Palmer Park is one of the best opportunities to get in some ‘mesa’ running near the city. The 737-acre park has about 25 miles of trails, of varying difficulty, on a mesa overlooking Colorado Springs. There are great views. The trails range from easy to challenging, a factor of hilliness rather than footing. The easier, flatter trails for running are Greencrest, Grandview, Mesa, and the Meadows area. There are also some gravel roads within the park. Palmer Park also has several fields, numerous picnic areas, and a botanical reserve. Note: the trails overlap a lot, so it’s helpful to have map in hand.

This map is helpful to get the layout and ranges of trail difficulty.