Fort Carson is located on the front range of the Rocky Mountains and only 60 miles South of Denver
on Interstate 25 at Exit 135. The post is in the Southwest corner of Colorado Springs, beneath and in the
shade of Cheyenne Mountain.
At 6,035 feet, Colorado Springs sits over one mile above sea level, with some areas of the city being
considerably higher. The city is located close to the base of one of the most famous American mountains,
Pikes Peak, at the eastern edge of the southern Rocky Mountains. In 2006, Colorado Springs was selected
as the No. 1 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine.
Colorado Springs averages 300 days of
sunshine per year, and receives approximately
15 inches of annual precipitation.
Average snowfall for the area (included in the
previous annual precipitation calculation) is
5.5" in November, 5.7" in December, 5.0" in
January, 5.1" in February, 9.4" in March and
6.3" in April. Due to unusually low precipitation
for the past few years before 2006, Colorado
Springs has had to enact lawn water
restrictions. Average January low and high
temperatures are 14°F/42°F and average July
low and high temperatures are 55°F/85°F.
Colorado Springs has relatively mild winters,
with large snow accumulations in the
downtown area relatively rare, a strong
warming sun due to the altitude, and only
occasional periods of sub-zero cold snaps and
blizzards from October 31 to March/April.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in
Colorado Springs was 101°F on June 7, 1874
and the coldest temperature ever recorded
was -32°F on Jan. 20, 1883. Colorado Springs
is also one of the most active lightning strike
areas in the United States. This natural phenomenon
led Nikola Tesla to select Colorado
Springs as the preferred location to build his
lab and study electricity.
Colorado Springs is served by an extensive
bus system called Metro (short for
Mountain Metropolitan Transit). Metro also
operates the Front Range Express (FREX)
service, which connects Colorado Springs to
Denver and several other metropolitan
areas. Although the Metro system serves
much of the city and its nearest suburbs, it
lacks service to many important areas and
has only limited hours of operation. Please
visit www.springsgov.com and check the
Transportation and Transit tab for more
information on Metro. Taxicabs are available
by phone or can usually be chartered at the
airport or downtown.