Woodland Park was settled in 1890 when the Midland Railway brought travelers and prospectors to the area.  It became a resort town and business center for the surrounding area when lumber was its main business.  Tourism has played a big part in the area’s growth ever since. Visitors and residents enjoy a casual lifestyle while the big city of Colorado Springs is only eighteen miles (about 20 minutes) away.  Woodland Park has award winning schools, a vital and growing business area offering shoppers a good selection and is a great place to live, work, raise a family and vacation.

THE OLD AND THE NEW!

Above a row of the oldest buildings in Woodland Park and to the right the brand new Woodland Park Library

Fabulous new Dinosaur Resource Museum in the heart of Woodland Park opposite........

Favorite coffee shop with maps, hiking books and antiques and LOCAL CRAFTS opposite the Dinosaur Museum

Local Golf course on Highway 67 on the way to the Retreat
http://www.shiningmountaingolfclub.com

NEWLY REMODELED AND OPENING MAY 2007!

Above it all towers the stunning Pikes Peak, while surrounding countryside provides numerous opportunities for outdoor pursuits in the clean mountain air at an elevation of 8,500 feet above sea level. 

Highway 67 leading away from the Retreat towards Woodland Park

The view towards "Devil's Head" at the turning into Spruce Road leading to the Retreat

Beautiful Manitou Lake only a few minutes down from the Retreat - you can even walk it!  Fishing, picnic tables and hiking abound....I think you can even swim if you feel like it!

Wild flowers on Highway 67 leading to the Retreat and not far from the Lake above

Looking from Manitou Lake grounds towards the Retreat

A bumper year for wild flowers in Pikes Peak National Forest - September 2006

The climate offers 320 days of sunshine per year, brilliant clear blue skies for most of the time, warm summers (around the mid 80's), cooler nights and varying amounts of snowfall in the winter, again temperatures swinging from the 50's during the day to occasionally very cold at night.

Shown here is the view from Spruce Road (leads to the Retreat) looking up the creek towards Manitou Lake.

The greater area of Woodland Park encompasses all types of terrain, from mountains and rocky outcrops to wide meadowland with lush meadows and pure springs.  Everyone loves the late spring and summers when a myriad of wild flowers can be found everywhere, especially in the high alpine meadows. Tree types native to this high mountain area of Colorado are the beautiful aspens with their shimmering leaves and interesting silver bark to the many types of fir, pine, and cedar. 

Activities include hiking and backpacking, camping, fishing, an 18 hole golf course, cycling, horseback riding, cross country skiing and the list goes on!  For the keen fisherman there is Gold Medal Fishing of the South Platte River, Manitou Lake on highway 67, only two minutes drive from Woodland Park Retreat and Rampart Range Reservoir, a larger lake eight miles away.