something to do in a town.
Glad we can share some new places with you and Steve. There really isn’t much in Pueblo. The Painted Mine was about an hour from Pueblo. Actually, closer to Colorado Springs.
What a fabulous place! Fun walks! I am so happy to see you out and about. I am saving all of these for future travels!
Happy Fall! 🍁🍁🍁
It’s great to be out for an extend adventure after two long years. Glad we can share some new spots for you to visit. It’s been a beautiful start to fall.