Aug 19, 2026

8 Places Dogs Cannot Go Near Colorado Springs, and Where to Go Instead

Colorado Springs is genuinely dog-friendly, which is why the exceptions catch people out. Eight published restrictions, including the state park that gives dogs about two miles of a 29 mile trail system.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Colorado Springs, Colorado11 min readPet Care & Services

Colorado Springs is a genuinely dog-friendly city, which is exactly why the exceptions catch people out. Two of the three ways up Pikes Peak refuse pets in writing. A national monument bans dogs from every trail it has. And the state park most people assume is a big dog hike gives dogs about two miles of a 29 mile trail system.

None of that is hidden. All of it is published by the places themselves. It just never appears in the same list, so here it is, with a working alternative for each.

The eight, at a glance

#	Where	What is not allowed	Go instead
1	Florissant Fossil Beds	Pets on all trails and in the visitor center	Bear Creek Dog Park
2	Pikes Peak Cog Railway	Pets on board	Drive the highway yourself
3	Pikes Peak shuttle	Pets on board	Drive the highway yourself
4	Cheyenne Mountain backcountry	Dogs on all but 4 named trails	The 4 designated dog trails
5	Garden of the Gods, main park	Off-leash walking	Red Rock Canyon dog loops
6	City parks and trails generally	Off-leash by default	The 7 named off-leash areas
7	Dog park enclosures	Prong and spike collars	Bring a flat buckle collar
8	Pikes Peak Highway, 3 days a year	Any access at all	Any other day

1. Florissant Fossil Beds bans dogs from every trail

This is the strictest rule in the region and the one most likely to ruin a planned day. The National Park Service page is unambiguous: "Pets are prohibited on ALL trails at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Pets are also prohibited in the visitor center."

Leashed pets are allowed in exactly two places: the visitor center parking lot, and a pet exercise area inside the picnic area near the visitor center.

Service dogs are different, and the park says so: they are legally permitted anywhere visitors can go. It also states clearly that emotional support, therapy and companion animals, and service animals in training, are not service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act and must follow the pet rules.

Instead: if the fossil beds matter to your group, one person walks the trails while the other stays with the dog at the picnic-area pet exercise area. If they do not, spend the time at El Paso County's Bear Creek Dog Park instead, where your dog gets 25 fenced acres and a creek.

2 and 3. Neither the train nor the shuttle takes a dog

Both refuse pets in writing, and together they close off the easy ways up Pikes Peak.

The Cog Railway FAQ states: "Pets, No, we cannot allow pets on board the train. Please refer to our Service Animal Policy for service animal questions."

The official Pikes Peak FAQ states: "Are pets allowed on the shuttle? Pets are unfortunately not permitted on the shuttle. However, service animals are welcome aboard."

Instead: drive the Pikes Peak Highway in your own vehicle, which is the only route that takes a dog. Note that it needs a timed-entry reservation in season, and that your automatic transmission must have a "1" or "L" gear to descend, per the mountain's vehicle restrictions.

4. Cheyenne Mountain State Park, where dogs get 2 miles of 29

This is the one that surprised us while researching, and it is worth stating carefully. Cheyenne Mountain State Park permits leashed dogs, and it has 21 trails with 29 miles of hiking. Those two facts sitting together imply a lot of dog hiking. They should not.

Per Colorado Parks and Wildlife: "Leashed dogs are welcomed on approximately 2 miles of designated trails. These include: Acorn Alley, Bobcat Way, Raccoon Ridge and a portion of Soaring Kestrel."

And then the sentence that settles it: "Dogs are not allowed on any other trails or in the backcountry."

Dogs must be on a 6 foot or shorter hand held leash. The park does provide multiple waste bag dispensers and trash receptacles on those trails. Dogs are also not allowed on trails used for Terrain Hopper hikes, the park's accessible off-road programme.

Instead: use the four named trails, which are a pleasant couple of miles, and do your longer walking elsewhere. Entry is $10 to $15 for a daily vehicle pass or $4 for an individual pass, hours are 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the office is on 719-576-2016.

The park is worth visiting anyway, and this restriction is not a criticism of it. Two miles of designated trail with waste bag dispensers, on a park that runs from plains to peaks, is a reasonable morning. The problem is only ever the expectation. If you arrive having read that the park has 29 miles of hiking, and you have driven across the state for it, the two miles will feel like a bait and switch rather than a considered wildlife decision.

Read the park's own trail signage on arrival too. It notes that GPS coordinates appear on all trail signage so staff can locate hikers in an emergency, which is a useful thing to know if you are walking unfamiliar ground with a dog.

5. Garden of the Gods main park is leashed ground

Not a ban, but not the off-leash red rock run people imagine. The park's own rules state: "Pets are welcome in the park but must be on at least a 6' leash at all times and all pet waste must be removed."

The city separately lists a Garden of the Gods dog run, unfenced, east of Rock Ledge Ranch and south of Gateway Rd. Both statements are current and official, so default to leashed and check the city's Garden of the Gods dog map and policies sheet if you intend to use the run. It states plainly that the dog run is not enclosed and sits close to 30th Street.

The park also asks everyone to stay on official trails, noting that "The Park has unique and sensitive soil that is easily damaged. Even one person off-trail can create decades of destruction."

Instead: for genuine off-leash trail walking, Red Rock Canyon Open Space has Upper and Lower dog loops, per the city's Red Rock Canyon page. Everything there other than the loops is leashed.

6. Off-leash is the exception in city parks, not the rule

The default is a leash, everywhere. The city states it on its dog parks page: "City Code requires all dogs be on a leash while in city parks and on city trails."

The seven off-leash areas are named exceptions. Three are unfenced dog runs, at Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Canyon and Palmer Park's Yucca Flats. Four are fenced dog parks, at Cheyenne Meadows, Palmer Park's old baseball field, Rampart Park and Antlers Park downtown.

Instead: learn the seven, and download the city dog map. Stepping outside a mapped boundary puts you back under the leash rule on the same walk, with no sign necessarily telling you.

7. Prong and spike collars are not allowed in the enclosures

The rule that catches the most well-prepared owners. Among the city's dog park rules: "Pinch (prong) and spike collars must be removed prior to entering the enclosure."

The city recommends instead "A basic flat buckle collar with license, rabies, and identification tags attached."

Two more from the same list are worth knowing. Dogs "must be accompanied by a person at least 16 years of age when inside the enclosure," so a younger family member cannot take the dog in alone. And there is a cap of "No more than three dogs per person."

Instead: keep a flat buckle collar in the car. If your dog only walks reliably on a training collar, the unfenced dog runs and leashed trails may suit you better than the enclosures.

8. Three days a year the mountain is simply shut

Not a pet rule, but it ends a dog day just as effectively. Pikes Peak publishes the dates on its hours and rates page: the highway is closed on Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Day, and on the third Sunday in June for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Instead: check the date before you book, and call the conditions line on (719) 385-7325, option 1 twice, before you drive up on any day. The mountain says staff update it about 15 minutes before opening and then as conditions change.

The pattern worth taking away

Three of these eight are about transport, not land. The train, the shuttle, and the vehicle restrictions all mean the same thing: with a dog, you drive yourself or you do not go.

Three are about the difference between permitted and unlimited. Cheyenne Mountain permits dogs on 7 percent of its trail miles. Garden of the Gods welcomes dogs but leashed. City parks allow off-leash only in seven named places. In each case the permission is real and the scope is much smaller than the headline.

And two are simple logistics. The collar in your bag, and the date on your calendar.

Where dogs are genuinely unrestricted

Bear Creek Dog Park is the answer to most of this list. Twenty-five fenced off-leash acres, a separate two-acre small dog and senior dog area, creek access, an agility area, dog drinking fountains, a dog washing area and free cleanup bags, dawn to dusk, at no charge. El Paso County calls it its most visited park site with more than 100,000 visitors a year.

For everything else, our guide to the free things to do with a dog in Colorado Springs covers the eleven places that cost nothing, and our dog park etiquette guide covers the enclosures.

For where to sleep, our pet-friendly hotels in Colorado Springs page lists what each property charges and allows, and the wider PetCompass hotel directory covers the region. The official Visit Colorado Springs site carries the event calendar.

Conclusion

Eight restrictions, and only one of them is a flat ban on a place. Florissant Fossil Beds keeps dogs off every trail. Everything else is a matter of which route, which trail, which collar, or which day.

The two facts most worth remembering: Cheyenne Mountain gives dogs about two miles of a 29 mile trail system, and neither the Cog Railway nor the shuttle will take your dog up Pikes Peak. Plan around those and Colorado Springs is as easy as its reputation suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Are dogs allowed at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument?

Not on trails. The National Park Service states that pets are prohibited on all trails and in the visitor center. Leashed pets are allowed only in the visitor center parking lot and a pet exercise area inside the picnic area near the visitor center. Service dogs may go anywhere visitors can go.

Can dogs hike at Cheyenne Mountain State Park?

Only on about two miles of it. Colorado Parks and Wildlife states that leashed dogs are welcomed on approximately 2 miles of designated trails, specifically Acorn Alley, Bobcat Way, Raccoon Ridge and a portion of Soaring Kestrel, and that dogs are not allowed on any other trails or in the backcountry. The park has 21 trails and 29 miles of hiking in total.

What leash does Cheyenne Mountain State Park require?

A 6 foot or shorter hand held leash, on the designated dog trails.

Can I take my dog on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway or shuttle?

No to both. The Cog Railway states it cannot allow pets on board the train. The official Pikes Peak FAQ states that pets are not permitted on the shuttle, while service animals are welcome aboard. Driving your own vehicle is the only route with a dog.

Can dogs go off leash at Garden of the Gods?

Default to no. The park's rules require at least a 6 foot leash at all times, while the City of Colorado Springs separately lists an unfenced Garden of the Gods dog run east of Rock Ledge Ranch and south of Gateway Rd. Both are current, so keep the dog leashed unless you are certain you are inside the mapped boundary.

Are prong collars banned in Colorado Springs dog parks?

Yes. The city's dog park rules state that pinch and spike collars must be removed before entering the enclosure, and recommend a basic flat buckle collar with license, rabies and identification tags attached.

Sources

Rules, fees and closure dates are as published and change. Confirm with the managing agency before you rely on any of it.