Manitou Springs, Colorado
Most Colorado towns brag about their mountains. Manitou Springs has those, sure, but it’s also got healing mineral springs that drew health seekers 150 years ago, an arcade full of vintage games, and more spiritual energy shops per block than anywhere else at the foot of Pikes Peak.
Plus, there’s that whole sliding-coffin race thing. It’s basically impossible to pigeonhole this corner of Colorado.
Go spring hopping
You’ll find eight mineral springs flowing freely all day and night in Manitou. Each spring tastes different because of its unique minerals. Seven Minute Spring bubbles up as a geyser every seven minutes. Iron Spring has lots of iron and doctors used to recommend it for people with anemia.
Twin Springs, which used to be two springs that joined together, contains calcium, potassium, and lithium—locals use it to make Manitou Lemonade. Stop by the Visitor Center at 354 Manitou Avenue for a free sipping cup and map of all the springs.
Manitou Incline will push your fitness to the limit
Ready for an intense workout? The Manitou Incline has 2,744 wooden steps that climb 2,000 feet in less than a mile. The steepest parts are a 68% grade—that’s almost like climbing a ladder! Greg Cummings set a record here in January 2020 with his multiple ascents.
The trail is so tough that if you get hurt, rescuers might need 3-4 hours to reach you. You’ll need to make a reservation through Colorado Springs Parks before hiking, and it’s best to park at Hiawatha Gardens and take the shuttle to the trailhead.
Penny Arcade lets you play games from the last 100 years
Step back in time at the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade that’s been running since the 1930s. It started as Bingo Jacks, and now has over 400 games spread across eight buildings taking up a whole city block. The original owner’s son, Alan, still runs it today.
You’ll find games at 900 Manitou Avenue that cost the same as they did decades ago—bring your pennies, nickels, and dimes! Kids love the 80 rides including an old-school pink elephant that once cost just 10 cents per ride.
Emma Crawford’s sliding coffin inspired annual races
Don’t miss the Emma Crawford Coffin Races where teams race coffin-like carts down Manitou Avenue. The local Chamber of Commerce started this event in 1995, and in 2025 they’ll celebrate the 30th races on October 25. Four team members push coffins with someone dressed as Emma for 195 yards.
Winners get awards for “Best Emma,” “Best Coffin,” and “Best Entourage.” Thousands of people come to watch what was America’s first coffin racing event, all because poor Emma’s coffin once slid down Red Mountain after a rainstorm washed away her burial site.
Cave of the Winds lets you explore three different underground paths
Sitting 7,000 feet up, Cave of the Winds is one of the highest show caves in America. Since its discovery in 1881, the cave has stayed a comfortable 54°F inside no matter what the weather’s like outside.
You can pick from three tours: the Discovery Tour takes you through 15 rooms and 196 stairs over half a mile; the spookier Lantern Tour has you walk for 90 minutes with just a candle to light your way; and the hardcore Expedition Tour sends you crawling through muddy, undeveloped parts of the cave for 2.5 hours.
Nine different architectural styles blend together at Miramont Castle
Built in 1895, Miramont Castle spreads across 14,000 square feet and mixes nine architectural styles from English Tudor to Byzantine all in one building. This 30-room Victorian mansion used locally quarried greenstone and is now a National Historic Landmark.
Inside you’ll find the Manitou Springs Fire Department exhibit and rooms showing the Nurnberg High Command Trials. Don’t leave without visiting the Queen’s Parlour Tea Room where you can enjoy a traditional Victorian high tea surrounded by history.
Artists have turned the town into an outdoor gallery
Manitou Springs holds official Colorado Creative District status, and you’ll spot art everywhere as you walk around. Look for sculptures and murals in parks, alleyways, and on building fronts throughout downtown.
When you visit during an art walk, you’ll see hundreds of artworks displayed while musicians play live.
Check out the Commonwheel Artists Co-op downtown to see what local artists are creating in all sorts of materials. If you time your visit right, you can catch popular annual events like the Colorado Wine Festival or Commonwheel Arts Festival.
People compete to throw fruitcakes every winter
Back in 1996, some locals started throwing unwanted fruitcakes in Memorial Park, and now it’s a yearly tradition. In 2025, they’ll celebrate 30 years of the Great Fruitcake Toss.
You can join competitions for hand-throwing, mechanical devices, or pneumatic launchers.
It costs just $1 per ticket to enter, or you can donate a canned food item instead. Don’t have a fruitcake? No problem—rent one for $5 and you’ll get four tickets with it.
After the event, they feed leftover fruitcakes to animals at SunMountain farm, including a pig named Jezebel.
A 700-ton rock balances on a tiny point in the nearby park
Just a short drive away in Garden of the Gods Park, you’ll find Balanced Rock—a huge sandstone boulder weighing about 700 tons. What makes it amazing is how it sits on just a tiny base point a few square feet in size.
Millions of years of erosion wore away the softer rock underneath, leaving this massive formation standing 35 feet tall near the park’s south entrance.
When you visit, you can touch it and see for yourself that despite looking like it might tip over any second, it’s actually very stable.
Free shuttles make getting around town easy
You won’t need to worry about parking when you visit Manitou Springs. Free shuttle buses on Route 33 run daily, connecting all the major parking lots with downtown shops and attractions, plus the Manitou Incline trailhead.
In summer, shuttles come every 20 minutes from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and they run year-round on weekends. Just park at the main lot at Hiawatha Gardens (10 Old Man’s Trail), pay a small fee for all-day parking, and hop on the shuttle.
This way, you can explore the whole town without moving your car all day.
Local springs have been sacred to Native Americans for centuries
Long before settlers arrived, indigenous peoples thought these mineral springs were sacred places. The town’s name comes from the Algonquian word “manitou,” meaning “great spirits,” which they believed caused the bubbling water.
Native Americans traveled the Ute Trail specifically to visit healing waters at Navajo Spring. Archaeologists have found beads, wampum, and other offerings left at the springs.
The water comes from deep underground where it’s been for about 20,000 years, keeping it free from modern pollution.
The post The Eccentric Colorado Town with Coffin Races, a 400-Game Penny Arcade, and 8 Mineral Springs appeared first on When In Your State.