COSights
Sunrise light warms smooth sandstone outcrops and pale rock ledges beneath a cloudy sky, with ponderosa pines and a charred tree trunk framing the foreground. The low angle emphasizes the layered, weathered formations across the mesa-like slope.

Palmer Park

Colorado Springs, CO

A 737-acre park featuring sandstone formations, mesa overlooks, and ponderosa pine forests on the east side of Colorado Springs. The park offers views of Pikes Peak to the west and the Great Plains to the east. Numerous rock formations throughout the park create natural frames and foreground interest.

Photography Guide

Best Time
golden hour
Crowds
Quiet
Shot Types
widelandscapedetail
Best Seasons
springsummerfall
Practical Tips
Drive to the upper mesa parking areas for the most accessible overlooks. The park is less well-known than Garden of the Gods and offers similar geological features with far fewer visitors.

Is it a good day to go?

7-day outlook

Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.

Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.

Author's Comments

Garden of the Gods sits ten miles west and gets all the attention. Palmer Park sits inside the city, surrounded by neighborhoods, and almost no one outside Colorado Springs knows it is there. The sandstone is the same red. The ponderosas are older than they have any right to be in a city park. The view of Pikes Peak from the upper mesa, late in a September afternoon when the light has begun to warm and the mountain has gone purple at the base, is one of the quieter pleasures I have found in the front range. I tend to drive up to the mesa parking and then walk. The rock formations are scattered across the plateau in a way that feels accidental, and the trails connect them loosely enough that you can wander for an hour and still not have seen everything. The west edge gives you Pikes Peak framed by sandstone. The east edge gives you the plains running out toward Kansas, which is a different kind of photograph - flatter, longer, more about horizon than elevation. What I like about Palmer is that it asks nothing of you. There is no entrance gate, no shuttle bus, no crowd to work around at sunset. You can sit on a warm rock at golden hour with your camera in your lap and watch the light move across the city below, and the only company will probably be a few dog walkers heading back to their cars. The photographs you make here will not look like the famous ones from the famous park down the road. They will look like yours.

Gallery

Sunrise light warms smooth sandstone outcrops and pale rock ledges beneath a cloudy sky, with ponderosa pines and a charred tree trunk framing the foreground. The low angle emphasizes the layered, weathered formations across the mesa-like slope. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Sunlit sandstone boulders and wind-bent pine trees fill the foreground, with a fallen trunk stretching across the rocky slope under a blue sky streaked with dark clouds. Warm golden-hour light highlights the rounded rock surfaces and rough textures throughout the scene. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
A small yellow wildflower is in sharp focus against a dark, blurred green background, with delicate petals and pale stamens lit softly in close-up. The shallow depth of field makes the single bloom stand out from the surrounding foliage. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Sunrise light softens the sandstone boulders in the foreground while dense ponderosa pines fill the middle ground. In the distance, Pikes Peak rises beneath a blue, cloud-streaked sky. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Sunrise light washes over rounded sandstone ledges in the foreground, with dark ponderosa pines filling the rocky valley below. A wide horizon of city lights and open sky stretches beyond the tree-covered slopes. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Several prickly pear cacti bloom with pale yellow flowers amid a bed of pine needles and dry leaves, with a weathered tree stump at left. Soft golden light highlights the spines and petals against the blurred forest floor. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Bright yellow prickly pear cactus flowers bloom among spiny green pads, scattered pine needles, and dry leaf litter on the forest floor. The close-up composition highlights the cactus blossoms against the rough, tan-brown ground texture. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
A dark, low-light view of a rough-barked pine trunk and long horizontal branch silhouetted against a deep blue dawn sky. Sparse pine needles and shadowy brush frame the scene, with the foreground fading into near-black. Photo: mark byzewski / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Massive pale sandstone boulders fill the foreground, their rough, rounded surfaces lit by soft golden-hour light. Beyond them, a hazy overlook drops to a patchwork of trees and rooftops, with Pikes Peak rising in the distance under a bright sky. Photo: Rick / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
Sandstone boulders and a lone pine tree fill the foreground, with blue-toned foliage and rock formations glowing under an infrared, golden-hour sky. The composition feels tucked into a hidden overlook, with layered stone and scrubby trees framing the scene. Photo: David from Colorado Springs, United States / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

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