Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort

About Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort

The Buffalo Lodge was built in 1919 as a cottage camp, once billed as Colorado's Most Modern Cottage City. Torie Giffin had a flat tire in front of it in 2005 and felt a pull she could not explain. A decade later, she came across it again while scouting a bike route, walked inside, and told the person at the desk: if you ever decide to sell, call me. He told her it was for sale. She bought it in 2016, saving it from developers, and rebuilt it as a cycling resort on four acres at the Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs line. The south entrance to Garden of the Gods is one mile away. Torie Giffin leads rides from the property herself.

What Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort Is Known For

Torie Giffin bought a property she couldn't easily afford, with investors she had to convince, to build something that didn't yet exist: Colorado's first bicycle resort. The alternative was condos. The renovation was years of work on a building that was nearly a century old. What the lodge is now, local artist murals in every room, a cycling community drawing 80,000 visitors a year, a calendar full of rides and events and live music, reflects the vision of someone who refused to let the property become something generic. Torie Giffin won the 2024 Don Brown Entrepreneur Award for exactly this kind of conviction. The guests who return for the same event each year are the more telling recognition.

Amenities

• WiFi
• Watering Hole bar with Colorado craft beer and wine
• Seasonal outdoor pool
• Live music five nights a week
• Guided rides, yoga, karaoke, and community events
• Free 3-speed bikes for guests
• Bike storage and wash station
• E-bike rentals at neighboring Incline-Bikes
• Fire pit
• Glamp Garden (seasonal May-October, separate booking)

The Room

Every room was designed by a local artist, no two alike. The bicycle theme is earnest rather than decorative: old bike parts repurposed as decor, the kind of detail that comes from someone who actually lives this way. All rooms have private outdoor entrances directly onto the motor court. No interior hallways, no lobby to navigate. Some include kitchenettes or full kitchens. The detail that cyclists specifically come for: the room layout allows a bike to be ridden directly through the door and hung on the wall inside. A two-bedroom cottage is available on the property for groups and families who need more space. The Glamp Garden, four canvas safari tents with real beds and electricity, is a separate seasonal booking available May through October for guests who want an outdoor experience while staying connected to the resort's amenities and event calendar.

The Grounds

Buffalo Lodge occupies four-plus acres at the edge of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, the Garden of the Gods visible to the north and the Rampart Range beyond it. The motor court is the original 1919 bones, painted turquoise and off-white. Rooms open directly onto the courtyard, parking at the door. A seasonal outdoor pool sits in a quieter section of the property surrounded by trees. The Watering Hole bar anchors the social space. A fire pit operates in cooler months. The patio hosts live music five nights a week in season and local food trucks during busy weekends. Bike racks, a wash station, free 3-speed bikes, and an e-bike rental partnership with neighboring Incline-Bikes complete the cycling infrastructure.

The Experience

The activity calendar is the clearest expression of what Buffalo Lodge is. Guided rides, yoga, karaoke, live music five nights a week, community events organized by Torie Giffin herself: this is a property where the experience is built around what happens outside the room, not inside it. Cyclists plan trips around the event schedule. Regulars come back for the same ride the following year. The motor court layout supports all of it: rooms open directly outside, bikes go straight in, and the communal spaces are genuinely communal. Garden of the Gods is a mile out the front door on flat ground. Red Rock Canyon Open Space is nearby. The Watering Hole serves Colorado craft beers, wines, and spirits, with bar staff who can also point you toward the best trail conditions for the next morning.

Details

Frequently Asked Questions

Things to Do Near Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods Park

0.8 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.

Towering sandstone formations against a backdrop of Pikes Peak, free to enter, spectacular at sunrise, and one of the most visited natural landmarks in Colorado.

Red Rock Canyon Open Space

1.5 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.

350 acres of red rock trails tucked between Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs, less crowded than its neighbor and beloved by local hikers and climbers.

Pikes Peak

14 miles, about a 30 minute drive.

Colorado's most famous peak above 14,000 feet, accessible by the Pikes Peak Highway or the Barr Trail. The cog railway from Manitou Springs runs to the 14,115-foot summit.