Just 15 minutes from Colorado Springs Airport, one of the most convenient gateways to the Rocky Mountains was founded back in 1918 when real estate and gold mining baron Spencer Penrose openedThe Broadmoor hotel to much fanfare. The location accommodated Penrose's dual goals of offering an otherworldly oasis in the Wild West and providing a launching point for more rugged leisure pursuits like speeding up hairpin turns on a dirt track to Pike's Peak in his Pierce Arrow "Yellow Devil" race car.

Penrose tapped his vast fortune, much of it made in nearby Cripple Creek, to build The Broadmoor from the ground up. No expense was spared, with the main building designed by architectural firm Warren and Wetmore (designers of New York City's Grand Central Station), while the grounds were laid out by none other than Frederick Law Olmsted. Processed gold ore tailings were added to exterior cement inlays reflecting the sun's golden hue. Man made Cheyenne Lake, an enduring feature on the property to this day, was used for swimming, fishing, ice skating, and even water skiing but is now a serene focal point ringed by a walking path tying together the main buildings on the Broadmoor's 5,000-acre campus.

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