Barr | Peak Hiking

Distance: 25.8 miles (round-trip)
Elevation Gain: 7,400 feet
Trailhead: 6,570 feet
Hiking time: 9-14 hours
Difficulty: Difficult
Season: Best to hike between April October
Hike type: Out and back
Near: Manitou Springs
Direction: From Colorado Springs, take the US 24 W and exit at Manitou Springs. Turn west to Manitou Ave. Turn left on Ruxton Ave. and continue onto Hydro Street until you reach the trail head. You need to know that due to the popularity of this trail parking can be difficult. You can park on Ruxton Ave. below the Cog Railroad Depot, just make sure you don’t use the parking lot for the Cog Railway.

Description: The well-signed trailhead starts with the stairs and then the W’s section begins, which contains the thirteen switchbacks. We started at 5:30 pm, and the trail is visible and easy to follow. The beginning of the trail has a considerable incline so with our backpacks weighing between 10 and 15 lbs it was tough and our legs got a workout. The fifth, seventh and ninth switchbacks are longer and a bit steeper than the others. When you reach the spot where the Manitou Incline meets the trail you can see the pretty glittering city lights to the south while being surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountain. There were plenty of friendly people at this point, hikers, dog walkers and a number of kids running downhill having a ball. Beware however of the bicyclists they seem to appear unexpectedly.

We hiked up further, about a mile, and the switchback led us toward the south side of the mountain where we caught our first peek of the Pikes Peak ridge which was completely covered with snow, just beautiful. It was tempting to add the ridge to a future hike. At this point the sky was darkening so we decide it was time to turn around and hike back down to the parking lot. It was an adventure for Cathy as it was her first time to hike in the dark. It was dark enough that we needed headlamps a flashlight would work too. It was helpful hearing the sounds of other hikers as it let us know that we were still on the established trail and not heading off into the unknown.

Stay tuned for our next story which will be our seven mile hike to Barr camp and back.