(CALHAN, Colo.) — With evidence of human life dating back as far as 9,000 years ago, the Paint Mines is a geological structure unlike any other in Colorado. Paint Mines Interpretive Park sees thousands of annual visitors and El Paso County Parks and Community Service staff are working to preserve it.

Find the Paint Mines at 29950 Paint Mine Rd, Calhan, CO 80808

“Here we are out in the middle of this vast prairie, and as you turn a corner on a country road the next thing you know is, you’re looking at this beautiful amphitheater of formations,” Ross Williams, El Paso County Community Services Park Planner said.

The Paint Mines are named for the colorful clays that Native Americans collected to make paint. Brightly colored bands caused by oxidized iron compounds are found throughout the many different layers of clay.

Colors found in the Paint Mines include white, yellow, orange, red, and pink.

“The Paint Mines change almost daily,” Williams explained. “We have kind of an overcast day so all of the colors are subtle, but you come out here on a sunny day and the colors pop, and of course the photography then is wonderful.”

Paint Mines Interpretive Park is located in the northeast section of El Paso County near Calhan on approximately 750 acres. The park includes a restroom facility, four miles of trails, interpretive signage, and many natural wonders.

All of the trails take you to the same location and keep your eyes open for a variety of plant and animal life.

People can hike among the tall spires called hoodoos, which were created by the erosion of the ancestral rocky mountains.

“It’s just a matter of time, just like with all erosional processes that this will someday just be a not-so-pretty bowl of colorful rocks,” Williams said.

Before then, park staff are doing whatever they can to protect the park. “Helping the public understand that these are fragile formations,” Williams said.

Some visitors to the Paint Mines often go against park rules and climb on top of the formations. El Paso County Parks has established a master plan to add fencing, signage, and designated trails to protect the park for generations.

“Most people who are climbing around or on top of the formations, they don’t see that their one footprint is scratching the rock and is causing just a little bit of erosion that would have normally taken many years for it to happen,” Williams explained.

Don’t worry, you can still get that perfect photo at the Paint Mines, just do it from a safe distance so the formations are here to stay.