Front Range
Red Rock Canyon turns old quarry ground into west-side open space
A Porch Note from Colorado Porch — plain-English local details for all 64 Colorado counties.
Red Rock Canyon Open Space sits just west of Colorado Springs along Highway 24, close enough to feel like part of town and rugged enough that the foothills seem to have started talking back. The tilted red sandstone fins that give the canyon its name are the same rock that built the neighborhoods below.
That is not a metaphor. Long before it became open space, the canyon supplied gypsum, building sand, and sandstone blocks for Old Colorado City and nearby communities. The Colorado-Philadelphia Company Mill stood on the property too, processing ore that arrived by train from the gold mines of Cripple Creek up in the high country to the west. In 2003, Colorado Springs bought the Red Rock Canyon property and turned the worked-over ground into public open space.
Today that old working landscape is threaded with trails and red rock views, climbing routes by permit, a bike-only area, an off-leash dog area, and connections reaching toward Section 16 and the Intemann Trail. Industrial ground, open-space preservation, and an ordinary morning walk all share the same canyon, which makes it one of the west side’s clearest stories of a place earning a second life.
The City of Colorado Springs Red Rock Canyon Open Space page carries the current maps, trail rules, and access details for a visit.
Sources
Official or primary sources used for this note. Local details can change, so confirm before acting.