travel budget – Wandering the Gap

With so many fun free things to do in Colorado Springs, it’s among the best budget-friendly Colorado destinations. Whether you’re an outdoor lover, a history buff, or an art enthusiast, Colorado Springs has something for everyone to enjoy at no cost. Maximize your travel budget and plan the ultimate Colorado vacation with the top free things to do in Colorado Springs.

Looking for more Colorado Springs activities that don’t cost a dime? Check out this Colorado travel guide I was recently featured in: Free Things to Do in Colorado Springs, CO | Rent.

1. Walk around Old Colorado City

Old Colorado City is one of my favorite areas of Colorado Springs to explore. The historic neighborhood has tons of boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, and coffee shops lining Colorado Avenue. It’s also a popular hub for free events, like farmer’s markets, holiday light shows, and concerts—not to mention an ArtWalk offered on the first Friday of each month.

2. Stroll through Garden of the Gods

Free things to do in Colorado Springs, by travel blogger Wandering the Gap

Garden of the Gods is a must-see when visiting Colorado Springs. Park entry is free, and there are trails appropriate for hikers of all experience and fitness levels. The visitor’s center is also worth seeing if you want to learn more about the garden’s history, cultural significance, geology, and native wildlife.

3. Visit a Museum

Dive into the local history of Colorado Springs at one of the many free museums located throughout town. The Peterson Air & Space Museum boasts multiple aircrafts and missiles—perfect for those interested in aviation.

In the heart of downtown, you can learn about the Pikes Peak Region’s rich past at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. Other fun options that cost nothing to visit include the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle and Penrose Heritage Museums.

4. Go Hiking

Colorado Springs has many scenic outdoor areas worth exploring on foot. Red Rock Canyon Open Space, North Cheyenne Cañon Park, and Palmer Park are some of the most popular free places to go hiking. For more of a challenge, consider tackling Pikes Peak, an iconic Colorado 14er.

5. Explore Manitou Springs

About 20 minutes outside Colorado Springs lies the charming town of Manitou Springs. This quirky city features stunning mountain views and beautiful Victorian architecture.

Spend an afternoon wandering around Manitou Springs and browsing its various shops, galleries, eateries, and public parks. The Manitou Incline, a brutal hike that gains over 2,000′ of elevation in under one mile, is another free activity to add to your Colorado Springs itinerary.

I highly recommend visiting Colorado Springs during your next trip to Colorado, especially if you’re traveling on a budget!

Aloha and hello! Today we’re talking all about how much it actually costs to drive across the country. Before we dive in, make sure you check out my video on this topic as well! Summer 2020 my husband and I embarked on a road trip from Georgia to Washington. We were on the road for 10 days with several stops and detours along the way, and I want to break down exactly how much this trip cost.

The four main categories we’ll be talking about are lodging, gas, food, and activities. I will preface by saying that we drove our own car (a Subaru Outback) which saved us a good bit on rental car expenses and also got pretty good gas mileage.
If you haven’t checked out the first part of this road trip series which talks all about big picture planning, check out the blog here and the video here!

Lodging, food, and gas are definitely necessities and should be the first things you budget for. Activities are where you’ll have some flexibility in how much you want to spend. Thankfully, there are typically a lot of free activities to do no matter where you are, but it can be fun to plan ahead and schedule some outings as well. Our overall strategy for this trip was to have fun and enjoy ourselves without going overboard on the spending, and I think we definitely accomplished that!

Lodging

We stayed in a variety of Airbnbs, hostels, hotels, and with friends and family. TIP: if you find yourself in a town where friends and family live, don’t be afraid to reach out and see if you might be able to stay with them! Of course you never want to impose or expect them to have a place for you, but it also never hurts to ask.
We did a lot of research comparing lodging options to make sure we were going to be in a clean, safe area for a reasonable price. We wanted a private room since we had a lot of personal belongings with us, but outside of that, we weren’t too concerned with how luxurious the room was!

Night 1: Airbnb in St. Louis, MO – $91
Night 2: Airbnb in Sioux Falls, SD – $89
Night 3-5: Grandparents’ house – FREE
Night 6-7: Hostel in Teton Village, WY – $200
Night 8: Hotel in West Yellowstone, MT – $117
Night 9: Airbnb in Spokane, WA – $62

LODGING TOTAL: $559

Food

Our strategy for food was to buy groceries that would be okay in a cooler or not need refrigeration at all so that we could eat breakfast and lunch on the road and just splurge on dinner. Some of our favorite snacks were apples, peanut butter, Clif bars, beef jerky, tuna packs, trail mix, and sandwich supplies!
We bought groceries once in Georgia right before we left and then again in South Dakota about halfway through our trip. As far as eating out, we tried to enjoy local spots and we also treated ourselves to coffee almost every day which is, in my opinion, a road trip necessity.

Groceries: $100
Eating out: $400

FOOD TOTAL: $500

Gas

This one was a bit of a challenge to calculate because it will depend a lot on the kind of vehicle you have, current gas prices, and which state or area you’re currently in, but I did my best to provide an accurate estimate!

GAS TOTAL: $250

Activities

Most of the activities we ended up doing, such as hiking, checking out local parks, skateboarding, or walking through town, were totally free. We did, however, budget for some planned activities that were really special and created some great memories. Additionally, we do have a free annual national parks pass thanks to my husband being in the military, and we definitely took advantage of it!

Electric scooters: $10-$15
Hiking/national parks: FREE
Horseback riding: $130

ACTIVITIES TOTAL: $150

GRAND TOTAL: $1,459

Now, I won’t sugarcoat it: this is a lot of money. I’m so thankful we had the opportunity to take this trip, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. We did do a lot of planning and budgeting to make this trip happen, and I think we struck a good balance between enjoying ourselves and still being conscious of how much we were comfortable spending. I’ll also point out this total is for me and my husband over the course of 10 days, which works out to be $72.95 per person each day. I would say this is a pretty fair amount considering it includes lodging, food, gas, AND activities, and I don’t regret a penny that we spent.

Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to follow the blog and subscribe on YouTube to stay tuned for my next installment in this road trip series!