Garden of the Gods: Guided E-Bike Tour with Manitou Springs Stops

4.87

(159 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

"You ever tried to pronounce Manitou?" That’s how our guide, Mike, kicked things off while handing me a helmet that still smelled faintly like pine needles. I fumbled it—both the word and the helmet. The air was cool but dry, sun already making those red rocks glow even though it wasn’t even 10am. We gathered in a little circle, half-listening to the e-bike tutorial but mostly just itching to get moving. I’d never been on a pedal-assist bike before; turns out, you really do feel like you’ve got superpowers on those hills.

The first stretch through Garden of the Gods was quieter than I expected. Just our bikes humming, some birds yelling at each other in the brush. Every so often Mike would stop us—"See that layer? That’s older than dinosaurs." He had this way of making geology sound like gossip. At one point we pulled over where you could see Pikes Peak off in the distance, snow still clinging to its top even though it was June. Someone snapped a photo but honestly, I just stood there squinting into the wind for a minute. There’s something about seeing that much space all at once—it messes with your sense of time.

We rolled down into Manitou Springs after that (the brakes squeaked, nobody cared). Mike handed out these tiny paper cups and told us to try the mineral water bubbling up from one of the old fountains—tasted like cold pennies and something sharp I couldn’t name. He grinned when he saw my face; apparently everyone reacts like that their first time. There were families wandering around with ice cream cones and kids daring each other to touch the water again. We didn’t linger long but I liked watching people just… hanging out.

By the end my legs felt weirdly fresh—guess that’s what e-bikes are for—but my head was kind of buzzing from all the stories and sunlight and whatever was in that spring water. We passed by this old Victorian mansion (I missed most of what Mike said about it because I was distracted by a dog wearing sunglasses). Anyway, if you’re wondering about doing a day trip Garden of the Gods tour from Colorado Springs or Manitou, this is probably my favorite way to see it so far. Still think about that view sometimes.