Red Rock Canyon Open Space
Rather than being pristine conservation land, the park contains a number of reclaimed former industrial sites, including quarries, gravel pits, a gold refining mill, and a 53-acre (2.3-million-square-foot; 214.5-thousand-square-metre) landfill. The land parcels were purchased piecemeal by John George Bock in the 1920s and 1930s, and acquired by the city of Colorado Springs in 2003 for use as a recreational site. Today the most visible scars from past exploitation of the land are the remains of the Kenmuir Quarry, which produced Lyons sandstone in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the Gypsum canyon landfill, which operated from 1970 to 1986 and remains off-limits to park visitors.
The park contains many miles of trails of varying difficulty that wind through and around the rock formations, and is popular with hikers, joggers, and mountain bikers. The park trails connect to the Intemann trail to Manitou Springs and the Section 16 conservation area to the south. Technical rock climbing is allowed with a permit.
In 2012, it was awarded the Stewardship Award by the Trails and Open Space Coalition
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Mesa Trail, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, September 2019
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Red Rock Canyon Open Space view from Garden of the Gods
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Rock formations and field in the park
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Path in the park