| Pikes Peak | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pikes Peak, 23 September 2025 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 14,107 feet (4,299.83 m)[1] NAPGD2022 |
| Prominence | 5,530 feet (1,690 m)[2] |
| Isolation | 60.6 mi (97.6 km)[2] |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 38°50′26″N105°02′39″W / 38.8405°N 105.0442°W /38.8405; -105.0442[3] |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Zebulon Pike |
| Native name |
|
| Geography | |
  Pikes Peak Pikes Peak (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | High point ofEl Paso County,Colorado,United States[2] |
| Parent range | Front Range,Highest summit of thePikes Peak Massif[2] |
| Topo map(s) | USGS 7.5' topographic map Pikes Peak, Colorado[4] |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | ~1.05 Gyr |
| Mountain type | granite |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1820 byEdwin James and party |
| Easiest route | East Slopes (Barr Trail): Hike,class 1[5] |
Pikes Peak orAmerica's Mountain is aultra-prominentfourteener of theFront Range of theRocky Mountains of North America. Pikes Peak's summit with an elevation of 14,115 ft (4,302m)[6] above sea level is the highest fourteener east of its longitude in thecontiguous United States. Pikes Peak is located inPike National Forest,Colorado, with the base located in the town ofManitou Springs which is about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtownColorado Springs, Colorado, inEl Paso County,United States.[7]
Zebulon Pike, a commissioned officer serving for theUnited States Army, received an order in 1806 byThomas Jefferson to explore theLouisiana Purchase. He later in the winter would attempt to climb the mountain but would later discontinue.[8] The climb wasabandoned, possibly due to the mountains cold weather. The first successful documented hike was by the geologist and botanistEdwin James during his expedition on July 15, 1820.[9] During thePikes Peak Gold Rush, the mountain was referred in honor of Zebulon Pike, in several newspapers, creating widespread popularity.
The song "America the Beautiful" (originally called "America") has been associated with Pikes Peak for about a century. In 1893 the visiting professor, and poet namedKatharine Lee Bates educated a summer course in western Colorado. Bates, who had been suffering fromdepression, was inspired to write “America the Beautiful,” which was initially titled "Pikes Peak", soon after scaling to the summit In 1893.[10][11]
The band of Ute people who called the Pikes Peak region their home were theTabeguache, whose name means the "People of Sun Mountain".[12]Tava or "sun", is theUte word that was given by these first people to the mountain that we now call Pikes Peak. (In contrast, the nameTabeguache Peak is now used for a peak further west.) It is thought that the Ute people first arrived in Colorado about 500 A.D.,[citation needed] however their oral history states that they were created on Tava. In the 1800s, when theArapaho people arrived in Colorado, they knew the mountain asHeey-otoyoo' meaning "Long Mountain".[13] By comparison, thePawnee called the same mountainTûs Pêh ("Where the Heavens Touch the Earth"), and theUte Indians called itTava-Kaavi ("Sun Mountain").[14]
Throughout its history, European peoples have called the mountain El Capitán, Grand Peak, Great Peak, James Peak, Long Mountain, and Pike's Peak.[4]
Early Spanish explorers named the mountain "El Capitán," meaning "The Leader". American explorerZebulon Pike named the mountain "Highest Peak" in 1806, and the mountain was later commonly known as "Pike's Highest Peak." American explorerStephen Harriman Long named the mountain "James Peak" in honor ofEdwin James who climbed to the summit duringLong's Expedition of 1820. The mountain was later renamed "Pike's Peak" in honor of Pike. The name was simplified to "Pikes Peak" by theUnited States Board on Geographic Names in 1890.
Pikes Peak is one of Colorado's 54 fourteeners, mountains more than 14,000 feet (4,267.2 m) above sea level. Themassif rises over 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above downtown Colorado Springs. Pikes Peak is a designatedNational Historic Landmark. It is composed of a characteristic pinkgranite calledPikes Peak granite. The color is due to a large amount ofpotassium feldspar.
It is thought that the granite was oncemagma that crystallized at least 20 miles (32 km) beneath the Earth's surface, formed by an igneous intrusion during thePrecambrian, approximately 1.05 billion years ago, during theGrenville orogeny. Through the process ofuplifting, the hardened rock pushed through the Earth's crust and created a dome-like mountain, covered with less resistant rock. Years oferosion andweathering removed the soil and rock leaving the exposed mountain.
Soils on Pikes Peak above the timberline (approximately 12,000 ft or 3,700 m) are classified ascirque land. Forests at lower altitudes mostly lie over the brown stony, sandy, loams of theCatamount loam orIvywild loam series.[15]
The Devils Playground is a minor sub peak of Pikes Peak located on the northwest side of the mountain near thePikes Peak Highway. The Devil's Playground is named for the way lightning sometimes dances around the prominence during lightning storms. The Devils Playground is the highest point inTeller County at an approximate elevation of 13,075 feet (3,985 m).
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The first Europeans to see Pikes Peak were the Spanish in the 1700s. The first American sighting is often credited to members of thePike Expedition, led byZebulon Pike. After a failed attempt to climb to the top in November 1806, Pike wrote in his journal:
The first European ascent of the peak came 14 years after Pike's discovery, in the summer of 1820.Edwin James, a young student who had just graduated fromMiddlebury College inVermont, signed on as the relief botanist forStephen Harriman Long's expedition after the first botanist had died. The expedition explored theSouth Platte River up as far as present-day Denver, then turned south and passed close to what James called "Pike's highest peak". James and two other men left the expedition, camped on the plains, and climbed the peak in two days, encountering little difficulty. Along the way, James was the first to describe theblue columbine, Colorado's state flower.
Gold was discovered in the area of present-dayDenver in 1858, and newspapers referred to the gold-mining area as "Pike's Peak".Pike's Peak or Bust became the slogan of theColorado Gold Rush (see alsoFifty-Niner). This was more due to Pikes Peak's visibility to gold seekers traveling west across the plains than any actual significant gold find anywhere near Pikes Peak. Major gold deposits were not discovered in the Pikes Peak area until theCripple Creek Mining District was discovered southwest of Pikes Peak and led, in 1893, to one of the last major gold rushes in the lower 48 states.
In July 1860,Clark, Gruber and Company commenced minting gold coins inDenver bearing the phrase "Pike's Peak Gold" and an artist's rendering of the peak (sight unseen) on theobverse. In 1863, theU.S. Treasury purchased the minting equipment for $25,000 (or $640,000 adjusted for inflation) to open theDenver Mint.
Julia Archibald Holmes and James Holmes traveled to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in 1858, and reached the summit on August 5, with J. D. Miller and George Peck, making Archibald Holmes the first European-American woman to climb Pikes Peak. From the summit, she wrote in a letter to her mother: "Nearly everyone tried to discourage me from attempting it, but I believed that I should succeed; and now here I am, and I feel that I would not have missed this glorious sight for anything at all."[17][18]
Thirty-five years later, in July 1893,Katharine Lee Bates wrote the song "America the Beautiful", after having admired the view from the top of Pikes Peak. It appeared in print inThe Congregationalist, a weekly journal, on July 4, 1895. A plaque commemorating the words to the song was placed at the summit.
On July 17, 1913William Wayne Brown drove his car, theBear Cat, 20 miles (32 km) to the summit.[19][20] The ascent took 5 hours and 28 minutes.
The uppermost portion of Pikes Peak, above 14,000 feet (4,267 m) elevation, was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1961.[21][22]
Pikes Peak was the home of a ski resort from 1939 until 1984.[23]
There are several visitor centers on Pikes Peak, some with a gift shop and restaurant. These centers are located at the 6-mile (9.7 km) and 12-mile (19 km) markers of the toll road, plus one at the summit itself.Along with other food, the Summit House sells special high altitudedoughnuts, frying up to 700 per hour. The doughnuts collapse or go mushy if transported to lower altitudes.[24]
There are several ways to ascend the mountain. TheManitou and Pike's Peak Railway, the world's highestcog railroad,[25] operated fromManitou Springs to the summit, closed for repairs in 2017. After being closed for more than three years, the cog railway resumed service seven days per week (conditions permitting) on May 27, 2021.[26]
Road vehicles can be driven to the summit via thePikes Peak Highway, a 19 mi (31 km) road that starts a few miles upUte Pass atCascade. The road has a series of switchbacks, treacherous at high speed, called "The W's" for their shape on the northwest side of the mountain. The road is maintained by the city ofColorado Springs as atoll road. A project to pave the remainder of the road was completed on October 1, 2011.[27] The project was in response to a suit by theSierra Club over damage caused by the gravel and sediment that is constantly washed off the road into the alpine environment.[28][29] In 2023, the toll road cost US$15 for age 16 and older or US$5 for age 6 to 15; from December 1 to April 30 the cost is reduced to US$10 for age 16 and older.
The Highway is famous worldwide for the annualPikes Peak International Hill Climb, a motor race held since 1916. The short filmClimb Dance featuresAri Vatanen racing hisPeugeot405 T16 up the steep, twisty slopes. It also hosts the Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb (formerly Assault on the Peak), a cycling hillclimb race first held in 2010,[30] and the USA Cycling Hill Climb National Championships, a race first held in 2016.[31]
The most popular hiking route to the top is calledBarr Trail, which approaches the summit from the east. The trailhead is just past the cog railway depot in Manitou Springs. Visitors can walk, hike, or bike the trail. Although the Barr Trail is rated only Class 1, it is a long and arduous hike with nearly 8,000 ft (2,400 m) of elevation gain, and a 13 mi (21 km) trip one-way. ThePikes Peak Marathon, a trail race held since 1956, is a round trip between the trailhead and the Pikes Peak. The Barr Trail Mountain Race is a 13 miles (21 km) round trip between the trailhead and Barr Camp. Another route, rated as Class 2, begins at Crags Campground, approaching the summit from the west.[32]
Barr Trail can also be accessed via theManitou Incline.
Since the end of 1922,The AdAmAn Club, a mountaineering group, climb the Barr Trail on the east face of Pikes Peak each year on December 30th, stay overnight at Barr Camp, and continue to the top on December 31. Then, at midnight on New Year's Eve, the AdAmAn members and their guests ignite a fireworks display from the summit.[33]
Since 1969, the summit of Pikes Peak has been the site of theUnited States Army Pikes Peak Research Laboratory, a medical research laboratory for the assessment of the impact of high altitude on human physiological and medical parameters of military interest.
On June 4, 2018, ground-breaking was held for a new 38,000 square feet (3,500 m2) Summit Complex which is being constructed next to the current Summit House. The older facility will remain open to the more than 600,000 visitors annually through the end of construction in the fall of 2020 or summer of 2021. Around 40 contractors are working on the $50 million project. The general contractor, G.E. Johnson Construction Co., estimates that about half of the budget is for materials, many of which areprefabricated in downslope shops, and the balance is for labor, because of the project's high standards and the rigors of working for a maximum of6+1⁄2 hours per day at such a high altitude during a short season of April to October. Heavy equipment and prefabricated building components are slowly moved up the mountain's highway in the middle of the night to avoid any car traffic. Ground conditions are bedrock and alpinepermafrost, soil and rock that remains at or below freezing temperatures all year to depths of up to 200 feet (61 m), only warming above freezing in direct sunlight or due to external sources. Problems with excavation and blasting exist because the permafrost in the fractured granite actually absorbs energy. The project is being constructed to achieve bothLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification andLiving Building Challenge. The new complex will include a visitor center, a communications facility for Colorado Springs Utilities, and the Army's High-Altitude Research Laboratory.[34][35][36][37]
On July 20, 2023, anEF1 tornado touched down on the mountain, snapping and uprooting several trees. The tornado travelled 2 miles (3.2 km) along Pikes Peak Highway and wind speeds reached 108 miles per hour (174 km/h). No injuries were reported from the storm.
At the peak, thepartial pressure of oxygen is only about 60% of that at sea level. Water boils at 186 °F (86 °C) at 14,000 feet, rather than 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level.[38]
A faster rate of respiration is required by humans and animals not acclimated to high altitudes.[39]Altitude sickness may develop in those who are sensitive or who over-exert themselves.
The summit of Pikes Peak has apolar climate (ET) due to its elevation. Snow is a possibility any time year-round, and thunderstorms with high winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) or more are common in the afternoons.[40][41]
Surrounding areas have different climatic variations depending on location and elevation. Much of the area near Pikes Peak has a continental semiarid climate, while other areas would be classified ashemiboreal.
| Climate data for Pikes Peak summit (elevation 14,115 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 30 (−1) | 29 (−2) | 43 (6) | 39 (4) | 47 (8) | 63 (17) | 64 (18) | 62 (17) | 55 (13) | 47 (8) | 36 (2) | 30 (−1) | 64 (18) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 8.1 (−13.3) | 10.6 (−11.9) | 14.0 (−10.0) | 19.7 (−6.8) | 28.4 (−2.0) | 38.5 (3.6) | 47.6 (8.7) | 48.1 (8.9) | 39.2 (4.0) | 28.4 (−2.0) | 16.0 (−8.9) | 10.7 (−11.8) | 25.8 (−3.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | −3.7 (−19.8) | −2.9 (−19.4) | −0.8 (−18.2) | 4.6 (−15.2) | 14.3 (−9.8) | 24.6 (−4.1) | 33.7 (0.9) | 32.9 (0.5) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 14.2 (−9.9) | 3.9 (−15.6) | −2.7 (−19.3) | 11.9 (−11.2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −37 (−38) | −37 (−38) | −29 (−34) | −21 (−29) | −8 (−22) | 2 (−17) | 18 (−8) | 15 (−9) | 6 (−14) | −17 (−27) | −36 (−38) | −39 (−39) | −39 (−39) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.56 (40) | 1.39 (35) | 2.11 (54) | 3.78 (96) | 3.68 (93) | 1.77 (45) | 4.46 (113) | 3.92 (100) | 1.77 (45) | 1.41 (36) | 1.84 (47) | 1.49 (38) | 29.18 (742) |
| Source: summitpost.org[42] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Pikes Peak 38.8392 N, 105.0424 W, Elevation: 13,675 ft (4,168 m) (interpolated 1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 22.1 (−5.5) | 21.6 (−5.8) | 26.5 (−3.1) | 31.5 (−0.3) | 39.3 (4.1) | 50.3 (10.2) | 55.5 (13.1) | 52.9 (11.6) | 47.3 (8.5) | 38.8 (3.8) | 28.8 (−1.8) | 22.6 (−5.2) | 36.4 (2.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 10.3 (−12.1) | 9.5 (−12.5) | 13.9 (−10.1) | 18.6 (−7.4) | 26.8 (−2.9) | 37.0 (2.8) | 42.2 (5.7) | 40.5 (4.7) | 34.9 (1.6) | 26.3 (−3.2) | 17.5 (−8.1) | 11.1 (−11.6) | 24.1 (−4.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | −1.6 (−18.7) | −2.6 (−19.2) | 1.3 (−17.1) | 5.8 (−14.6) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 23.6 (−4.7) | 28.8 (−1.8) | 28.1 (−2.2) | 22.4 (−5.3) | 13.8 (−10.1) | 6.2 (−14.3) | −0.4 (−18.0) | 11.7 (−11.3) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.21 (31) | 1.47 (37) | 2.44 (62) | 4.10 (104) | 3.17 (81) | 2.28 (58) | 5.79 (147) | 5.44 (138) | 2.42 (61) | 2.16 (55) | 2.01 (51) | 1.39 (35) | 33.88 (860) |
| Source: PRISM Climate Group[43] | |||||||||||||
An online soil survey browser
... has safely withstood the assaults of automobiles, until July 17, 1913, when W. W. Brown, a racing driver from Kansas City, drove a machine, termed by himself the "Bear Cat", up the slopes of the Peak, a distance of twenty miles.
This photograph of W. W. Brown was taken on July 17, 1913 as he drove his Model 10 Buick "Bearcat" up Pike's Peak in Colorado. He had raced the car in Winfield, Kansas just 13 days earlier.
To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clickingCoordinates (underLocation); copyLatitude andLongitude figures from top of table; clickZoom to location; clickPrecipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click30-year normals, 1991-2020; click800m; clickRetrieve Time Series button.
The planet's most comprehensive source of information about Pikes Peak
A guide to hiking Pikes Peak from Manitou Springs
including footage from the 1983/1984 climb
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