Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway

Summit of Pikes Peak – August 25, 2004

The Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway is a cog railroad operating from Manitou Springs to the summit year-round, conditions permitting.

Pikes Peak (originally Pike’s Peak) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At 14,115 feet (4,302 m)[1], it is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners. 

Unlike most other similarly tall mountains in Colorado, it serves as a visible landmark for many miles to the east, far into the Great Plains of Colorado. As one drives south on Interstate 25 towards the city of Colorado Springs, it comes into view from a distance of more than 65 miles (105 km). On a clear day, the peak can be seen from Denver (over 60 miles (97 km) north), points south of Pueblo (up to 76 miles) and from locations east from Limon (85 miles).

Originally the peak was called "Pike’s Peak", but in 1891, the newly formed US Board on Geographic Names recommended against the use of apostrophes in names, so officially the name of the peak does not include an apostrophe.(Wikipedia)

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Gallery: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – August 24, 2004

See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.