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VISITOR CENTERS
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STARSMORE DISCOVERY CENTER
2120 S. Cheyenne Cañon Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
Phone: 719-385-6086
Wednesday through Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Click here for a Map
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HELEN HUNT FALLS
VISITOR CENTER
Located 3 miles beyond
Starsmore Discovery Center
on North Cheyenne Cañon Road
Phone 633-5701
Open Every Day
11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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The Starsmore Discovery Center:
Gateway to North Cheyenne Cañon Park!
Starsmore Discovery Center, cherished as a local landmark for many years. This stone building was originally the home of the Starsmore family. It was purchased by the City of Colorado Springs and moved to its present location in 1990. It serves as an introduction to North Cheyenne Cañon Park and its beautiful waterfalls, rock formations, wildflowers and wildlife.
Here you will discover activities for visitors of all ages. Begin your exploration of the park at Starsmore Discovery Center, where you will find:
• Cañon Map
• Regional Information
• • Bird-watching Window
• Fun and Informative Nature Exhibits
• Retail items
Programs:
* Hiking the Trails
* Classes for Teachers
* Hummingbird Day/Festival
* Youth Educational Programs
*Cañon Clean-up and Trail Maintenance Days
MARY STARSMORE
M
 
The Hummingbird Garden
Project of The Friends of Cheyenne Cañon
THE INCREDIBLE HUMMINGBIRD
A HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN
This Garden has been specially developed to provide the types of flower that appeal to Hummingbirds.
WORLD TRAVELERS
The Hummingbirds make their home in the cool valleys of North Cheyenne Canon from May to September, then spend their winter months in Mexico and regions of Central and South America.
FUEL FOR THEIR TRAVELS
The industrious Hummingbird beats its wings at an incredible 78 times per second! During their courtship displays, their wings may beat up to 200 times per second! They get fuel to provide energy for this effort from brightly colored flowers that contain nectar. They do not store this fuel, but use it continuously.
SEEING RED
Hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar. Hummingbirds can detect red (insects cannot) and other bright colors. Although they will visit any flower with nectar, hummingbirds favor flowers with red tubular blossoms. More nectar can be found within these specially adapted blossoms. Hummingbirds visit some 500 flowers a day, assisting with pollination as they go.
SOME FAVORITE HUMMINGBIRD PLANTS OF
COLORADO SPRINGS
Agastache - Hummingbird Mint
Chamerium angustifolia (Epilobium) - Fireweed
Ipomopsis aggregata - Scarlet Gilia
Aquilegia - Columbine
Delphinium grandiflorum - Dwarf Blue Larkspur
Lupinus perennis - Perennial Lupine
Asclepias tuberosa -Orange Butterfly Milkweed
Hesperaloe parviflora -Texas Red Yucca
Mirabilis multiflora -Wild Flour O'Clock
Nepeta sibirica - Blue Beauty Catmint
Penstemon -Beardtongue
Salvia coccinea - Scarlet Sage
Scrophularia macrantha Redbirds in a Tree, Bunny in the Grass
Zauschneria - Hummingbird Trumpet
Monarda - Beebalm
Castilleja integra - Indian Paintbrush
Heuchera sanguinea -Coral bells
For more information or to make reservations, call 719-385-6086, or visit us on the web at:
WWW.SPRINGSGOV.COM
Helen Hunt Falls is located 3 miles beyond Starsmore Discovery Center on North Cheyenne Cañon Road
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Vertical drop of falls: 30 feet
Directions: From I-25 take exit 141 (Hwy 24 West) and turn left on 21st Street (21st becomes Cresta Blvd.). Then turn right onto Cheyenne Boulevard. Stay on Cheyenne Boulevard and continue into Cheyenne Cañon Park on North Cheyenne Cañon Road to Helen Hunt Falls.
Helen Hunt Jackson wrote this in Bits of Travel at Home in 1878:
"The ford was a picture. The creek widened just above it, and was divided by three long sand-bars into three small zigzagging streams, which looked as if the creek were untwisting itself into shining strands. The water was of amber brown, so clear that the pebbles gleamed through. The sand-bars were set thick with spikes of the blue penstemon, a flower like a foxglove, growing here some foot or foot and a half high, with its bright blue blossoms set so thick along the stem that they hinder each other’s opening."
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