Colorado Paint Mines

​When my friend first suggested visiting the Paint Mines in Colorado, I was skeptical and questioned if it was worth the detour. We went anyway and it turned out to be neat place with colorful clay and sandstones. The landscape and rock formations made it feel like a whole different planet despite being just a few minutes from the parking lot. It also made for great photos especially since it was very empty when we visited.

​The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs near the town of Calhan. The park feels isolated in the middle of nowhere with a small parking lot next to farms and open space, but it only takes about ten minutes to walk to the Paint Mines.
 
As we walked on the main trail to the Paint Mines, we saw low-lying rock formations, canyons, spires, and hills that made the whole area look like a maze. The rocks all had a light-yellow hue with a few bands of orange and pink. With very few people in the park, it felt eerie as if we were exploring a different planet.

​There are multiple paths to take and you can easily get lost in the park. Luckily, this couple advised us to take a route that has more colorful and vibrant rocks. We took their advice and scrambled down a steep hill into one of the canyons. We saw layers and layers of rock formation as we went deeper into the canyon, and also saw the horizontal bands with varying colors.

​In total, we spent about one hour at the Paint Mines exploring the canyons and taking lots of photos. It is a bit out of the way and off the highway, but it’s a cool place to check out if you have extra time in Colorado.