Located off Interstate 25 near two major metropolitan centers, Palmer Lake is a growing community on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

The town's namesake lake dried up completely during the summer of 2012 due to Douglas County stopping the water supply.

Downtown businesses and resident morale suffered greatly due to the lack of any surface water within city limits.

Palmer Lake is bordered by the Greenland Open Space Preserve to the north, Pike National Forest to the west, Monument to the south, and Ben Lomand and the I-25 corridor to the east.

Palmer Lake sits at the north edge of El Paso County and offers sweeping views of the Rocky Mountain foothills.

One of the largest continuous trails in El Paso County, the graveled route supports a wide variety of activities such as biking, hiking and horseback riding.

Visitors are advised to bring a map or a local guide when exploring the trails and should be aware of wildlife alerts and National Forest rules.

The bridge will consist of a flatbed railroad car raised 25 feet above the tracks with a staircase for pedestrians and a ramp on either side for bicyclists, wheelchairs and strollers.

The park's overall themed will play up the town's history as a refueling stop for steam engines to be topped off with water between Colorado Springs and Denver.

Both Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroads have approved the engineering plan for the bridge, and after several months of dirt work and retaining wall construction, actual work on the bridge span began in October 2019, with an anticipated completion date of no later than December 31, 2019.

Jack and Bert Sloan proposed the construction of a large Star of Bethlehem on the side of Sundance Mountain in Palmer Lake.

The five-pointed star, measuring 457 feet (139 m) across and consisting of 91, 40-watt non-glare bulbs, is lit for the month of December and for other special occasions.

In 1976, the star was completely rebuilt with new cable and steel pole in concrete as part of an American Revolutionary bicentennial project.

The earliest recorded non-Native activity in the area was the Army's Major Stephen Long Expedition of 1820, which discovered the Colorado State Flower, the white and lavender columbine,[15] somewhere between Monument and Palmer Lake.

General William J. Palmer, an abolitionist and Quaker,[16] came west after the Civil War to found the city of Colorado Springs and start the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, a 3 ft (0.91 m) narrow-gauge line, in 1871.

Dr. William Finley Thompson purchased land and plotted the town of Palmer Lake in 1882, intending it as a health resort & vacation community.

Prior to the automobile, Palmer Lake was a popular destination for people from Denver and others wishing escape the heat of city summer temperatures.

The Rocky Mountain Chautauqua - a people's vacation university - was popular between 1887 and 1910, hosting programs in music, art, drama, religion, and nature.

At that time, Monument was famous for holding an annual "Potato Bake", a fall celebration where a free feast would be held just across the tracks from Front and Second Streets.

The land surrounding Palmer Lake and Monument remained largely ranch and farmland until the Air Force Academy was opened in 1958.

Woodmoor, a township south of Palmer Lake and east of Monument, was originally planned to be an area where the staff of the Air Academy and other military retirees could take up residence.

One of these is the "McShane Fort" located just off Highway 105, close to the railroad overpass bordering Monument and Palmer Lake.