Blake Walsh

15 Best Things to Do in Peyton, CO

  • Published 2022/08/12

The idyllic and unincorporated town of Peyton in El Paso County, Colorado, is full of rural charm.

This lovely town contains bountiful orchards and farms, a quiet atmosphere, and incredible nature views.

Despite its size, Peyton is a popular destination for tourists due to the many outdoor activities and attractions in the area.

In 1888, George Peyton became the first settler in the area.

The first settlers surveyed the town and laid out its area on Christmas Day 1888.

Previously known as Mayfield, the town changed its name to Peyton after the post office refused to use Mayfield because there’s already a Mayfield in California.

If you want to visit this Colorado community, here are the best things to do in Peyton, Colorado:

Explore Nature in Homestead Ranch Regional Park

Homestead Ranch Regional Park is a 450-acre park that borders the Black Forest.

It also features a variety of terrain.

Homestead Ranch Regional Park features rolling, expansive meadows and luscious forest bluffs.

The spring-fed creek in the Homestead Ranch Regional Park’s central valley draws wildlife creatures like deer, foxes, fish, and birds.

Its amenities include playground equipment, a sports field, and picnic shelters.

This park is great for spending the day with loved ones or friends.

Those who love riding horses can use the three-mile trail that winds through the park; horses can drink water through the water fountains.

Spend the day at the Homestead Ranch Regional Park!

Experience the Sensory Accommodation Room at the High Prairie Library

If you need to relax and get lost in a good book, go to the High Prairie Library in Peyton.

This library also boasts a sensory accommodation room that provides a calm and distraction-free environment for people who crave solitude and peace.

The room features comfortable seating, dim lighting, and noise-canceling headphones to help you focus on your book.

Likewise, you can bring your kids to the Children’s Area with its dramatic play space and activity tables.

There are also various books, magazines, and movies that you can borrow from the library to enjoy at home.

The High Prairie Library also has several quiet reading areas where you can lose yourself in the beautiful world of literature.

Admire the Wondrous Scenery at the Homestead Ranch Trail

The Homestead Ranch Trail rates low on the difficulty scale due to its relatively simple navigation, little uphill trekking, and short length of 3.35 miles.

The wide, well-carved trail ascends to the Rattlesnake Butte from the starting point, close to the park’s restrooms and playground, across sloping grasslands.

You will pass a picnic area and a windmill as you continue down the Homestead Ranch Trail.

The trail then splits into a loop that rounds the top of the Rattlesnake Butte not far past the picnic spot.

When you turn left and continue down the path, you will traverse grasslands with views of the calming plains and the occasional ranch in the distance.

The trail is suitable for bikes, horses, and dogs on a leash.

Ride a Horse at the Whispering Spirit Ranch

Try horse riding at the Whispering Spirit Ranch if you are up for a new adventure.

The Whispering Spirit Ranch spans ten acres and offers you a chance to explore the great outdoors on horseback.

You can also join its Summer Horse Camps, where you will learn horse catching, proper riding techniques, safe handling practice, and the basics of horse care.

Summer Horse Camps in the Whispering Spirit Ranch also teach students trail riding, obstacle courses, and craft-making.

Families can enjoy the trail rides at Whispering Spirit Ranch.

Likewise, kids will love interacting with the ranch’s resident animals.

If you want to enjoy an adventure-filled day or learn more about horses, Whispering Spirit Ranch is the perfect place.

Shop for Unique Finds at Maggie’s General Store and Stagecoach Wine and Liquor

Given rural Peyton’s lack of retail options, Maggie’s General Store & Stagecoach Liquors provide immense value to the community.

Buy many locally produced goods at Maggie’s General Store & Stagecoach Liquor, including honey, preserves, homemade pastries, and even handmade crafts.

The friendly staff at Maggie’s General Store & Stagecoach Liquor will help you choose from a fantastic assortment of beer, wine, and spirits.

Maggie’s General Store & Stagecoach Liquor also carry locally sourced products, such as fresh produce from Smiths Farms and the famed Garza Farm pickles.

If you live in Peyton, it’s a great spot to visit when you need a gallon of milk because you’re likely to run across friends and neighbors.

Maggie’s General Store & Stagecoach Liquor has a wide selection of regional goods, beer, food, and entertaining presents.

Find Your Zen while Hiking the Rattlesnake Trail

Driving toward the end of Lovaca Drive, you can enter the Rattlesnake Trail, one of the many trails in Homestead Ranch Regional Park.

The Rattlesnake Trail is a short and charming route where you can take a nature hike and find your zen.

From the entrance of the Rattlesnake Trail, you can follow the Homestead Ranch Trail and turn left at the first branch of the path.

As you follow the Rattlesnake Trail, you will come upon a group of trees and a rocky edge of a cliff that offers stunning views of the area.

The view of Pike’s Peak and the Southern Front Range Mountains awaits you as you continue along the Rattlesnake Trail.

Then, you’ll arrive at the overlook, with ample open space and a jagged cliff wall.

If you arrive at the right time, you’ll see an exquisite view of the sunset.

You can go back through Homestead Ranch Trail and return to the Rattlesnake Trailhead.

Shop Delicious Baked Goods at the Peyton Junction Mercantile

The Peyton Junction Mercantile is where you can find fresh produce, homemade goods, baked items, and unique gifts.

It also has a coffee shop where you can relax and enjoy a coffee or tea while mingling with the residents.

The store offers a wide variety of local products, such as honey, preserves, and even handmade crafts.

A history corner is also one of the features of Peyton Junction Mercantile, which aims to educate people about the town’s rich heritage.

During the annual celebration of Country Market, citizens gather for a day of food, music, and family activities.

Peyton Junction Mercantile is more than just a place to shop.

It also offers events to get to know the local officials in the county.

Bring Your Furry Friend to the Wild Loon Ranch at Bijou Basin

The Wild Loon Ranch at Bijou Basin is a great place to get your dog some exercise, while you watch them have the times of their lives.

The ranch built the Wild Loon Ranch Canine Lodge and Activity Center to provide dog owners with a boarding environment while they vacation.

Likewise, the ranch keeps the dogs in cozy, climate-controlled enclosures.

The ranch aims to stand out from other pet boarding and pet-sitting establishments nearby.

Your dogs can also enjoy a magnificent in-ground pool customized for them, including waders, swimmers, and dives.

Moreover, the heated saltwater pool at the Wild Loon Ranch Lodge reduces skin rashes and fur damage from chlorine pools.

Your dog can also benefit from swimming as a low-impact, high-intensity exercise.

Bring your pets to the Wild Loon Ranch at Bijou Basin!

Indulge in Craft Beer at JAKs Brewing Company

JAKs Brewing Company is a must-visit for beer lovers with its wide variety of craft beers.

You can go for the traditional Brown Eyed Girl, which is a brown ale that is sweet and malty.

Otherwise, you can try the Jackrabbit IPA and India Pale Ale with an excellent aroma.

The brewery offers a wide variety of craft beers, a 24-tap taproom serving JAKs Brewery beer, and other artisan beer serving two homemade sodas.

JAKs Brewing Company also boasts of food trucks on site that offer Greek food, hamburgers, sausage, and Treehouse and Rocky Mountain BBQ.

The brewery has an on-site store where you can purchase souvenirs, growlers, and other merchandise.

Enjoy an Evening Jam at the Outback Jamz

Music lovers should not miss Outback Jamz, a great place to enjoy an evening of live music.

On Friday nights, Outback Jamz stages a concert series, selling baked sweets and giving out free hotdogs to kids.

Outback Jamz also conducts Vendor Fair during its Front Street Friday Nights, providing a venue for locals to sell their arts and crafts and tasty desserts.

The Outback Jamz is also a great place to bond with your friends and family, as it offers a family-friendly and safe environment.

Win a Game of Golf at the Antler Creek Golf Course

Antler Creek Golf Course is one of the top-rated golf courses in Colorado.

Every player will find challenge and delight in the six sets of tees.

Rick Phelps designed the wide fairways on the 2004-opened Antler Creek Golf Course, elegantly winding through Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch neighborhoods.

The “prairie deserts design” course, exclusive to the Pikes Peak region, blends Colorado geography and exotic grasslands to challenge the player.

Antler Creek Golf Course extends more than 8,000 yards with three lakes and 73 bunkers.

In 2004, Colorado Avid Golfer awarded Antler Creek the “Best New Course” prize.

The course sits on 160 acres of beautiful rolling hills and features 18-hole, par 72 layouts.

Other Things to Do Nearby

Go Hiking at the Paint Mines Interpretive Park

Welcome sign of Paint Mines Interpretive Park

melissamn / Shutterstock.com

You will find the colorful and vividly beautiful Paint Mines Interpretive Park, one of El Paso County’s most distinctive parks, in Calhan, Colorado.

This site is 17 minutes from Peyton.

The Paint Mines Interpretive Park got their name from the Native Americans who used colorful clays to produce paint.

The clays have varying levels of oxidized iron compounds, resulting in brightly colored patterns.

The roughly 750-acre Paint Mines Interpretive Park contains proof of human existence dating back 9,000 years.

Scenic view of Paint Mines Interpretive Park

Adam Springer / Shutterstock.com

The park is home to unique geological phenomena like peaks and hoodoos formed by erosion that exposed layers of selenite clay, gypsum, and incised ditches.

The Paint Mines Interpretive Park has four miles of trails, interpretive signage, restrooms, and several natural marvels.

Your kids will love the Paint Mines Interpretive Park, as they can explore and learn about the different geographical features while you take in the stunning views.

Painted rocks at Paint Mines Interpretive Park

Yingna Cai / Shutterstock.com

Go Camping at the Falcon Meadow RV Campground

Falcon Meadow RV Campground is near all of Eastern Colorado Springs, Black Forest, and Falcon.

You can find this site in Falcon, Colorado, 11 minutes from Peyton.

Falcon Meadow RV Campground has spacious, fully equipped pull-throughs for big rigs and tent sites with adequate room to stretch out.

Since 1959, the Falcon Meadow RV Campground has boasted a fantastic quick-service restaurant offering free wireless internet access.

Rising 6,800 feet above sea level, Falcon Meadow RV Campground’s 45-site campground offers views of the 20,000-acre Banning-Lewis Ranch and Pikes Peak, standing 14,110 feet above sea level.

Enjoy a play area and ample space at Falcon Meadow RV Campground for walking well-behaved dogs.

See Vintage Aircraft at the National Museum of World War II Aviation

Aircraft in National Museum of World War II Aviation

Lost_in_the_Midwest / Shutterstock.com

If you love vintage aircraft, visit the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

It’s 25 minutes from Peyton.

Check out twenty fully restored and operational World War II aircraft inside the museum.

Other World War II aircraft routinely land there before flying across the country to airshows and other events.

You will also see seven other flying aircraft from the museum’s collection.

These models include pre-and post-war models relevant to World War II aviation history, which is all on display.

These aircraft and the museum’s enormous collection of memorabilia and historical records provide a comprehensive account of the country’s Second World War aviation accomplishments.

Exposed engine of an aircraft in National Museum of World War II Aviation

Lost_in_the_Midwest / Shutterstock.com

Visitors can discover the circumstances that led to America’s participation in the Second World War.

Learn how those factors affected a budding aviation sector in the museum’s first section.

The next visitor stop is a gallery detailing America’s early engagement in the European and Pacific theaters.

Discover how the soldiers fighting on the front lines survived the endless battles.

Finally, visitors learn about the effort on the home front to design, develop, and create the airplanes that eventually won the war.

Interior of National Museum of World War II Aviation

Babbage, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Challenge Yourself at the SBR Motorsports Park

SBR Motorsports Park is a world-class multi-configuration, paved kart sprint track with six different layouts.

It’s also the longest, measuring half a mile, emulating professional circuits.

You can find this racing park in Calhan, eight minutes from Peyton.

The SBR Motorsports Park has something for everyone, whether you are a beginner or an experienced driver.

Likewise, this motorsports park welcomes kids.

It has a shop that offers pre-loved or new equipment and a facility that can repair the karts.

If you want to try driving a kart, SBR Motorsports Park can lend you one.

SBR Motorsports Park also allows guests to host parties and special and corporate events.

Final Thoughts

Peyton is the perfect place for a quiet and charming vacation experience.

Thanks to its proximity to many different attractions and incredible nature spots, you’ll relax while enjoying yourself in this beautiful community.

Plan your trip today and explore all the best things to do in Peyton.

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