Picture this: You wake up just before your alarm. A new blanket of snow coats the ground, the foothills, and Pikes Peak. Take a deep breath: You're over a mile high.

This is our reality.

Colorado College is located just blocks from downtown Colorado Springs, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Life at CC is busy and fast-paced, but it's just a slice of the vibrant community that comprises the Pikes Peak Region.

Here are a few of our students' local favorites:

• Visit Coati Uprise for themed dance parties or a silent disco and then end the night with a scoop or three of homemade ice cream at Josh & John's Ice Cream (free if the temperature outside is below zero degrees!)
• Take a day trip and picnic (with items from the Colorado Springs Farm and Art Market or Bread and Butter Neighborhood Market) to the Red Rock Canyon Open Space, one of the Springs' best-kept secrets.
• Stroll just across campus to see the latest exhibits at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
• Spend an afternoon getting lost among the thrift shops and hipster-chic boutiques in Old Colorado City, and then relax on a comfy old couch at Jives Coffee Lounge during Wednesday open mic and Thursday Irish pub

Within 15 minutes of campus:

• Garden of the Gods Park
• Shopping and hiking in Manitou Springs
• Division 1 CC Hockey games at the Ed Robson Arena
• The Pikes Peak trailhead & the Manitou Incline
• U.S. Olympic Training Center
• U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum
• Weidner Field

Within an hour or less of campus:

• Concerts at the world-famous natural venue, Red Rocks Amphitheatre
• Boutique shopping in Cherry Creek, Larimer Square, or 16th Street Mall in Denver
• Professional sports (Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Switchback FC)
• Gold-medal fly fishing on the South Platte River