Round Trip Distance: 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 6641 - 6724 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs.
Trailhead: Paint Mines
Fee: none
Attractions: geology, archeological site
Paint Mines is an archeological site east of Colorado Springs, Colorado near the town of Calhan. Colorful clay deposits at the site provided ancient Native people with clay for pottery and pigments for things like face paint. Today visitors can roam amongst the colorful hoodoos that decorate the landscape like a gallery of exotic sculptures.
For turn-by-turn directions to the site enter 'Paint Mines Interpretive Park' into your driving app. The main trailhead is just over 2 miles southeast of Calhan which is about 34 miles east of Colorado Springs on US-24.
On one of the trailhead kiosks there is a map that is helpful for navigating the handful of trails that travel throughout the area. The trail marked 'Geology Interpretive Site' is where the colorful hoodoos are found.
For the most part the main trails are wide paths of hard packed gravel that make it easier for those pushing a stroller.
About a half mile from the trailhead the route turns up the Geology trail where it begins with some variegated white and orange hoodoos.
As you continue along the Geology trail there are side paths leading into some of the hoodoos. Occasionally there will be a kiosk that provides some interesting information.
The assortment and amount of colors varies at each side path.
One kiosk mentions that besides making paints that clay was mined also for making pottery.
If there exists pottery made from these colors it would be interesting to know where it is currently being displayed.
Scrambling up one of the side trails leads up into some cave like formations that are lighted from above.
This is the scenic narrow passageway leading out of the caves.
Visitors will find it rewarding to persevere to the last side trail on the right at the end of the Geology trail as it is one of the most scenic places in the park.
The canyon seems a little deeper here and the hoodoos a little taller.
While at the Paint Mines we hiked the loop that included the Ecology and the Prehistory Interpretive Sites before hiking the Geology trail. That route had more of a Great Plains feel where it was easy to imagine a nomadic village of teepees having possibly been in the distant past.
On the day that we made the visit where these photos were taken it was completely overcast with a light rain falling off and on. The colorful hoodoos of the Paint Mines were just as impressive as they are on a sunny day although it isn't quite reflected in the photos.
If you would like to see the Paint Mines for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
