North Cheyenne Cañon Park, Historic urban park in Colorado Springs, United States.
North Cheyenne Cañon Park is a 1,276.9-acre regional park at 2110 N. Cheyenne Cañon Road, about 4.5 miles southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. Cheyenne Cañon splits into north and south branches along Cheyenne Boulevard, and Pierre Shale and Sawatch Sandstone are exposed at the mouth of both. Inside the park are Helen Hunt Falls, Silver Cascade Falls, the Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center and the White Fir Botanical Reserve.
The park was acquired in 1885 by Colorado Springs residents to protect the natural landscape. This early decision made it one of the region's first places set aside for conservation purposes.
The park has carried three names: North Cheyenne Cañon Park, Colorado College Park and Cheyenne Park. The Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center, open April to October at the South Cheyenne Canyon Road entrance, holds hands-on exhibits and runs nature programs. The Columbine Trail, about 4 miles, starts near Starsmore and climbs to Helen Hunt Falls.
The dirt parking lot at the top of the cañon fills quickly; pull-offs line the road leading up to it. Vehicles cannot continue onto Gold Camp Road or High Drive from the lot, though hikers and bikers may pass. The Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center, at the South Cheyenne Canyon Road entrance, is open April to October.
The park's name preserves the older Spanish spelling cañon, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it was once called Colorado College Park and Cheyenne Park. Its 1,276.9 acres include the White Fir Botanical Reserve, and the dirt lot at the top of the cañon is the gateway to Gold Camp Road and High Drive, closed to cars but open to hikers and bikers.
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