Ever wonder what 1889 tastes like? Just a 12-minute, level stroll—0.6 miles—from your campsite sits the Wheeler Town Clock: a cast-iron beauty where spring water still pours from dolphin spouts into twin basins—upper for people, lower for the horses that once clopped up Ute Pass. Today, the horses are gone, but the troughs remain, doubling as one of Manitou’s most curious fill-up spots.
Why keep reading?
• History Buffs: Discover how this clock-fountain jump-started Manitou’s mineral-water boom.
• Photo Seekers: Score that “dolphin-spout” shot with morning light and zero crowds.
• Families: Find out if the kids can touch the water (and where the nearest picnic table hides).
• Locals & Nomads: Get the insider parking, shuttle, and filming intel before you roll.
Grab your reusable bottle—let’s meet the only timepiece in town that still tells time and pours a drink.
Key Takeaways
– The Wheeler Town Clock is a 1889 iron fountain that gives free, drinkable spring water.
– It sits just 0.6 mile (a 12-minute, flat walk) from Pikes Peak RV Park.
– Upper spouts fill people’s bottles; lower basins once served horses and can water dogs today.
– Open sunrise to sunset, year-round except deep freezes; benches and shade are nearby.
– Paths are smooth for strollers, wheelchairs, bikes, and leashed pups; a free shuttle and bike racks help, too.
– Best times for photos and quiet: before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. when soft light hits the dolphin spouts.
– Etiquette: keep bottles off the metal, don’t toss coins, and sip slowly—minerals give a fizzy taste.
– Drivers of small cars can use the two-hour Canon Avenue lot; big RVs should stay parked and ride the shuttle.
– Want more? A level 1.4-mile loop links two other historic springs for a longer, kid-friendly adventure..
Quick-Glance Itinerary
A first visit rarely needs more than twenty minutes on-site, yet many guests stretch the stop into an hour by adding the nearby springs. The walk from Pikes Peak RV Park is level, paved, and shaded by cottonwoods that line Fountain Creek, making it friendly to strollers, wheelchairs, and leashed pups. Because the water flows year-round except during deep freezes, the spot stays free and open sunrise to sunset, with two benches less than thirty feet away to rest while you sip.
Those who prefer wheels to walking can pedal the Midland Trail straight from the campground; bike racks wait beside Memorial Park two minutes from the fountain. Drivers in smaller rigs should choose the signed two-hour lots on Canon Avenue so they avoid the tight angles of Manitou Avenue traffic. Summer visitors also have the free town shuttle every twenty minutes—handy when afternoon thunderstorms threaten, saving the dash back before awnings start flapping.
Time, Water & Wheels Collide
When silver-baron-turned-philanthropist Jerome B. Wheeler unveiled the clock-fountain in 1889, he wasn’t just giving the town a decorative timepiece. He was celebrating the launch of his Manitou Mineral Water Bottling Company, whose “Manitou Table Water” and fizzy “Ginger Champagne” were already shipping by rail to chic hotel lobbies from Kansas City to New York. In one stroke, Wheeler married public amenity with marketing genius, letting thirsty travelers taste the brand for free while freight wagons watered their teams.
The J. L. Mott Iron Works of New York cast the column, topping it with four clock faces and ringing it in sculpted seashells and dolphins that hinted at seaside spas fashionable in the Victorian era. Engineers plumbed the internal pipes directly into the same aquifer that fed nearby Navajo Spring, so the water you sip today shares lineage with bottles that once sat on Gilded-Age dining tables. Horses got their share, too: the lower basins, wide and half-moon shaped, were designed for a wagon tongue to slide between so two animals could drink at once.
Why the 1889 Clock Still Matters
The year 1889 marked a boom moment for Manitou Springs, with railroad connections finished, mineral-water tourists arriving, and civic leaders pushing to brand the town as the “Saratoga of the Rockies.” The clock-fountain symbolized that ambition by knitting together public health, transportation, and industry in a single sculpture. It served as both billboard and utility—free hydration in an era when safe drinking water wasn’t a given.
Standing beside the fixture today, you can still hear Fountain Creek rushing behind Memorial Park, a reminder that natural resources have powered every chapter of Manitou’s story. The spring flow remains constant in most seasons because the city maintains underground valves and flushes the pipes monthly, so visitors get a living artifact rather than a static monument. By lingering here, modern travelers plug directly into a civic experiment that has endured for more than 130 years without shutting off the tap.
Find It Without Guesswork
Leave Pikes Peak RV Park’s gate, turn right on Park Avenue, and stay on the creek-side sidewalk; you’ll cover 0.6 mile in roughly twelve minutes of nearly flat terrain. Way-finding plaques set into the concrete mark each cross street, and wildflowers edge the creek in late spring, offering easy photo stops for those who like to move slow. If you’re pushing a stroller, curb cuts appear at every intersection, and the narrowest sidewalk segment still measures five feet across, wide enough for mobility scooters.
Cyclists ride the Midland Trail that begins behind the campground laundry room; in summer the shaded path stays ten degrees cooler than the street. At Canon Avenue turn left, coast one block, and the clock appears, four faces gleaming above the traffic. Drivers should bypass Manitou Avenue entirely and slip into the Canon Avenue two-hour lot, where rigs under twenty-two feet fit angled stalls without backing drama. Early birds find spots before nine a.m., while late afternoon often opens space as day-trippers head for dinner uptown.
Who You’ll See and When to Go
Retirees out for a gentle stroll take over the benches between ten a.m. and lunchtime, sketchbooks open to capture the dolphin spouts in graphite. For the quietest experience, arrive before nine a.m. or after five p.m., when the fixture’s low-watt LEDs switch on and turn the water into liquid bronze—ideal for anyone chasing that perfect long-exposure shot. Shade under the cottonwoods peaks from late morning until early afternoon, so those with sun sensitivity can time their visit accordingly.
Millennial photographers, phones balanced on mini tripods, kneel curbside to frame the dolphins against snow-dusted Pikes Peak. A low crouch near the northeast corner lets you hide passing cars while catching early sun on the clock faces. Families with young kids usually pop by midday after exploring the penny arcade; parents can turn the visit into a counting game—twelve seashells, four dolphins, one tiny owl perched above the clock finial. Locals walking dogs appreciate the lower basin as a quick refill station; a collapsible bowl keeps pups from dunking directly, preserving water clarity for the next visitor.
Sip Respectfully: Etiquette, Health & Safety
Treat the iron like antique lace—strong yet susceptible to scratches and corrosion. Hold your reusable bottle beneath the dolphin’s mouth without touching the metal, then step aside so the next person can fill quickly and keep water pressure steady. Dropping coins may feel like starting a wishing well, but copper and zinc accelerate rust; snap a photo instead and let memory be the souvenir.
Look for the green “potable” tag bolted to the side panel; the city updates signage monthly after water-quality tests, so you know the sip is safe. Even so, new visitors should start with a few ounces because the mineral content—sodium, lithium, and bicarbonate—tastes like a fizz without bubbles. Anyone on kidney or sodium-restricted diets should consult a doctor before making the trough their primary canteen. Always carry an extra water bottle on hikes in case a seasonal maintenance shut-off happens; flow sometimes dips during late-summer construction or after rare winter freezes.
Stretch the Adventure: A 1.4-Mile Spring Loop
If twenty minutes feels too brief, extend the outing into a 1.4-mile self-guided loop that strings together three landmarks of Manitou’s 1880s water infrastructure. From the clock, continue west on Manitou Avenue until sidewalk plaques point to Navajo Spring, the source that fed Wheeler’s bottling plant. Brass embossments in the concrete outline the plant’s original walls, letting kids hop from “room” to “room” while parents read interpretive panels about “Ginger Champagne” shipments bound for distant hotels.
A gradual curve south delivers you to the sandstone-and-red-tile pavilion of Shoshone Spring, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Here you can taste a dramatically different mineral profile—more iron, less sodium—demonstrating how adjacent aquifers season their water like chefs with separate spice racks. Most visitors complete the loop in forty-five to sixty minutes at a leisurely pace, and the route stays nearly level, making it stroller-friendly and easy on aging knees. Kids can pick up free scavenger-hunt cards at the visitor center beforehand and trade correct answers for stickers, turning the walk into a rolling history quiz.
RV and Parking Logistics Made Simple
Downtown Manitou’s narrow lanes charm photographers but challenge anything larger than a passenger van. The best tactic: leave the motorhome leveled and chocked at Pikes Peak RV Park, where sites accommodate buses up to forty-five feet. A free green shuttle stops one hundred yards from the campground entrance every twenty to thirty minutes in summer, whisking riders downtown in five minutes and sparing them the hunt for oversized parking.
If you tow a small car, use it instead and aim for the Canon Avenue lot or curbside spaces on El Paso Boulevard’s five-hundred block, where four-hour spots welcome truck-and-trailer rigs. Oversize parking fines begin at 8:01 a.m., and enforcement officers use laser measuring devices, so don’t gamble with a bumper that hangs over the white line. Afternoon thunderstorms roar through June to August; secure awnings and outdoor mats before departing so you don’t return to a campground yard sale. Quiet hours start at ten p.m., so plan your golden-hour photography early enough to stroll back without rattling stabilizers or neighbors’ nerves.
Ready to taste 1889 for yourself? Leave the leveling blocks in place, follow the cottonwood-shaded path along Fountain Creek, and in twelve easy minutes you’ll be filling bottles beneath Wheeler’s dolphin spouts—then wander back to full-hookups, mountain views, and blazing-fast Wi-Fi at Pikes Peak RV Park. Book your site today and let every stroll become a sip of Manitou’s living past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What exactly are the 1889 horse troughs and why were they built?
A: The twin basins beneath the Wheeler Town Clock were cast in 1889 as part of a combined public fountain and timepiece donated by silver magnate Jerome B. Wheeler; the upper basin offered free mineral water to townspeople while the lower, wider trough let two draft horses drink side-by-side, making the clock both civic amenity and clever advertisement for Wheeler’s Manitou Mineral Water Bottling Company.
Q: How far and how flat is the walk from Pikes Peak RV Park?
A: It’s an easy, level 0.6-mile stroll that takes most guests about twelve minutes; just exit the campground, turn right on Park Avenue, follow the creek-side sidewalk, hang a left on Canon Avenue, and the clock appears one block ahead—no hills, no stairs, plenty of shade.
Q: Is the water safe to drink, and can kids touch or taste it?
A: Yes, the city posts monthly test results and a green “potable” tag on the ironwork; kids can cup their hands or fill bottles safely, though the high mineral content tastes fizzy and might surprise sensitive palates, so start with a small sip before guzzling.
Q: Are there benches, shade, or restrooms nearby for a quick break?
A: Two wooden benches sit less than thirty feet from the fountain under mature cottonwoods that cast reliable midday shade, and the nearest public restrooms are a two-minute walk west in Memorial Park beside the playground and bike racks.
Q: Can I bring my dog, and is it okay for pups to drink from the trough?
A: Leashed dogs are welcome; most owners use a collapsible bowl filled from the lower basin to keep paws out of the water, a courtesy that preserves clarity for the next human visitor and matches city pet-etiquette guidelines.
Q: Is the spot stroller, wheelchair, and mobility-scooter friendly?
A: Absolutely—sidewalks stay five feet wide, curb cuts appear at every intersection, and the ground around the fountain is level concrete, so families with strollers or guests using wheelchairs and scooters roll right up without obstacles.
Q: Where can I park if I’d rather drive than walk or shuttle?
A: Rigs under twenty-two feet fit the two-hour angled spaces in the Canon Avenue lot one block north; larger motorhomes and truck-and-trailer combos should stay at the campground and ride the free green shuttle that stops 100 yards from the park gate every 20–30 minutes in summer.
Q: When is the least crowded time and best light for photos?
A: Arrive before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. for minimal foot traffic; morning sun lights the dolphin spouts from the east, while the low-watt LEDs after dusk turn the water coppery—ideal for long-exposure shots without midday glare.
Q: Is the fountain really Instagram-worthy, and any quick angle tips?
A: Yes—kneel on the northeast curb to frame the dolphins against snow-capped Pikes Peak, or shoot low across the lower basin to capture reflections that hide passing cars; vertical format works best for reels, and early light keeps shadows crisp.
Q: Any cool cafés or upload spots close by for coffee and Wi-Fi?
A: Good Karma Café sits three blocks west on Canon Avenue with reliable Wi-Fi, plentiful outlets, and a killer lavender latte, while MATI Coffee Bar on Manitou Avenue offers outdoor seating if you’d rather keep the spring water theme flowing.
Q: Do I need a permit to film B-roll or fly a drone at the clock?
A: Handheld or tripod filming for personal or social use requires no permit, but drone flights need prior clearance from Manitou Springs City Hall because of downtown air-space restrictions; plan three business days for approval.
Q: How strong is the cell signal—can I post in real time?
A: Most carriers deliver 4G LTE speeds thanks to a nearby tower on Ruxton Avenue; uploads up to 100 MB typically finish in under a minute, and if you need faster bandwidth, both nearby cafés offer free Wi-Fi.
Q: Will the kids actually find this interesting, and is there a mini activity?
A: Between counting the 12 seashells and 4 dolphins on the column, filling scavenger-hunt cards from the visitor center, and tasting “fizzy” spring water, most kids treat the stop like a quick, hands-on history game that holds interest for 15–30 minutes.
Q: What if the fountain is shut off for maintenance—are there backup springs?
A: On the rare days the city closes the valve, simply continue one block west to Navajo Spring or four blocks to Shoshone Spring; both flow year-round, are equally free, and let you salvage the outing without adding steep terrain.