GCND0E Earthcache Garden of the Gods Earthcache
Type: Earth | Size: Other Other | Difficulty: 1 out of 5 | Terrain: 1 out of 5
By: vorticity @ | Hide Date: 04/08/2005 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 52.694 W104° 52.217 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 315
Dogs  Recommended for kids  Scenic view  Wheelchair accessible  Parking available  Drinking water nearby  Public restrooms nearby  Picnic tables nearby  Bicycles  Motorcycles 
 Cache photos

COSP Logo
Gods Collage


100% driving cache. No need to get out of your car. To the immediate west of Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods is one of the most amazing geological sites in North America.

As a Visitor's Center pamphlet says, the geologic history can be summed easily:

In the late Paleozoic gravels and sands eroded from nearby mountains. Over a period of 300 million years sediments more than one mile deep were deposited. They were compressed, cemented, and aged beneath ancient oceans. With the building of the present day Rocky Mountains the resulting sandstone and conglomerate, were stood on end -- horizontal to vertical. Over time the sandstone was eroded by wind and rain leaving the amazing formations we see today.


Start at the Visitor’s Center.:

  • Waypoint 1: 38 52.862N 104 52.792W. The Tower of Babel, The Kissing Camels, the North Gateway Rock, and Signature Rock are sites to behold and photograph.
  • Waypoint 2: 38 52.877N 104 52.957W. At the pull off, looking to the Southeast you can see amazing views of the formations at Waypoint 1, and also the Twin Spires of Sentinel Rock, and Pulpit Rock (almost due South). Take some photos.
  • Waypoint 3: 38 52.668N 104 53.003W. Just before the fork in the road, step on a trial to the West and see Giant Footprints.
  • Waypoint 4: 38 52.333N 104 53.118W. Scotsman Picnic Area is a wonderful place to relax with the family. Plenty of Parking and some time to hit the miles of trails throughout this site.
  • Waypoint 5: 38 51.887N 104 53.840W. Balanced Rock is one of the most recognizable sites in Colorado. Now buttressed just a little, this rock has been balancing precariously for thousands of years.
  • Waypoint 6: 38 52.532N 104 52.940W. A great place to park so that you can take in Keyhole Window, Sleeping Giant, and Cathedral Rock.
  • Waypoint 7: 38 51.943N 104 52.751W. Take in the amazing vistas. Looking to the West you’ll see one of the world’s largest batholiths. We know it better as Pikes Peak.
  • Waypoint 8: 38 52.205N 104 52.692W. At South Parking Lot you have nearly completed your drive.


  • In order to log this cache (in addition to taking the drive and making all the stops) earthcache.org requires a little learing to take place. Please e-mail me at vorticity4@gmail.com with answers to these questions. A good source is http://www.friendsofgardenofthegods.org/GeologyandEcology.aspx
  • When did the sedimentary formations of the Garden of the Gods "tilt up?" ...how many millions of years ago?
  • Did this sedimentary uplifting occur before or after extinction of dinosaurs?
  • What word would you use to best describe what caused the shapes of the rock formations in the Garden of the Gods?>

Geocaching Colorado

Additional Waypoints

GAND0E - GOG EC WP1
N 38° 52.862 W 104° 52.792
The Tower of Babel, The Kissing Camels, the North Gateway Rock, and Signature Rock are sites to behold and photograph.
GDND0E - GOG EC WP3
N 38° 52.668 W 104° 53.003
Just before the fork in the road, step on a trial to the West and see Giant Footprints.
GEND0E - GOG EC WP4
N 38° 52.333 W 104° 53.118
Scotsman Picnic Area is a wonderful place to relax with the family. Plenty of Parking and some time to hit the miles of trails throughout this site.
GFND0E - GOG EC WP5
N 38° 51.887 W 104° 53.840
Balanced Rock is one of the most recognizable sites in Colorado. Now buttressed just a little, this rock has been balancing precariously for thousands of years.
GGND0E - GOG EC WP2
N 38° 52.877 W 104° 52.957
At the pull off, looking to the Southeast you can see amazing views of the formations at Waypoint 1, and also the Twin Spires of Sentinel Rock, and Pulpit Rock (almost due South). Take some photos.
GHND0E - GOG EC WP6
N 38° 52.532 W 104° 52.940
A great place to park so that you can take in Keyhole Window, Sleeping Giant, and Cathedral Rock.
GIND0E - GOG EC WP7
N 38° 51.943 W 104° 52.751
Take in the amazing vistas. Looking to the West you’ll see one of the world’s largest batholiths. We know it better as Pikes Peak.
GJND0E - GOG EC WP8
N 38° 52.205 W 104° 52.692
At South Parking Lot you have nearly completed your drive.
 Custom URLs

Add cache to watch list
Log your visit
Picture Gallery

 Additional Waypoints (8)

CodeNameTypeCommentsDateCoordinatesDistance
GAND0EGOG EC WP1 Reference Point The Tower of Babel, The Kissing Camels, the North Gateway Rock, and Signature Rock are sites to behold and photograph. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.862 W 104° 52.792 0.89 kms W 
GDND0EGOG EC WP3 Reference Point Just before the fork in the road, step on a trial to the West and see Giant Footprints. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.668 W 104° 53.003 1.14 kms W 
GEND0EGOG EC WP4 Reference Point Scotsman Picnic Area is a wonderful place to relax with the family. Plenty of Parking and some time to hit the miles of trails throughout this site. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.333 W 104° 53.118 1.46 kms SW 
GFND0EGOG EC WP5 Reference Point Balanced Rock is one of the most recognizable sites in Colorado. Now buttressed just a little, this rock has been balancing precariously for thousands of years. 07/09/2011 N 38° 51.887 W 104° 53.840 2.78 kms SW 
GGND0EGOG EC WP2 Reference Point At the pull off, looking to the Southeast you can see amazing views of the formations at Waypoint 1, and also the Twin Spires of Sentinel Rock, and Pulpit Rock (almost due South). Take some photos. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.877 W 104° 52.957 1.12 kms W 
GHND0EGOG EC WP6 Reference Point A great place to park so that you can take in Keyhole Window, Sleeping Giant, and Cathedral Rock. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.532 W 104° 52.940 1.09 kms W 
GIND0EGOG EC WP7 Reference Point Take in the amazing vistas. Looking to the West you’ll see one of the world’s largest batholiths. We know it better as Pikes Peak. 07/09/2011 N 38° 51.943 W 104° 52.751 1.59 kms SW 
GJND0EGOG EC WP8 Reference Point At South Parking Lot you have nearly completed your drive. 07/09/2011 N 38° 52.205 W 104° 52.692 1.14 kms SW 

 Hints

Geocaching in Garden of the Gods is strictly prohibited by the City of Colorado Springs. http://www.springsgov.com/units/parksrec/guideline.htm However, considering the unique goals of EarthCache.org, this drive was specifically approved by the Parks Department.

 Nearby Caches

GC26E12 holey moley (2.61 kms SW)
GC1PPXP Lyons Sandstone Tafoni (3.06 kms S)
GC1PPXV Soil Formation in Red Rock Canyon Open S (3.57 kms SW)
GC990W2 Garfield's Glory (10.60 kms SW)
GC8609Q Ladybug, Ladybug fly... (10.75 kms E)

   


Driving Directions

 Logs

25 Logs: Found it 24  Didn't find it 1  

Found it 07/05/2019 By cejlpfamily
Tftc. First in CO. On a trip with the Boy scouts on the way to Philmont.
I couldn't help imagining the coyote trying to leaver it onto the road.

Found it 06/27/2019 By kristen016
Visiting and exploring today with my mom who hasn’t been here in over 40 years!

Found it 06/23/2019 By CarpenterLuvaKatCrew
Visiting from Cleveland for the week. It's impossible to put into words the beauty of this place! So many sights to see and nooks and crannies to explore. The kids had a blast climbing on some of the rocks. We escaped with no injuries. Answers sent. Tftc

Found it 06/19/2019 By Saint Aubie
Thanks so much for this earth cache and tour of the park! We enjoyed our time so much at Garden of the Gods. Answers sent to CO. TFTC!

Found it 06/19/2019 By Strudelnudel
Did a nice evening drive through Garden of the Gods with hubby.

Found it 10/13/2018 By White Spirit Bears
TFTC. We had a great time at this park on a beautiful day and checked out all the stops. Answers sent.

Found it 10/13/2018 By $rustyjones$
Unbelieveable, Sepctacular park! Such a natural wonder. Great weather today. Here with DarkFairy*2 and Mae55. Thank goodness to know that such a breathtaking park is open free to the public and is protected. TFTEC.

Found it 10/13/2018 By Mae55
Another great day Geocaching in Colorado

Found it 10/13/2018 By DarkFairy*2
I’ve been to Garden of the Gods dozens of times! I just love it and always take visitors there. Great for a nice walk after Thanksgiving dinner, too! Love it! TFTC

Found it 10/12/2018 By caverdon
Our family is spending a few days in Colorado, and today we visited Garden of the Gods. This is our first time at this amazing park. It was great! The weather was sunny with temperatures in the 50s. We spent a lot of time on the trails sightseeing, and of course picked up a cache when there was an opportunity.

We stopped by the visitor center first, and I noticed this EC. After looking around, I believe I found all the answers. I will send them as soon as I have an opportunity on our trip.

Found it 09/06/2018 By LaFavorite Cacher
Wow! So grateful for this earthcache tour of the park. It was magnificent in spite of the rainy conditions!! I have sent my answers to the CO and am including only one of the amazing photos I took. Thanks for the smiley! [2922]

Found it 09/06/2018 By Team J&K
Great earthcache!! Really enjoyed all the stops along the way for this one. Garden of the Gods is spectacular and we always enjoy the visit here. The earthcaches make us stop and really understand what we are seeing. Thanks

Found it 09/04/2018 By Firemnky
On a Fall trip through Colorado doing some caching and seeing the sites. A beautiful scenic drive through Rocky Mountain National Park. Visiting the downtown areas of Boulder, Denver, Castle Rock and Colorado Springs to name a few. We enjoyed a beautiful hike on the Barr trail at the Summit of Pikes Peak. It was a wonderful trip with quite a bit of caching thrown in along the way. Thanks for placing this one. Answers sent.

Found it 09/04/2018 By qrang
A splendid drive loved the park and all the formations. Answers sent to the CO and we attach a photo TFTC and have a fav point

Found it 08/26/2018 By wasillian
11:09 AM: Find 11 of 16 total finds for this 2-day outing with my wife while visiting from Alaska. It was a hot day in the upper 80's and low 90's and our first visit to this very interesting park. Answers messaged to the CO. TFTC #3345

Found it 08/19/2018 By millermaryjean
Visiting with son, daughter and grandkids. Thanks for the learning experience!
GCND0E

Found it 08/13/2018 By Leapin' Lee
I enjoyed the park over 20 years ago. But learning about the geology makes it even more enjoyable. Took lots of pictures to enjoy for years to come. Thanks for the really educational EA.
Photo

Found it 08/08/2018 By HyperboreanWanderer
What a beautiful spot!! TFTC!

Found it 08/05/2018 By aaronatwake
Here from Illinois with my older two kids visiting family and the garden of the gods today. Answers sent. Tfte.

Found it 08/03/2018 By toddnks
Love it!

Found it 07/28/2018 By nateweger
Doing a week long adventure in Colorado and spent a couple days in Colorado Springs. Visited Garden of the Gods and decided to do this earthcache! It was a blast and the park was beautiful, thanks for the cache!

Found it 07/28/2018 By Harvey's Pack
Absolutely gorgeous! ? We are visiting from Olympia, Washington and this was a must see on our list of things to do.
Many thanks!
Photo

Found it 07/27/2018 By j2dad
We had planned to spend the morning visiting the Garden of the Gods. We had been through many years ago, but didn't really stop to explore much. Today we stopped and planned to get out and walk. Though amazing from a distance, being able to walk amongst the formations just shows different views, and one can appreciate the colors and textures even more. It was very busy today, as we had to circle the main parking area several times before finding a spot, and later on trying to park near Siamese Twins required a couple of passes. We never did find space to stop at Balanced Rock, so maybe we'll get back there one of these other afternoons. Thanks for the earth cache.

Didn't find it 07/26/2018 By micha17hope
...

Found it 07/25/2018 By night~owls
Headed back to Nebraska after picking my #2 son up from BYU-I...having my youngest along for the ride was an unexpected but fun bonus. We stopped in Colorado Springs for the day and made the trek up to the top of Pikes Peak and spent the evening at the Garden of the Gods. So glad we made the stop.

Family Fun in CO