One of the Pikes Peak region’s most curious parks deserves an educational tour.

That’s the thinking of El Paso County, which recently launched guided hikes at Paint Mines Interpretive Park on select Saturdays this summer.

A county webpage describes hikes roaming about two miles around the colorful spires and hoodoos on the plains near Calhan. It’s been billed as “a hike through time,” during which guides speak on the ancient geology that has attracted people for millennia. Artifacts trace human history here back nearly 9,000 years — projectile points and more that interpreters bring along for the hikes.

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The next tour is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. June 21. A $5 registration is required on the county webpage (tinyurl.com/4u4p9bys), where more information is posted.

Later Saturday hikes are scheduled for July 5 and 26, followed by Aug. 9 and 23. The county has also lined up fall tours: Sept. 13 and 27 and Oct. 11 and 18.

The guided trips aim to increase education and promote stewardship — one aim of a long-awaited master plan for the Paint Mines that was approved late last year.

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The plan came after years of record visitation and concerning sights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. People were found to be blazing trails and “quickly degrading the formations,” the plan states, “often leading to the collapse of geologic features that have been standing as a part of the landscape for thousands of years.”

The 108-page plan calls for boardwalks and low-barrier fencing to keep people on intended paths. Also envisioned is a new primary parking lot, complete with educational signage and possibly a visitor center, pending funds.