Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Manitou Springs
Pikes Peak
( 719-385-7325;
www.springsgov.com
;
highway per adult/child $12/5; 7:30am-8pm Jun-Aug, 7:30am-5pm Sep,
9am-3pm Oct-May; )
Pikes Peak (14,110ft) may not be the tallest of Colorado's 54 14ers,
but it's certainly the most famous . The Ute originally called it the Mountain of the Sun,
an apt description for this majestic peak, which crowns the southern Front Range. Rising
7400ft straight up from the plains, over half a million visitors climb it every year.
Its location as the easternmost 14er has contributed heavily to its place in American
myth. Zebulon Pike first made note of it in 1806 (he called it 'Grand Peak' but never
made it to the top) when exploring the Louisiana Purchase, and Katherine Bates, a guest
lecturer at Colorado College in 1893, wrote the original draft of
America the Beautiful
after reaching the summit.
Today there are three ways to ascend the peak: the Pikes Peak Hwy (about a five hour
round-trip), which was built in 1915 by Spencer Penrose and winds 19 miles to the top
from Hwy 24 west of town; the cog railway (
Click here
)
; and on foot via the Barr Trail
(
Click here
)
.
MOUNTAIN
Manitou Cliff Dwellings
( 800-354-9971;
www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com
; 10 Cliff Dwellings Rd; adult/child 7-11yr $9.50/7.50;
9am-6pm May-Sep, shorter hours Oct-Apr; )
This set of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings
were grooved into the red-rock hills just east of Manitou Springs off Hwy 24. You'll see
the adobe facades and get a feel for the cool cave interiors with their grain-storage turrets
and beamed ceilings in what is a string of half-a-dozen multiple family homes. Talk about
an efficient use of space!
The museum has a terrific pottery display downstairs and interesting video displays
throughout, including inside the bathroom. It's not Mesa Verde, but it'll do if you can't
make it to the Four Corners.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Cave of the Winds
CAVE
