Pike’s Peak, CO

Pike’s Peak was another must-see on our list for the Colorado Springs area. We rented a mini van from the airport since we needed transportation during our vacation and with 4 boys, we have found that it fits us and our luggage best. When visiting Pike’s Peak, you have the choice of driving up or taking a train up. It was much more cost effective for our family to drive up (at around $70 for our family) than taking the cog railway up for around $80 per person. Driving up also allowed us to stop for pictures and snacks on the way up: we wanted to acclimate to the elevation to make being at the summit easier.

Pike’s Peak is 14,115 above sea level, so while you might get used to Colorado Springs’ elevation of 6000 feet pretty easily, you definitely can feel the elevation when you arrive at the summit. It is 20 to 30 degrees cooler up there, the weather changes quickly (we had hail, rain and snow in the space of 30 minutes after seeing sunny skies) and your breathing can feel labored quickly.

The scenery is amazing, the drive is somewhat harrowing as there are cliffs right by the road as you drive up and not many safeguards. We took our time driving up and down, letting cars in a hurry pass us by. We saw many marmots on the way up, a wild goat at the summit and enjoyed the patches of snow. Living in the south, we get pretty excited when we see snow!

We ate lunch at the summit in the restaurant: the Mac and cheese with bbq meat was delicious. It actually felt better outdoors than indoors: we thought that they should pump in oxygen indoors: you feel like your breathing in more oppressed (by the way, the oxygen levels at that elevation are 60% of what we are used to).

You can feel lightheaded or nauseated with the elevation so it is important to take it easy! Some people actually hike up to the summit, but it is an all day affair and you need to be in great shape and acclimated to the elevation.

At the mid point down, there is a brake check as car brakes tend to overheat: ours did and we had to wait 20 minutes for them to cool down.

Fog came in as we traveled down (it is about a 13 minutes drive taking about 45 minutes) which made for some pretty views, but slow driving. Unlike the Rocky Mountains National Park, this is pretty much a drive straight up (and back down) with lots of curves, so coming back down you really pay attention to your driving and your brakes.

Colorado sure is beautiful!

A bientôt!

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