Colorado Springs’ Parks Department recently released its annual report detailing accomplishments in 2025. 

And beyond accomplishments, the report puts in perspective the scope of a department tasked with premier destinations, neighborhood parks, youth sports programs, golf courses, cemeteries, community centers and the downtown Pioneers Museum. 

Britt Haley, who announced retiring as parks director at the end of the year, mentioned two “guiding principles” in the report’s introduction. One: “Let’s take care of what we have.” And the other: “We do a lot with what we have.” 

In 2026, the department is preparing to do what it does with less. Citywide budget cuts are resulting in delayed projects, deferred maintenance and bathroom closures at several parks.

The annual report comes as the city’s Trails, Open Space and Parks Working Committee recently heard a presentation from Pikes Peak Community Foundation, which spent the past year surveying residents for a report aimed at capturing sentiments of the population. The report, called “Our Spacious Skies,” found “scenic/natural beauty” and “outdoor rec” to be the top drivers of quality of life for residents. 

The working committee also heard a presentation on the Parks Department’s new, data-driven effort to quantify needs and costs. 

“Being able to tell our story, to me, is the most important thing we can do from a data-driven standpoint,” said Eric Becker, parks maintenance and operations director.

Here are some 2025 numbers among others detailed in the report: 

22.5 million: Visits to parks, open spaces and trails across the city-owned system. 

3.7 million: Visits to Garden of the Gods.

18,675: Acres of parkland overseen by the Parks Department.

405,000: Visits tracked by Pikes Peak-America’s Mountain, the enterprise managing Pikes Peak Highway and other recreation areas on the mountain.

326: Miles of trail in the city system.

140: Sports fields and courts.

137: Playgrounds.

119,000: Rounds of golf at Patty Jewett. At Valley Hi, the other city-owned golf course, 62,000 rounds were logged. 

255: Full-time staff across all operations.

11: Full-time rangers overseeing about 13,000 acres of regional parks and trail corridors.

1,600: Illegal camps identified and removed across parkland.

8,000: Feet of new waterline installed in Garden of the Gods, as part of a fire protection initiative the Parks Department counted among its most important projects of 2025. Nine fire hydrants were also installed.

135,936: Volunteer hours logged, resulting in an estimated $5.2 million in service value.

$21.5 million: Budget for maintenance and operations in 2025 .

$22.6 million: Parks Department funding from 2025 General Fund. The 2026 budget calls for a $2 million reduction. 

$25.9 million: Non-General Fund funding in 2025, including from Trails, Open Space and Parks sales tax revenues, Conservation Trust Fund contributions and grants.

$91.6 million: Local economic impact driven by parks and outdoor recreation, according to a study and estimates by Trust for Public Land.

$73.7 million: Estimated health care savings by local access to the outdoors, also according to the Trust for Public Land.