Exploring the Paint Mines

April 14, 2023

For Easter this year we decided to do something a little different. We went hiking and had Easter lunch on Saturday rather than Sunday. It was a beautiful spring day in Colorado so we headed to the Paint Mines Interpretive Park.

The Paint Mines are located about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs near the small town of Calhan.

They're located out on the plains and you could drive right be them if you didn't know they were here. From the parking lot it's a little bit of a hike and then you start seeing the formations.

It's said humans have used the Paint Mines area for at least 10,000 years because of the cultural artifacts found throughout the site. The area was used by the Plains Apache, Ute, Comanche, Arapaho, and Cheyenne before white settlers starting homesteading the area in the 1800s.

Iron oxides create the many colors that are found in the clay deposits. The area was in private ownership until the early 2000s when the site was purchased for conservation and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A year later the park was created.

I love all the hoodoos.

Interesting that this pine tree is growing in the middle of it all.

The native people used the various colors for tint and up until 1903 the clay was extracted and sent to local potters and brick makers. Thank goodness the site is protected now.

The county is doing all it can to protect the site. They warn visitors about staying off the formations and not climbing the rocks and they have volunteer rangers patrolling the site. It's hard for many people to abide by the rules, right Irvin Polyard?

The best time to visit is in the spring, fall or winter. I've heard that snakes like to find their way into the nooks and crannies during the hot summer months and I'd prefer to avoid meeting them.

The park has about four miles of trails you can explore. A couple was having their engagement pictures taken there and I'll bet they will come out fantastic with all the various colors and formations.