1. Rusty Spur Bunk & Barn
City: Woodland Park, CO
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (719) 687-4260
Address: 583 South Forty Rd.
Description: In this case, B&B stands for bunk and barn! Yes, this ranch outside Woodland Park accommodates not only humans, but horses (and dogs, too). So saddle up and head up Ute Pass for a different kind of stay. They have 4 rooms (sleeping 10 total), with names like the Buffalo Bill Room (which has a king bed), the Annie Oakley (with a queen bed and a double), and 2 more with queen beds. Rooms share 2 baths. Additional adults in a room are $20 per night; horses range from $10 to $25 a night; and dogs are charged $10 a night and allowed in rooms with their owners. Open since 2007, the inn is open year-round (many guest ranches aren’t). There’s a communal hot tub on the 1,000-square-foot patio, a gas grill, and firepit for guests’ use. The TV room features a 36-inch wall-mounted screen. For horses, there are four 10-by-28-foot corrals with loafing sheds and a communal pasture. Hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails surround the property. The indoor areas are all nonsmoking, and because the rooms are on the second floor, the inn is not wheelchair accessible. Kids are always welcome. The owner grows her own garden and uses her fresh herbs and vegetables in her creative egg dishes each morning.
2. Woodland Park School District Re-2
City: Woodland Park, CO
Category: Education
Telephone: (719) 686-2000
Address: 211 N. Baldwin St.
Description: Woodland Park School District Re-2 encompasses the northern half of Teller County, which lies up Ute Pass west of Colorado Springs. The district serves about 3,000 students. Three K–5 elementary schools have preschools, the middle school is grades 6–8, and the high school is grades 9–12. There is also an online school.The district has focused on a balance between traditional instruction in basic skills and innovative instruction. There is also a full range of co-curricular activities including art, band, drama, forensics, and vocal music. There are programs for gifted and talented students, extended learning opportunities, and support services for students who are struggling. Woodland Park students consistently hold the fourth-highest score position of all districts in the Pikes Peak region on CSAPs. The high school offers a number of honors and AP classes, and the district is currently in the middle of an ambitious five-year program to update texts and teaching materials for all K–12 core academics as well as in many elective and exploratory areas.
3. Shining Mountain Golf Club
City: Woodland Park, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (719) 687-7587
Address: 100 Shining Mountain Dr.
Description: At 8,500 feet above sea level, the 18-hole Shining Mountain is located just outside of Woodland Park. As a true mountain course that rolls and climbs through pine forests and mountain valleys, it can be quite unforgiving if you get out of the fairways. Carts are recommended as the distance between holes is sometimes great. Green fees are $25 to $59, with rolling cart and push cart rental extra (rolling carts must be used at certain times). Standard golf dress code of collared shirt and jeans allowed if not ragged applies. There’s a pro shop, restaurant, and lessons available.
4. Teller Senior Coalition
City: Woodland Park, CO
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (719) 687-3330
Address: 312 N. Center St.
Description: Located in Woodland Park, this senior center is also the mountain community’s agency for senior services. They provide transportation, hold the Golden Circle lunch on-site, provide other nutritional opportunities, help make seniors’ homes safer with grants and resources for home improvements, provide respite services for caregivers, run an information and referral line, offer free tax assistance, legal aid, and more. Plus, there are exercise classes and social outings.
5. Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center
City: Woodland Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (719) 686-1820
Address: 201 S. Fairview St.
Description: Just a short drive up Ute Pass from Colorado Springs, the Dinosaur Resource Center sits on the main drag in Woodland Park. You can’t miss it—a palm tree towers out front. In a Colorado mountain town, especially under the white blanket of winter, a palm tree is just a little out of the ordinary. Unusual too is what goes on inside the 20,000-square-foot building. There are more than 30 life-sized dinosaur specimens (mostly skeletons) and, better yet, a working paleontology lab. Kids can watch scientists working on the latest discoveries and even feel dinosaur poop. There’s stuff to keep the kids moving, like a station to build a new species of dinosaur out of magnets and a small dinosaur dig site. A small theater shows entertaining but scientific films, and there is a store for dino trinkets.