Where are the best breweries in Colorado Springs, which trail do you hike first, and what does it cost to live near each?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Colorado ·
Short answer
Colorado Springs has 36 craft breweries and the routine is the same everywhere: trail in the morning, taproom after. For a Fort Carson family the question is which side of town — Fountain and Security-Widefield are the south side, ten minutes from Gate 1 with the lowest price band in the county; Monument is the north side, forty minutes out, with the newest schools and the highest. The breweries and the trails sort themselves the same way.
South side — closest to Fort Carson
Urban Animal Beer Company — Cheyenne Mountain area. Family-friendly, food trucks, and the nearest good taproom to Gate 1. Trail first: Cheyenne Mountain State Park — the trailhead is literally across Highway 115 from the main gate; Talon and Dixon trails. Live here: Security-Widefield — 1960s–80s single-story ranches and split-levels, the closest neighborhood to the gates, lowest price band in the metro. Bluestem Prairie Open Space is the local walk.
Bristol Brewing Co. — Ivywild. Bronze in the 2026 Gazette vote; open since 1994 in the old Ivywild School, Laughing Lab Scottish Ale. South-central, 15 minutes up Nevada from the base. Trail first: Bear Creek Regional Park, or Red Rock Canyon Open Space on the west side. Live here: Fountain — the south-side town on I-25, 2000s–2020s subdivisions still going up, 10–15 minutes to Gate 20; Fountain Creek Regional Park runs along the creek behind it.
West side — Garden of the Gods and Old Colorado City
Red Leg Brewing Co. — Garden of the Gods Road. Silver in the 2026 vote. Veteran-owned, shipping-container beer garden, the Howitzer amber; the one every Carson family ends up at. Trail first: Garden of the Gods, Central Garden loop or the Siamese Twins trail. Fossil Craft Beer Co. — Westside. The Gazette's "recommended" pick; a neighborhood bar, Newport in the Rockies hazy IPA. Cerberus Brewing Co. and OCC Brewing — Old Colorado City. Cerberus is Springs Magazine's #1, a gastropub with a beer garden; OCC has the Westside Pilsner and a rooftop with Pikes Peak in it. Trail first: Section 16 / Palmer Red Rock loop above Old Colorado City. Manitou Brewing Co. — Manitou Springs. The patio at the foot of the Incline. Trail first: the Manitou Incline (a reservation and a plan), or Barr Trail if you're serious.
Live here: the west side is the Springs' most-wanted and priced like it; for a Carson commute it's 25–35 minutes. It's the day-trip side, not usually the buy side — the three Carson guides above and below are where the payment works.
Downtown and the Old North End
Goat Patch Brewing Co. — Lincoln Center, Old North End. Gold in the 2026 vote, the hazy IPA everyone in town has had. Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. — downtown. Colorado Springs' oldest brewery, 1993, billiards upstairs. Local Relic — Carter Payne, downtown. ~200 different beers a year. Metric Brewing — Knob Hill. The neighborhood-events brewery. Trail first: Palmer Park's Templeton and Grandview trails, ten minutes from all of them.
North side — Monument
Pikes Peak Brewing Co. — Monument. Springs Magazine honorable mention; big wraparound patio, live music, the north side's brewery. Goat Patch — Lake Woodmoor, Monument. The Gold winner's third location. Trail first: Monument Rock via the Santa Fe Trail, or Spruce Mountain in Larkspur. Live here: Monument — 1990s–2020s two-story homes on wooded lots, Lewis-Palmer schools, 7,000 feet and real snow, and a 40–50 minute I-25 commute to Carson. The highest price band on this page, and the reason families with a second income choose it.
Why this is a housing article
The breweries cluster in three bands and so does the housing: south (Security-Widefield, Fountain) is closest to the gate and cheapest, with Cheyenne Mountain State Park as the backyard; the west and downtown are where you drive on Saturday; Monument is the north-side trade — best schools, worst commute, biggest payment. Put your BAH into the BAH-to-payment tool, see which band it lands in, and pick the trailhead that goes with it.
Brewery lists per the Colorado Springs Gazette (March 2026) and Springs Magazine (Nov 2023). Trailheads are Colorado Springs Parks, El Paso County Parks, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife sites. Confirm hours before you drive; check trail closures in winter.
Related guides
Questions people also ask
- Where are the best breweries in Colorado Springs, which trail do you hike first, and what does it cost to live near each?
- Colorado Springs has 36 craft breweries and the routine is the same everywhere: trail in the morning, taproom after. For a Fort Carson family the question is which side of town — Fountain and Security-Widefield are the south side, ten minutes from Gate 1 with the lowest price band in the county; Monument is the north side, forty minutes out, with the newest schools and the highest.
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