Your Colorado Springs Life & Home

From Balloons To Parades: A Newcomer’s Guide To Colorado Springs

• Lori Thompson • Episode 14

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What Local Events Or Attractions Should Newcomers Check Out?

Looking for the fastest way to feel at home in Colorado Springs? We walk you through the city’s heartbeat—signature festivals, neighborhood concerts, hidden overlooks, and trailheads where the views and conversations both run long. With stories from the field and practical, step-by-step guidance, we map out how to turn weekends into connection and scenic routines into real community.

We start with the essentials: the Labor Day balloon festival that paints the sky at sunrise and sets it aglow at night, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb that sends engines chasing altitude, and the marathon that climbs straight up America’s Mountain. From the Renaissance Festival north of town to the State Fair and Cinco de Mayo in Pueblo, you’ll hear why regional events matter to locals and newcomers alike. Family-friendly picks include Focus on the Family’s visitor center with its three-story slide, plus a lineup of parades—Festival of Lights and Veterans Day—that turn downtown into a warm, walkable tradition.

Then we get local. Palmer Park offers a central overlook and trails for every level, dog parks make sunshine a daily habit, and the Manitou Incline rewards grit with sweeping views. Neighborhoods like Wolf Ranch and Banning Lewis Ranch host free open-air concerts with food trucks, perfect for low-stress meetups that become friendships. Whether you crave culture or crave a climb, Colorado Springs meets you where you are: accessible paths for easy strolls, steeper routes for ambition, and a calendar that keeps the community outside and engaged.

If you’re new to town, this guide is your shortcut to belonging. Save the dates, pack a chair, bring a thermos, and say hello to the folks next to you. Subscribe for more local insights, share this with a friend who’s moving, and leave a review to tell us the next event or hidden spot we should cover.

To learn more about RE/MAX Properties Inc. visit:
https://www.LoriThompson.REMAX.com
RE/MAX Properties Inc.
Colorado Springs
719-332-1807

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to your Colorado Springs life at home, where real estate is real talk and maybe a little too much car. Hosted by Remax Properties Licensed Realtor, Broker, and producer Lori Thompson, a local legend who's been helping military families of civilians buy and sell homes for the years. Whether you're PCSing, upsizing, downsizing, or just daydreaming, Lori's got you covered. Why? Because she's your lifetime realtor. And she actually answers her phone. Imagine that.

SPEAKER_02:

From seasonal festivals to hidden gems, we are diving into the best ways to explore Colorado Springs. Welcome back, everyone. Frederick, co-host and producer in the studio with Remax Properties licensed realtor and broker, Lori Thompson. Lori, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, not bad. I am recovering from bronchitis, and hopefully I'll be able to do okay today.

SPEAKER_02:

Hopefully. Well, we got your back here, and uh we'll be fine. So, Lori, um, to get us started, I'd love to hear your take. Um, when someone is brand new to town, what events or attractions do you suggest they check out?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, there's so many that are here actually in Colorado Springs or close by. We have the Renaissance Festival, which is just about, oh, maybe 45 minutes north of Colorado Springs every year, where you can eat a giant turkey leg and watch jousting competitions and plays and puppet shows. That's that's a whole lot of fun. Um, then we have in Pueblo, Colorado, which is 45 minutes to the south, they have the state fair, they have uh Cinco de Mayo festivals complete with car shows. Um, in Colorado Springs itself, we have the balloon festival, which is absolutely beautiful. That's during Labor Day, and so they launch a whole bunch of balloons right in front of the mountains, in front of Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain. They do a lake dip where they dip their baskets in the lake and then sail off to wherever the winds are going to take them. And then at nighttime during the balloon festival, they have a balloon glow where they light up all the balloons that are tethered, and there's so much fun there. It's just so inspiring to watch all of the hot air balloons lift off. We also have um the Pikes Peak Marathon, which is a marathon straight up the mountainside of Pikes Peak, which is 14,000 feet elevation. So it is for pretty hardy athletes. Now, if you're not that much into climbing up a mountain in a marathon, um, they have the Pikes Peak Hill Climb where you pick a spot during 4th of July and you get to watch a bunch of different vehicles, motorcycles, specialty stock cars, and they race up America's Mountain. Did I ever tell you why it's called America's Mountain? Well, there's a song that you know the lyrics to that was written from the top of Pike's Peak. And if I didn't have a little bit of bronchitis, I would even sing a few bars. But I think it goes something like, Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. So America the Beautiful was written from the top of what's nicknamed America's Mountain, and that's Pike's Peak looking over the plains. So there then there is a homesteading event that happens near Garden of the Gods, where you get to step back in time and watch them churn butter and show how homesteading was done here when the region was settled during the Gold Rush and during the Silver Rush and during the Copper Rush and all of the different mining endeavors for minerals that happened here. So let me think of some of the other really great. Oh, we have free concerts around town. So we have open air free concerts, everything from rock and roll to the orchestra, and so different neighborhoods. Uh, there's a great neighborhood called Wolf Ranch. They will have a concert there. Then there's Banning Lewis Ranch, which will also have open air concerts with food trucks, and all you have to do is fold up some chairs and some blankets, and you can take your family out for music and for food trucks. So that just kind of touches on a little bit. One I have not yet attended that I want to go to, and that's the Scottish Festival, which is held at the Air Force Academy. So there's so many wonderful events, and a lot of them are free.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, that's uh even better. Fun events that are free. That that's amazing. And of these events, um, which would you say really capture the spirit of Colorado Springs?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I have to say it would be the balloon festival. Just because you have the hot air balloons, you have the mountains. We can have kind of tricky air currents here. So a lot of pilots will tell you learning to fly at our elevation with our wind currents can be challenging. And the same thing applies to hot air balloons. I have worked a balloon crew once, and uh we ended up having to land on Fort Carson while Jeep loads of military men are heading towards us to see who is coming into this restricted army base. But they figured out that it was time to settle down and they helped escort us off of Fort Carson. That was kind of a fun day. But when you're doing hot air balloons, they go where they're gonna go and you watch out for power lines and you land where you're gonna land. Whether it's a neighborhood, a military base, wherever you're going down, that's where you're gonna land the balloon.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, that's an amazing story. Um, I'll have to ask you more about that later, uh, because that sounds really interesting. And so, of all the events and attractions that you've listed, um, are there any family-friendly attractions that newcomers definitely should not miss?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, when it comes to family-friendly, once again, the balloon festival, which you just go down to the park. That that's a free event, but of course it'll never be free because they sell all kinds of great stuff there too. Um, then um focus on the family we talked about before. You can take your family to the visitor center for focus on the family, and kids can go down a three-story slide, and the parents can browse the bookstore, and there's so many interactive activities for kids, and that's Monday through Saturday, and that's a free thing that they can do. We are we have so many parks, it is utterly amazing. Um, watching the Pikes Peak Marathon just because it's such a unique marathon, I mean, running straight up a mountain is really exciting. Then for those who are pretty physically fit, they can climb the Manitou Incline. I'm not sure how many stairs there are, because I have not done it. My daughter's done it a few times, but I know you gain 2,000 feet in elevation and you're going straight uphill. And occasionally a bear will walk across the staircase, so you just let them pass, and then when you get to the top, you have beautiful views of the city. Um, so that's free other than the park. And like I said, looking around, there are so many different events that are sponsored. Oh, I I left off holidaytime, which we just passed the Christmas season. Um, they have the Festival of Lights parade. And so you go to downtown Colorado Springs, it's usually chilly that night, so take a thermos of hot chocolate, and you get to watch all of the different floats and that are put together by local vendors. And I'm proud to say the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors takes first place frequently at the Festival of Lights parade.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. So speaking of seasonal activities like the Festival of Lights um event, how do these seasonal festivals or parades help people feel like they're a part of the community?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I have to add in one more. We have a Veterans Day parade. And uh, because we have so many military bases and we have a lot of retired military here, we have a lot of people who get together and they do it as a community event. I mentioned that there are open-air free concerts, and those are neighborhood specific, although anyone can attend it. If you live in one of those areas, it's a great way to meet your neighbors. Um, the Festival of Lights, I think it's just sharing the joy of Christmas. Um, being out there and just enjoying all of the lights and waving at Santa Claus, and I think the Grinch runs around and hands out candy canes. So mostly it's a sense of community.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow. Yeah, that all sounds really fun. Um so moving slightly away from the events, what hidden gems or lesser-known spots do you recommend?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I don't know if it's really lesser known, but there's Palmer Park, which is a giant park right in the middle of the city. And there's a special place, the Palmer Park Overlook. Um, it's a great place for teenagers to go and maybe kiss in the car. Not that I ever did such things when I was in high school. Well, maybe I did. Anyway, um, so driving up to the Palmer Park Overlook, it's really pretty and it overlooks downtown Colorado Springs in the mountains. But within Palmer Park itself, there's a bunch of different hiking trails from mild to more extreme hiking trails. If you are a dog owner, and it's almost mandatory that you get a dog when you move here, at least that's what I keep telling my husband, um, because we lost our dog, but uh, they have dog parks everywhere, and so outdoor activities are the mainstay because we have over 300 days of sunshine a year.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, that's a good number of days. Um, so speaking of outdoor activities, do you find that newcomers gravitate more toward outdoor activities or toward cultural events?

SPEAKER_00:

I would say more towards outdoor activities. I mean, we're two hours from the major ski resorts, but if you like to hike, if you like to walk, you don't have to be a superior athlete. By the way, we are home to the Olympic Training Center. Um, you don't have to be a superb athlete to enjoy all of the parks and trails. They really do have handicap accessible trails, and then they have steeper trails for people who are a little bit more advanced. And so there's there really is something for everyone, but it's so beautiful here you wouldn't want to be inside too much.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, sounds like it. Um, so you've been gracious enough to tell us about a lot of events that happen in Colorado Springs. And I wanted to ask you, how can attending these events help someone who's new settle into their new neighborhood?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I think what it does is once again, you get a chance to meet neighbors, you get a chance to interact with other people. Um, it's just feeling that sense of community. And that's one thing we're really good at. I think right now in our society, we tend to isolate a little bit more, and having these kinds of events draws people together.

SPEAKER_02:

True, true. Well, thank you so much for sharing those great tips, Lori, for anyone new to town. Uh, for all our listeners, thanks for joining the journey, and we will see you next time.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

That's a wrap for this episode of Your Colorado Springs Life and Home. Got questions? Need advice? Just want to talk about interest rates at Brennan Countertops? Call or text Laurie at 719-332-1807. Yes, she'll really respond or visit laurytopson.reemax.com to get started with your lifetime realtor. Because when it comes to Colorado real estate, Maury doesn't just know the market, she is the market.