Celebrating 10 Summers of the Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort

bicycleresort
Jul 17
3 min read

Colorado Springs' Bicycle Friendly Resort

Garden of the Gods with a plum and turquoise overlay with silver sparkles in the corners and the text: It is a big year for us. Riding Strong 10 years. Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort a Best of the Springs 2025 winner.

On June 17, 2016, Torie Giffin acquired the Buffalo Lodge, a historic motor court hotel nestled at the base of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. This summer, we’re beyond excited to be celebrating 10 years of adventure, community, and cycling fun with all our guests and friends!

Torie Giffin, white woman with medium length brown hair, standing in front of the Buffalo Lodge in a Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort Bike Jersey. — **Hotel for cyclists becoming a reality story covered by FOX21 News in Colorado Springs June 2016, click the image to see the full story**

The Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort is the result of a dream, a lot of hard work, and an incredible community. Without your ongoing love, support, and willingness to stay, ride, and celebrate with us, we wouldn’t be here today. Thank you for being part of our journey!

Looking back so we can look forward…

What we know is that the Buffalo Lodge was originally built around 1919, the same year as The Broadmoor. This property began as a hunting lodge, then evolved into "the most modern cottage city" in the 1930s with its first cottages and guest rooms. When cross country road trips became all the rage in the early 1950s, it expanded again to create the 47 rooms we have today.

When Torie purchased the Lodge in 2016, it was in need of some serious love and modern updates; from new roofs to complete room renovations. Our Grounds Manager, Scotty, helped oversee many of the renovations, and he now knows every quirky electrical switch and 100-year-old pipe on the property!

What exactly is a Bicycle Resort?

Several gravel bicycles lined up in front of the Spirit of Tava mural which features Pikes Peak in the background, Garden of the Gods in the mid ground, 3 bison including a calf, white bison, and brown bison, and 3 cyclists, 2 mountain biker silhouettes and a unicyclist in the foreground. — Cycling groups from around the country have come and stayed at the Buffalo Lodge to explore & enjoy our access to the trails!

When people hear “bicycle resort,” some assume we’re only for cyclists but that’s not the case at all! Think of us like a dude ranch, but instead of horses, we’ve got bicycles.

Buffalo Lodge is designed for and by cyclists, and open to everyone. Every room has a bike rack, overnight guests can cruise around on our classic 3-speed manual bikes, and we host group rides from the Lodge multiple times a week (open to all skill levels).

We also host awesome cycling events throughout the year! Our remaining cycling events for 2025 include:

Rampart Rager Gravel Ride (August)
Cycling Santa (December)

For us, cycling isn’t just for fun, it is ingrained in our way of life. Many of our team members commute by walking, bus, and bike. We promote sustainable commuting by cycling as a way to support both health and sustainability with Colorado Springs bike to work days. We even have an on-site bike shop (Westside Bike Service) and partner with Incline-Bikes in Manitou Springs for e-bike rentals from our property in the summer months. E-bikes are a great way to see the sites without the traffic!

A Community That Keeps Us Rolling

Cover of the 2025 Best of the Springs by the Gazette with 2 photo booth strips on top with photos of the Buffalo Lodge team holding signs that say Dream Team and Like a Boss and Yay.

Earlier this year, we were honored to place in three categories in The Gazette’s Best of the Springs, voted on by our amazing community and guests! Since 2022, we've consistently made the list but 2025 was extra special:

🥇 Gold – Best Hotel

🥈 Silver – Best Swimming Pool

🥉 Bronze – Best Hotel Bar

We're so proud and grateful to be recognized by the people who’ve stayed with us and are a part of our local community!

Sharing the Stories of the Lodge

As we celebrate a decade of ownership, we want to honor not just our journey but yours too. The Buffalo Lodge has been part of the westside community for over 100 years, and we know many of you have generations of stories tied to this place.

Four people are holding beverages in cups and cans and cheering on the front patio of the historic Buffalo Lodge in Colorado Springs. — Photo by Pactimo

If you have stories, photos, or memories of the Lodge from the last 10, 20, 30, or even 50 years we’d love for you to share them with us! Over the next year we plan to share these stories and photos with our online community.

👉 Share your Story Here!

What’s Next for the Buffalo?

As we ride into our 10th year of ownership, we’re dreaming big. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s ahead: repainting our historic lamp posts (already started!), re-stuccoing the main lodge building, a refreshed pavilion area for weddings and events, new flooring on the front porch as well as an ADA ramp into the main lodge, and more!

We are committed to community, adventure, sustainability, and exceptional hospitality. Thank you for being part of our ride.

Join in the Celebration

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and make sure you're signed up for our newsletter to stay in the loop. We’ve got a full summer of fun ahead, from live music on our Party Patio to group rides leaving right from the Lodge.

Whether you’re riding, relaxing, or reminiscing, we’d love to have you celebrate with us. We're celebrating 10 years of ownership all year long, leading up to a big celebration in June 2026!