A Summer Weekend at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs

Any weekend at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is wonderful, but if you’re looking for relaxation plus adventure a summer weekend at this luxury resort has it all. I recently went to celebrate special birthdays for my friends Cindy and Kirk. Our small group had a lot of golfers and they took full advantage of playing at the top golf resort in Colorado and one of the best in the country. As a non-golfer, here’s how I spent a three-night stay at the Broadmoor.

After picking up my friend Sue at Denver International Airport, she and I drove to Colorado Springs and met our group for dinner at Eidelweiss German Restaurant. My friend Kirk has been going to this rustic Bavarian style beer garden and restaurant since the 1970s. This was my first time to Eidelweiss. If you’re a fan of German food, this is a must since they serve up classic dishes like schnitzel and goulash. Sitting with my friends Sue, Pam and Earl, they ordered the bratwurst sampler for an appetizer. I don’t eat meat so I was out on that, but I did taste the sauerkraut and it was wonderful. All three raved about the brats too. Being a non-meat eater, the menu was a little challenging. I do eat fish and went for the pesto crusted salmon filet. All of us got a German salad with green beans, beets, cucumbers, tomato and potato salad. I could have eaten a whole plate of just the potato salad, it was that good.

After a fun evening of revelry, we retired to the Broadmoor for the night. If you can get a lake view room, I highly recommend it. This was my second stay at the Broadmoor, my first being a spring weekend to celebrate another friend’s special birthday. The next morning, I peeled back the drapes to watch the sunrise over the lake. I got up, grabbed a latte at Cafe Julie’s and went for an early walk. The quiet and stillness of early morning is one of my favorite moments during a Broadmoor stay. On my walk, I enjoyed the sunshine glistening on the water and even saw two rabbits.

Most of our group was staying in the West Tower. I met some friends for breakfast out on the patio at Ristorante del Lago. I went simple with just a scramble egg and cranberry walnut toast. While eating, a deer strolled by eating her breakfast lakeside.

While most of the crew went golfing, I opted to hike to with my friend Cindy’s brother and two of his three grown kids. We decided on Seven Bridges Trail, an easy and scenic hike off of North Cheyenne Canyon Road, not far from the Broadmoor. You hike along a dirt road for 0.7 miles, then turn right to get on Seven Bridges Trail. There’s not an obvious marker for the trail so you do have to be on the lookout for it. Seven Bridges is named for the seven bridges you cross as the shady trail meanders along a creek.

After we crossed the seventh bridge, we decided to scramble up the much steeper section of the trail to get a view looking out the canyon. The view was worth the effort. The hike is about 3.7 miles round trip.

Having worked up an appetite, the four of us returned to the Broadmoor for a leisurely lunch sitting outside on the patio of the main building. I quenched my thirst with a refreshing mojito as I noshed on a delicious caprese salad. As we were finishing, golfers from our small group started showing up so lunch turned into a multi-hour affair until afternoon storm sent us all retreating to our rooms for naps and to get ready for the evening.

Dinner that night was on our own. I went with a few friends to Paravicini’s Italian Bistro. The rustic trattoria ended up being a delightful find. The atmosphere was lively and the food was fabulous. We started with eggplant fries, mozzarella fritti and calamari fritti for the table. For my entree, I went for the spaghetti pomodoro. The simple blend of spaghetti in a sauce of crushed tomatoes, garlic, onions, olive oil and basil was wonderful.

We ended the evening at the Golden Bee, a pub institution at the Broadmoor. Colorado Springs was once dubbed “Little London,” so an English-themed gastro pub is fitting. The Golden Bee has been around since 1961. My favorite part of going here is the wait staff throwing bee stickers at you to signify you’ve been to the Bee.

Saturday morning, even this early bird slept in a little, after getting up to catch a glimpse of sunrise. We had breakfast again out on the patio at Ristorante del Lago. This time I went for the avocado toast with fried eggs.

A few folks golfed a second day and some went to the spa, but most of our group went to Seven Falls. We got arm bands at the Broadmoor, so we could just go straight in. We took a shuttle to what’s dubbed the “grandest mile of scenery in Colorado,” and walked the 0.8 miles through the 1,250-foot-wall box canyon to the base of the falls. From the Three Amigos to Pillars of Hercules to Washington’s Profile, there are interesting rock formations in the canyon as you follow the path of the stream. This was my second visit to Seven Falls. In the spring, the falls are raging, but it has been a very dry summer in Colorado and the falls were running on the light side. The challenge on this hike is climbing up and down the 224 steps along side the seven falls cascading down 181 feet. It’s a quad and lung burner.

Once at the top, most of the group hiked on to Inspiration Point. Before I had only hiked to the top of the falls, so I was excited to explore the area above the falls. It’s about a mile to the point on a trail that gradual inclines with a few steeper switchbacks. Once you get to Inspiration Point, you see why it’s called that. The views through the box canyon and extending out to the eastern plains are breathtaking. We didn’t get to stay very long because rain was quickly moving in. Even light showers make the steps extra slippery so we cautiously took our time climbing back dow the 224 steps and walked back 0.8 miles down the road through the box canyon. You can take a shuttle back to the Broadmoor, but wanting a little more mileage I decided to walk back about 1.8 miles and most of our group did the same.

We got back just in time as it poured shortly after we returned to the Broadmoor. The rest of the afternoon was filled with a little shopping at the resort, naps, and getting ready for the night’s celebration in the Penrose Room.

Sunday morning I met a couple of friends for coffee and quiche to go from Cafe Julie’s. We sat out by the lake soaking in a gorgeous morning. Afterwards I went for a long walk around the resort property and in the adjacent neighborhood before meeting a couple of friends for a late lunch at the Golden Bee as a send-off from a wonderful summer weekend at the Broadmoor.