Driving to Pikes Peak Summit: Colorado’s Famous Mountain Road

Driving Above the Treeline on Pikes Peak

High on Pikes Peak Highway, forests disappear and the road enters the exposed alpine landscape on its way to the 14,115-foot summit.

Bighorn Sheep Beside Pikes Peak Highway

A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep beside Pikes Peak Highway, one of the memorable wildlife encounters possible on the drive to the summit.

Pikes Peak Summit at 14,115 Feet

The summit sign marks 14,115 feet at the top of Pikes Peak, one of Colorado's best-known fourteeners and the destination of the Pikes Peak Highway.

Pike National Forest Marker on Pikes Peak

A U.S. Forest Service marker embedded in the granite near the summit of Pikes Peak in Pike National Forest.

Panoramic View from Pikes Peak

The vast views from Pikes Peak famously inspired Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 as she began writing the poem that became America the Beautiful.

Rocky Slopes Below Pikes Peak Summit

Looking down across the steep, rocky alpine terrain surrounding the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak.

Zebulon Pike Memorial at Pikes Peak Summit

The summit memorial honors Zebulon Pike, who attempted to climb the mountain in 1806 but never reached the top. The first recorded ascent came in 1820 with Edwin James's expedition.

Historic Pikes Peak Summit House Ruins

These stone remains recall the summit's early weather station era. The U.S. Army Signal Service built the first structure on Pikes Peak in 1873 to observe weather from more than 14,000 feet.

Mountain Reservoir Below Pikes Peak

A high-altitude reservoir lies among the forested ridges below Pikes Peak. The mountain's North Slope is home to Crystal, North Catamount and South Catamount reservoirs.

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