Known as a bedroom community for folks who work in Colorado Springs, Woodland Park is a town in transition. While it's always had some good restaurants and shops, these days The City Above the Clouds offers more than just a stop on the way to the mountains.
A paved path takes mountain bikers from town to Manitou Lake, a scenic fishing-hole eight miles away. The Pike National Forest, still recovering from serious forest fires in recent years, is full of hiking trails offering visitors a close look at how nature makes a comeback from devastation.
Woodland Park's newest attraction is the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, a terrific new museum with lots of hands-on activities for children. Also explore the nearby Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, where you'll see giant petrified redwood stumps and learn about the prehistoric times when this high country was under the ocean. Also check out the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center, which features rescued wolves, hybrids and foxes.