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Pikes Peak Highway: Guided Scenic Tour with Summit House

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/9

Duration4h

GroupUp to 11

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Riding up Pikes Peak Highway with stops for wild views snacks and summit stories

You’ll wind up Pikes Peak Highway with a local guide who knows every curve and story along the way. Expect plenty of stops for photos and wildlife spotting, plus time at Summit House for fresh doughnuts and huge views. The pace is relaxed—snacks included—and there’s always room to pause or laugh at a Bigfoot joke before heading higher.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stop at points of interest
Photo with Bigfoot sign
Drive over Crystal Creek Reservoir dam
Visit Glen Cove Inn and view mountain
Pass Devil's Playground rock formation
Stop at Bottomless Pit cliff viewpoint
Explore Summit House and take photos

The Experience

We started winding up the Pikes Peak Highway just after a light drizzle—enough to make the air smell sharp and earthy. Our guide, Mark (he’s lived in Colorado Springs forever), kept pointing out things I’d never have noticed: a hawk circling above the reservoir, patches of snow still clinging to shadowy corners in July. He handed around snacks—somehow trail mix tastes better when you’re watching clouds drift below you. I kept craning my neck at every turn, trying to spot that first full view of the mountain across Crystal Creek Reservoir. It’s bigger than it looks in photos, you know?

Mark told us to watch for Bigfoot near one of the stops—there’s actually a sign about it, which made everyone laugh (especially when he offered to take our “Bigfoot sighting” photo). The van felt roomy enough that nobody was elbowing for space, which I appreciated more than I thought I would on a four-hour tour. We stopped at Glen Cove Inn—a ski lodge turned rest area—and I swear the coffee there tasted somehow stronger at altitude. There were little plaques about local wildlife; I read about pikas while my partner tried to spot marmots out by the brake check station.

The last stretch got steep and twisty—Devil’s Playground is a weird name until you see those rocks all jumbled like someone dropped them from above. At one point Mark just let us sit quietly as we looked out over the Bottomless Pit (it’s not bottomless but it does make your stomach drop). The wind up top was colder than expected; my ears stung for a minute before we ducked into Summit House. Those high-altitude doughnuts? Still warm, almost cake-like inside—I ate two without thinking. You can see clear into Kansas if it’s not hazy. I still think about how small everything looked from 14,115 feet up.

What’s included

Your day includes comfortable van transport with pickup points nearby public transit if needed, all highway tolls and reservation fees covered upfront, plus complimentary snacks and drinks along every stop—from Crystal Creek Reservoir to Summit House—so you can focus on mountain views instead of logistics before heading back down together.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditions

Operated by Rocky Mountain Ride