Bummed that the Memorial Park fireworks show was cancelled this year (due to budget cuts)? Don’t let it ruin your holiday, there are still plenty of places to watch a good fireworks show! I think that all of the shows in the immediate Colorado Springs area
- Fort Carson is opening its gates to the city for its “Rocking in the Rockies” Independence Day celebration, from 4 to 10 PM on Friday, July 3rd. It’s at Iron Horse Park, and if you don’t have a military registration sticker on your vehicle, you need to enter at gates 1, 4, or 20. The Colorado Springs Philharmonic will be performing live, and of course they’ll have fun stuff like inflatables and food vendors. Find out all the details here!
- After every Friday home game, the Sky Sox shoot off fireworks, and this year their game on July 3rd was so popular they’ve already sold out, so they added another fireworks show on Thursday, July 2nd. Find more info on getting tickets here. I’m guessing the parking lots of all of those stores close to Security Service field will be packed with fireworks-watchers.
- The Air Force Academy has one of the bigger shows in the area. It’s open to the general public, and the festivities start at 5 PM, and the main event – of course the fireworks show – starts at 9:30 PM. Read more here.
- Palmer Lake claims to have the “best small town fireworks show in America” and I’m inclined to believe them – we went last year and it was one of the best fireworks shows we’ve seen! The population of Palmer Lake probably triples or quadruples on 4th of July as people come from all over to see the show. Get there mid to late afternoon to park close to the lake and not have to walk. You can bring a grill and tailgate, or eat at one of the places on Main Street. There’s a whole day of events lined up for the TriLakes area (note that they haven’t updated it for 2009 but it should be similar).
- The Broadmoor shoots their fireworks show from the south end of Cheyenne Lake. More info.
- Manitou Springs has a fireworks display – watch from anywhere in the downtown area. It starts at 9:30 PM, and during the day they’re having a Buffalo Bar-B-Q Festival and the street performers will be performing. Here’s the calender for the 4th of July.
- I think that Green Mountain Falls has a fireworks show, but can’t find anything about it – it would be a pretty place to watch, though!
- Another great mountain town is Woodland Park – they’re having an “Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration” and fireworks will go off behind the high school. There’s a full day of activites, so be sure to check the full schedule.
- Here’s another show in north Colorado Springs: Flying Horse (Highway 83/Northgate area) traditionally has a “members-only” show, but this year they’re opening it up to the public. They’ll begin at 9 PM. I’m not exactly sure where they’ll be shooting them off from; this is the only information I could find about it.
- Castle Rock has concerts all evening, and an apple pie contest, of course in addition to the fireworks show in the evening. Read more about it.
- And finally, if you’re up in Denver, or want to drive up there, the Post has a list of all the fireworks shows in the area.
Got an opinion about which is the best one? I think Jeremy and I would vote for Palmer Lake! One year we tried sitting in the New Life parking lot to see if we could watch several shows at once, and, well, we saw several shows but they weren’t very good from that far away. If there’s a better place to just park and watch, leave a comment and let everyone know!
