Colorado Springs: The Evangelical Capital at the Foot of Pikes Peak
Colorado Springs is America's most conservative major city - the military bases (Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, the Air Force Academy), the evangelical organizations (Focus on the Family, The Navigators), the Republican politics that contrast sharply with Denver's liberalism. The city of 480,000 sits at 6,000 feet at the base of Pikes Peak, the mountain that inspired 'America the Beautiful,' the Garden of the Gods providing the postcard views. The military-evangelical combination creates a character distinct from anywhere else: the patriotism, the churchgoing, the suspicion of secular Colorado an hour north. Colorado Springs is what America's conservative movement built when it had a city to build.
The Military
The military presence in Colorado Springs is overwhelming - Fort Carson (Army), Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) inside Cheyenne Mountain. The bases employ tens of thousands; the defense contractors employ more. The military culture shapes the city: conservative politics, patriotic displays, the sense that defense of nation is the highest calling. The Air Force Academy, north of the city, trains officers in its distinctive chapel and produces the pilots who fill Colorado Springs bars after graduation.
The Evangelical
Focus on the Family headquartered here in 1991, James Dobson's ministry that broadcasts to millions and advocates for conservative Christian politics. Other evangelical organizations followed - The Navigators, Young Life headquarters, dozens of ministries that made Colorado Springs their home. The evangelical presence shapes culture beyond the organizations themselves: the megachurches, the Christian bookstores, the sense that faith is public rather than private. The combination of military and evangelical creates a worldview that sees America as divinely favored and worth defending. Colorado Springs is that worldview's capital.
The Peak
Pikes Peak rises to 14,115 feet - not Colorado's highest mountain but its most famous, the view from the summit inspiring Katharine Lee Bates to write 'America the Beautiful' in 1893. The highway to the summit winds 19 miles up the mountain; the Cog Railway provides an alternative. The summit visitors center, rebuilt in 2021, provides shelter at elevation where altitude sickness is common. The peak defines Colorado Springs visually - the mountain visible from everywhere in the city, the landmark that tourists photograph, the reason the setting is dramatic.
The Garden
Garden of the Gods is the park that defines Colorado Springs tourism - the red rock formations rising against the mountain backdrop, the formations with names like 'Balanced Rock' and 'Kissing Camels,' the trails that wind through. The park is free and crowded, the most visited attraction in the region. The geology is ancient: the rocks were deposited 300 million years ago, tilted and eroded into their current forms. The Garden provides the natural beauty that supplements the city's institutional identity - the reminder that the setting predates the military and the ministries.
Visiting Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is served by Colorado Springs Airport (COS). Garden of the Gods is essential and free. Pikes Peak can be driven (highway) or ridden (Cog Railway); the summit requires acclimatization. The Air Force Academy campus is open to visitors; the Cadet Chapel is architecturally striking. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo offers mountain-setting animal experience. Manitou Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak, provides tourist shops and the mineral springs that originally drew visitors. For food, the scene is improving but not destination-level. The altitude is significant (6,000+ feet); hydrate and adjust. The weather is pleasant in summer; winter is cold but sunny.
From the Air
Located at 38.83°N, 104.82°W at the base of Pikes Peak on the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. From altitude, Colorado Springs appears as urban development at the mountain base - Pikes Peak rising dramatically to the west, Garden of the Gods visible as red rocks, the Air Force Academy visible to the north. What appears from altitude as Colorado's second city is the military-evangelical capital - where NORAD watches from inside the mountain, where Focus on the Family broadcasts nationwide, and where Pikes Peak inspired America's most patriotic song.