Southwest Rises The Summit of Pikes Peak Marker

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Larkspur in Douglas County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Southwest Rises The Summit of Pikes Peak

By Michael Stroud, May 1994

1. Southwest Rises The Summit of Pikes Peak Marker

At an altitude of 14,110 feet above sea level, Pikes Peak is the 31st highest peak out of 54 Colorado peaks.

Inscription. This mountain, 14,110 feet above the sea and the most celebrated peak in America, is named for the explorer, Capt. Zubulon M. Pike, who saw it first in 1806. He attempted to climb it, failed and reported it unclimbable. Ascended in 1820 by Dr. Edwin James, a later explorer. A cog railway reached the summit in 1890 and a highway, in 1915. Motor races up the peak are held annually. The resort city of Colorado Springs, founded 1871, nestles at its foot where the first town called Colorado stood years earlier. The U. S. Air Force Academy rises ten miles north.

Pikes Peak is famed for its history and conspicuous position. Colorado contains more than fifty mountains over 14,000 feet high.

Erected by Colorado Deptartment of Highways.

Location. 39° 13.792′ N, 104° 52.723′ W. Marker is in Larkspur, Colorado, in Douglas County. Marker is on Southbound Rest Area (Interstate 25 at milepost 171), in the median. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Larkspur CO 80118, United States of America.

Also see . . .
1. Pikes Peak, America's Mountain. Information about the most visited mountain in North America. Pikes Peak is the farthest east of the big peaks in the Rocky Mountain chain. (Submitted on January 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

View of Pikes Peak from I-25, just south of Denver Photo, Click for full size

By Michael Stroud, May 1994

2. View of Pikes Peak from I-25, just south of Denver

2. Wikipedia entry for Pikes Peak. The upper portion of Pikes Peak is a federally designated National Historic Landmark. (Submitted on January 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
3. Wikipedia entry for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb Race. Drivers race up the mountain in a famous annual race called the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. (Submitted on January 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

By Michael Stroud, May 1994

3. Pikes Peak

At the Summit Photo, Click for full size

By Michael Stroud, May 1994

4. At the Summit

At the summit on May 31, 1994 it was 27° with lots of snow. At Colorado Springs that day it was 90 degrees.

Pikes Peak Marker on a 1963 Postcard Photo, Click for full size

J. J. Prats Postcard Collection

5. Pikes Peak Marker on a 1963 Postcard

Dexter (West Hyack, N.Y.) -brand postcard published by Sanborn Souvenir Co., Inc., Denver, Colorado. Caption reads “#3633 — Pikes Peak, alt. 14,100 ft. and historical marker on Hwy. 85 – 87 near the south entrance to the U. S. Air Force Academy.”

Credits. This page originally submitted on January 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,150 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Submitted on January 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 5. Submitted on September 10, 2009, by J. J. Prats of Springfield, Virginia. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.
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