The history of any place is the collective experience of all its people. The culture of a city is continually created by the blending of its individuals and groups. And learning about their stories provides a richness and depth that brings a place alive. This Creative Stays itinerary will take you into the tapestry of Colorado Springs to encounter its diverse past and enjoy its vibrant present with personal connection. You’ll visit local spots off the beaten path and encounter art, culture and small businesses owned by people from diverse backgrounds.
Your host is Lynne Hastings, an award-winning actor, director, producer and long-time leader in the local theater and arts scene. “With this Creative Stays itinerary, you’re going to experience the diversity that Colorado Springs has to offer,” she says. “A lot of people think there’s not a lot of diversity in this town, but it’s here. You just need to be pointed in the right direction to find it. That’s what I wanted to do: point people in the right direction so they can experience the place that I love so much.”
Where to Stay: Lodging
Hyatt Place, Colorado Springs Garden of the Gods
When Lynne is traveling, Hyatt Place is her hotel of choice. “Hyatt Place is my absolute favorite place to stay,” she says. “I was glad when they built one here.” This one, located at 503 Garden of the Gods Road, puts you in a convenient, centrally located spot. It’s a 10-minute to either the famous Garden of the Gods or downtown. And the adjacent Interstate 25 makes it easy to get around town.
“I love the setup of the rooms,” Lynne says. “They’ve got pullout beds and room dividers. So if you have a family, your children can have their time, and you can have your own time, and you each have your own TV. I’ve just found it very comfortable for a family of four.
Breakfast is included at the Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods. There is an on-site restaurant and bar, fitness center and outdoor swimming pool. And pets are welcome.
DAY 1
After you check-in to your hotel room, take the short drive downtown for dinner at Four by Brother Luck, 321 N. Tejon Street. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Brother Luck beat Bobby Flay with his Bacon Jam Burger on the popular Food Network show. The celebrity chef has also appeared on Chopped and Top Chef and been nominated as a James Beard Best Chef semifinalist for the Mountain Region. And, yes, Brother Luck is his real name.
“He will make his Brussels sprouts, my favorite, when he sees me come in,” Lynne says. “And he’s a survivor. He has opened up and written a book about his story and mental health. He has made a name for himself, and it’s difficult for Black chefs to make a name for themselves. I’m so glad we walked into his restaurant years ago because he has been a friend of mine ever since. I love his food.”
Along with the Brussels sprouts, Lynne recommends the Jalapeno Poppers and Chipotle Popcorn, which you can order to-go. You’ll also find an upscale but relaxed atmosphere with a seasonally changing menu that features the likes of Boar Shoulder Agnolotti and Lamb Shank Birria Stew. You can order a four-course meal or a la carte, and you can count on flavors that sing. “Four by Brother Luck is a gathering place, and I love it because it’s comforting,” Lynne says. “It’s a little modern, but it still has a little Cajun feel to it. I’ve always felt comfortable — I’d call it casually elegant.”
Next up is your evening entertainment at the Millibo Art Theatre, 1626 South Tejon Street. “If you want to laugh and have a really good time at a theater production, [owners] Jim Jackson and Brigitta De Pree do a wonderful job,” Lynne says. The small, independent theater produces a wide variety of original stage productions, from puppets and children’s shows to original plays, improv, an annual Women’s Theatre Festival, cabaret, burlesque and more.
“It’s the kind of the theater that you don’t normally see when you go see theater. That’s what I like about them,” Lynne says. “If you want a different taste in your theater, if you don’t want Shakespeare or a musical, go to the Millibo Circus of the Night with trapeze artists. It’s great.”
After the show, walk across the parking lot to the Ivywild School. The former elementary school at 1604 South Cascade Avenue is now a renovated community hub for eating, drinking, shopping and gathering. If the weather is good, find a space on the wide front patio beneath the towering colonnade. You can enjoy a craft beer from Bristol Brewing, one of Colorado Springs’ largest microbreweries. You’ll find craft cocktails and coffee at The Principal’s Office and the Axe and the Oak Whiskey House, tasting room of one of the best local distillers. Five restaurants, such as Lazo Empanadas and Bristol’s Spark Beer + BBQ, serve a variety of food for an after-show bite. “There are some great restaurants at Ivywild and in the surrounding area as well,” Lynne says. “Everyone should go visit Ivywild when they come here.”
DAY 2
Your schedule for today will be filled with local history, but don’t expect that to mean boring. Get started with a visit to the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, located in the center of downtown at 215 South Tejon Street in the beautifully restored 1903 El Paso County Courthouse. Since 1896 the Pioneers Museum has been collecting and preserving the culture of Colorado Springs and its people — all of its people.
“What I love about the Pioneers Museum is that it’s diverse in its collections and exhibitions,” Lynne says. “You will not only find the history of Colorado Springs founders General Palmer and Spencer Penrose, but you will also find Indigenous art and history, our local piece of civil rights history, the suffragette movement and the National Advancement of Colored Women. There’s always a proclamation and annual gathering here on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That’s why I love this place.”
Admission is always free at the Pioneers Museum. Be sure to check the calendar for regular and special events.
After discovering some inspirational stories, head a few blocks south to Luchal’s for lunch. You’ll find it inside the COATI Uprise food hall at 514 South Tejon Street. Owners Travares and Chantal Lucas call it Colorado’s first gluten-free soulful seafood. “The catfish is the best ever,” Lynne says. “It’s like my mom’s cooking. She cooked Southern soul food all the time before she passed away. So to have Southern catfish with cornmeal breading, it reminds me of growing up.”
Want to explore a little farther? Head to Southeast Springs. “If you really want to go to the diverse businesses in Colorado Springs, spend time in the Southeast corridor of town,” Lynne says. “Some of the best food is in those small shopping centers. You look at them and think, Oh, that couldn’t be good, but those are some of the best places to eat in town. English Dockside Seafood Grill has really good Southern seafood. They have recently converted to a mobile food truck, so check for their location. But there are a lot of hidden gems and minority-owned businesses on the Southeast side of town.”
Wherever you eat, be sure to save room for Afternoon Tea at Glen Eyrie Castle. Located at 3820 North 30th Street next to Garden of the Gods, the castle was built in 1871 by city founder General William Jackson Palmer for his wife, Queen Palmer. Today, the beautiful site is a conference center where it’s not unusual to see a local herd of bighorn sheep resting on the lawn.
“We would take my daughter there for tea on her birthday,” Lynne says. “It’s not as hoity-toity as you might think it would be in England. It’s a little more relaxed, but still very elegant. You sit with your tea and your finger sandwiches. You can get all dressed up. They have hats you can put on and take photos with after tea. It’s just a different experience.”
You’ll get another different taste of Colorado Springs’ heritage at Flying W Ranch. “If you really want to take a step back in time in Colorado history, the Flying W Ranch is the place to go,” Lynne says.
The ranch lies in the foothills at 3330 Chuckwagon Road, where it has been taking people into an Old West experience since 1953. The ranch was completely destroyed in the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire, one of the worst wildfires in Colorado history. But the Flying W rides again after being rebuilt and reopened in 2020. May to October is Chuckwagon Supper season, and dinner is a generous barbecue buffet. Each night the world-renowned Flying W Wranglers perform cowboy songs in stunning three-part harmony and tell cowboy jokes and stories. Don’t worry; it’s all family friendly. The musical group is the second-oldest Western singing band in the world. “You feel like you’re a cowboy out on the range eating chuckwagon style foods. There’s good music, and it almost makes you feel like you’re sitting around a campfire in the late 1800s.”
DAY 3
Today is your day to get out and enjoy some of Colorado Springs natural beauty. Palmer Park is a local gem hidden in plain sight. It’s buttes and bluffs are located in the central part of the city, east of downtown at 3650 Maizeland Road. The location offers sweeping views of the city backed by Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods and the entire Front Range.
“I like Palmer Park because it has some height without having to climb up high. You can hike up to the top to the mesa and there are some really beautiful views of the eastern side of the city,” Lynne says. “There’s a great dog park and nice hiking trails. And if you don’t want to deal with the crowds that can be at Garden of the Gods, I highly recommend that you go take a hike in Palmer Park.”
Whether you hike or simply drive, the park offers beautiful views from spots such as the accurately named Grandview Overlook.
You might be able to blend some scenic beauty with the theater if you’re around in the summer. If there is a play in production at Theatreworks, make sure you catch a matinee before leaving town. Based at the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS, the professional equity union production company hosts an annual season of stage favorites and original works. Located at 5225 North Nevada Avenue, it’s an award-winning company where Lynne has frequently acted and directed.
“If it’s summertime, you should definitely try to see the outdoor Shakespeare. At the Ent Center, the backdrop is Pikes Peak, so it’s really exciting to sit on the lawn and be able to see the mountains as a natural backdrop,” Lynne says.
But Theatreworks reaches far beyond the classics. “You will find the classic canon with a twist,” Lynne says. “They recently produced Little Women in a way that’s not your typical Little Women adaptation. You’ll see multicultural plays like Aubergine about a South Korean family. You’ll see King Hedley II by August Wilson, which is about a Black family. This is someplace where you can see diverse theater, different diverse stories, and you can also catch a little Shakespeare if you like.”
Another option for an off-the-beaten path experience is the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum, a place that unexpectedly captivated Lynne as a child. “My father would find the weirdest places to take our family, and the Money Museum was one of them,” she says. “I remember thinking, Who would want to come here? But by the end, I was completely fascinated about the different types of money and coins and learning about Buffalo nickels, all these things I had never learned about.”
She began bringing home foreign coins when her family lived overseas and continues to be fascinated by different types of money. You probably won’t find crowds at the Money Museum, but you will encounter fascinating exhibitions and collections. Located downtown at 818 North Cascade Avenue, the museum is home to rare, ancient coins, and it explores art, history, science and humanity through the lens of currency. “So go do something different,” Lynne says. “Do something you would never do at home.”
Colorado Springs provides plenty of diverse places and ways to do just that, especially if you follow Lynne’s Creative Stays itinerary.
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For up-to-date event information when you’re in town, be sure to visit PeakRadar.com, the cultural calendar for the Pikes Peak region.
