Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway

OK, Jake is a glutton for punishment. Today he allowed his hiking buddy to talk him into another hiking excursion. This hike was decidedly not a pleasant walk in the woods like yesterday's hike up Mount Cutler. Today's hike was up the Mount Manitou Incline Railway. The Incline was originally built in 1906 to move pipe sections up the side of Rocky Mountain. (Mount Manitou is actually the next peak to the northwest.) In 1925, the incline began to haul tourists up the mountain. In 1990 a rock and mud slide damaged about 500' feet of the tracks and the owners decided that the danger was too great to re-open, and shut it down permanently. Local folks decided, hey, lets just use the old incline as a hiking trail. Sort of a demented stair climbing machine. This incline is approximately 1 mile long and climbs 2000 feet in elevation. The incline offers an excellent work out and some great scenery. This hike is not for the faint of heart though. Especially for older gentlemen from places much closer to sea level. On the way back down the the mountain, Jake hiked along the Barr Camp Trail which is several miles longer, but is a much more gentle hike. The Barr Camp Trail can also be taken all the way to the top of Pike's Peak.

Click here to see Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway on the map of places we've been.

Other Colorado Springs Attractions

• Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway (Colorado Springs)
• Garden Of The Gods (Colorado Springs)
  
• Manitou Springs (Manitou Springs)
  
• Mount Cutler Hiking Trail (Colorado Springs)
• Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs)
• Ghost Town Museum (Colorado Springs)
  
• Helen Hunt Falls (Colorado Springs)
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs)