A hidden corner of Monument Valley Park teaches about Colorado Springs’ human history and its much deeper natural history.

Welcome to the Geologic Column. 

The hillside is streaked by multi-colored rock, representing various formations that rose hundreds of millions of years ago. The geologic story starts with Pikes Peak granite, that grayish line followed by brownish, red-ish layers of limestone and sandstone above.

As for the human story? That dates closer to 1907, when Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer sought Monument Valley Park to be “an open and verdurous space removed from the dust and noise,” reads a sign at the Geologic Column. 

Palmer tapped Edmond van Diest to design the park. He came up with the rocky display ー “a perfect attraction for residents, many of whom had been drawn to the region to mine and search for that elusive gold.”

The Geologic Column remains a perfect attraction for residents now seeking the elusive, hidden gem. Know where to look, and it’s easy to find off the greenway trail that loops around Monument Valley Park.

We parked at the lot by the demonstration gardens and continued across the Mesa Road bridge, to the trail running north on the other side. It runs past Colorado College’s sports fields before dropping under Uintah Street and rising back up to views of the creek, Pikes Peak and mountains north. 

Our tracker was shy of a mile when we came to a wide spur bending right, by the green drinking fountain at this edge of the green field (“North End Playground” on Google Maps). The trail wraps back to the playground, where the Geologic Column is spotted against the hillside.

We continued the trail to the bridge that crosses the creek. The loop returns south, looking out to Cheyenne Mountain and later a small lake the city built last year ー restoring another historic aspect of the park from Palmer’s day. 

Trip log: 3.2 miles round trip

Getting there: Parking lot by demonstration gardens at 222 Mesa Road

FYI: Park open 5 a.m.-9 p.m. November-April; until 10 p.m. May through October. Hiking. running and cycling. Dogs on leash. 

SETH BOSTER, THE GAZETTE