Qualla: Garden of the Gods https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:04 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Garden of the Gods https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods Garden of the Gods: Introduction https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit ValerieBoffa, CC BY-SA 4.0. "Beer garden! Why, it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." Rufus Cable blurted those words in August 1859, overwhelmed by what he saw while his companion suggested the red rock formations would make a nice spot for drinks. Cable's spontaneous naming stuck, and the place has been living up to it ever since. The deep-red, pink, and white sandstone fins that jut vertically from the earth at the western edge of Colorado Springs look like they belong on another planet - or in another era, which is closer to the truth. These rocks began as horizontal layers of sediment deposited by ancient seas and sand dunes more than 300 million years ago, then were tilted on end and sculpted by ice and water into the spires, balanced rocks, and cathedral-like formations that draw more than two million visitors each year.

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Image: ValerieBoffa | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Garden of the Gods: Written in Stone https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit Ahodges7, CC BY-SA 3.0. The geological story of Garden of the Gods begins in the Paleozoic era, when the region lay beneath shallow seas. Over hundreds of millions of years, layers of sandstone, conglomerate, and limestone accumulated horizontally. Then the Laramide Orogeny - the same mountain-building ...

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Image: Ahodges7 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-written-in-stone.mp3 0:06 2 full Garden of the Gods: Sacred Ground, Long Before Cable https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit Santosdo, CC BY-SA 3.0. Archaeological evidence shows that people visited this site as early as 1330 BC, drawn by the wildlife and plant life that thrived where the Great Plains meet the mountains. By 250 BC, Native American groups were camping among the rocks, using overhangs for shelter. The Ute peopl...

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Image: Santosdo | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-sacred-ground-long-before-cable.mp3 0:06 3 full Garden of the Gods: A Gift That Stays Free https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit Tokeamour, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1879, Charles Elliott Perkins, a railroad executive and friend of Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer, purchased land that included a large portion of what is now the park. Upon Perkins' death, his family donated the land to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909 wit...

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Image: Tokeamour | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-a-gift-that-stays-free.mp3 0:06 4 full Garden of the Gods: Climbers, Dinosaurs, and Honey Ants https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit Jamaps, CC BY-SA 4.0. The park is a rich ecological crossroads that retired biology professor Richard Beidleman called 'the most striking contrast between plains and mountains in North America' with respect to biology, geology, climate, and scenery. In 1878, a dinosaur skull was found among the rocks;...

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Image: Jamaps | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-climbers-dinosaurs-and-honey-ants.mp3 0:06 5 full Garden of the Gods: The View from Above https://qualla.com/garden-of-the-gods/ Photo credit Darin House from Missouri, USA, CC BY 2.0. From the air, Garden of the Gods appears as a sudden interruption of red against the green and brown landscape at the foot of Pikes Peak. The sandstone fins run roughly north to south, their vertical edges catching light and shadow in sharp contrast. The hogback ridges - long, na...

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Image: Darin House from Missouri, USA | CC BY 2.0

]]> Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/w/v/m/garden-of-the-gods-wp/9wvm-garden-of-the-gods-the-view-from-above.mp3 0:06 6 full