Colorado Springs with Kids

Note: This post originally appeared at Travelocity.com.

Growing up in Colorado Springs, I don’t remember ever being bored. I lived a block from the Broadmoor Hotel and walked over frequently, reading comic books in the drug store, playing at the playground or grabbing day-old bread from the Tavern kitchen and feeding ducks at the lake. If I wasn’t at the hotel I was hiking, riding my bike or skiing. Summers meant camp.

I’m now based in California, but I take my kids back to Colorado Springs several times a year. The weather is perfect in the summer, the mountains are beautiful, and it’s still a great place for kids to play and explore. Plus it’s a destination that easily combines with visits to Colorado’s mountain towns, with Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen all less than three hours away (in the summer). What do we do when we go back to Colorado Springs that we would recommend to other families? These are the top five things.

The Broadmoor at sunset. Listen for the bagpipes!

The Broadmoor

We love to spend time at The Broadmoor. It’s one of the best hotels in the country, with a stunning location at the base of the Rockies, and there’s a lot to do even for non-guests. Our kids run around the lake, play at the playground and jump off the boulders around the property. We dine frequently at Ristorante del Lago and the Golden Bee and go bowling at PLAY. In winter the hotel wraps its hundreds of trees in Christmas lights and the effect is beautiful, with the light reflecting in the lake and bouncing off the snow – a great setting for hot chocolates. Or we’ll head up just for ice cream at Espresso News.

Please click HERE to read the rest of the article at Travelocity.