Cog Train Up to Pikes Peak (Pueblo, Boulder: live, car, park)

[Maynerd]

Originally Posted by Coloradohh

Thank you all for the great replies! I think i am going to do it...I am not to worried about the older one who is 6, Im just worried about the little guy, he is 3... I guess once im there i will decide but i think i am going to go to Garden of the Gods for sure...This should be exciting... Thank you all for your replies...

I don't think you need to worry about the little guy. A 3-year old can tell you if he's in a little distress due to the altitude. I would caution against an infant, but toddlers are fine.

[Plus, he'll love the donuts!]

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Yeah, they could like fall 14,000 feet down the mountain and go boom, huh?

You cannot fall down and go boom. There are 2 big springs at the bottom to cushion a fall; Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs.

[McGowdog]

BOIYOIYOIYOING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

You cannot fall down and go boom. There are 2 big springs at the bottom to cushion a fall; Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

BOIYOIYOIYOING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, I've waited years to use that line, thanks for the applause. In fact, I got that line from Mel, the conductor on many cog trains. He's a local railfan and published author on RR history. He's narrates the whole way up the line.

[Coloradohh]

Thank you all for the replies... LOL @ the falling jokes those were great!... Happy in WY thank you for the link on the North Pole Santa Park\ kiddie land thing...

Mike question for you or anyone else for that matter..... Lets say i take the 1st train ride up to the peak... after about 40mins they say were leaving! (cog train that is) and i miss it... what happens? do i now have to pay for a 1way pass down hill... can i catch the next train free? after seeing the Santa park at the peak, i know for sure i am going to need more than 40-60mins heck with my bratty kids i will need 1 1/2 hrs minimum just to get the edge off... how does this work.. Its almost looking like driving up is the better option...

Finally no one answered this = how many cars roll off to their doom on a yearly average...

[Fullback32]

Originally Posted by Coloradohh

Finally no one answered this = how many cars roll off to their doom on a yearly average...

Funny about that. I should have added a disclaimer to my experience of driving up the Peak. I called it "white-knuckle terror". The reason I said that was not so much that the drive itself is all that scary. What's scary is when you are driving up and coming down the other side of the road is some bozo in an RV the size of an aircraft carrier taking up both sides of the road and one of the passing areas is just beyond him and you are wondering where the heck you are supposed to go. So you get as close to the edge as you dare (not a lot of guard rails ya know) and hope that you don't get pushed over. Then of course you have the idiot kid behind you acting like he is doing the Pike's Peak Hill Climb race in a Honda Civic with a coffee can muffler and erector set spoiler trying to pass you not realizing the USS Ronald Reagan is coming down the other "lane". This is what creates the terror.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Coloradohh

... question for you or anyone else for that matter..... Lets say i take the 1st train ride up to the peak... after about 40mins they say were leaving! (cog train that is) and i miss it... what happens? do i now have to pay for a 1way pass down hill... can i catch the next train free? after seeing the Santa park at the peak, i know for sure i am going to need more than 40-60mins heck with my bratty kids i will need 1 1/2 hrs minimum just to get the edge off... how does this work.. Its almost looking like driving up is the better option...

Finally no one answered this = how many cars roll off to their doom on a yearly average...

I've heard of very few cars going over the edge....never have seen any plumes of smoke from burning wreckage...

I'm sure if you miss a train, and there's space available on the next one, that they'll let you ride down, but don't know for SURE. In the summer season, some trains are sold out and you'd be out of luck. I'd suspect some nice folks would let you ride down in their cars, though any noisy youths might have to be strapped to the roof rack - a thrill ride, like Six Flags....

[treedonkey]

I think you could book for a later train as well.

[Happy in Wyoming]

I think we need to have misconception -clearing-up-time.

First: you won't miss the return train. Santa Claus (North Pole) is not at the summit. It is at the base, the bottom, of the auto road, which is in Cascade, a few miles west of Manitou. I suppose you could miss all of the trains if all of you fell into a deep sleep. But even then, there's nothing to worry about. Just look for the sign that says "Barr Trail". It will take you right back to Manitou near the Cog Depot. And it's all down hill. Seriously, some people ride to the top and then hike back down. I've never done it, but I certainly wouldn't dread the prospect. It would most definitely not be a trip for small children, though.

Second: it is highly unlikely that you will roll off the mountain to your death. I'm sure that you could figure out a way, but you'd probably just end up with a broken leg.

Third: Some people are terrified of mountain roads. I don't know why. If you can drive on a curve and go up and down a hill, you've already done everything you need to do. Some people drive faster than others. If you're one of the slow ones, let the cars behind you go by. If you're one of the faster drivers, you already know that they don't pull over.

The Pikes Peak Auto Road is neither difficult nor dangerous. A decent driver with a normal car will have no difficulty. Accidents are rare.

Fourth: Enjoy your trip!

[bande1102]

I just did the Cog railway Friday (May 1). Loved it and it is entirely worth it. I'll preface this by saying that I'm just visiting from East Coast (and loving it!)

Cog Railway is in Manitou Springs which is a fabulous little town. Unfortunately, they were doing construction at the intersection near Ruxton, where you'd turn to get to the depot and we missed the turn. We ended up on our way up Pike's Peak. All I have to say, is that our rental minivan was not the best choice to head up that road. We eventually turned around and headed back down. But, seriously, I'm not sure that minivan had the power to get up some of those roads. If you're planning to drive up Pike's Peak, definitely get something with a little power.

Once we turned around, we figured it would be a piece of cake to get back on Ruxton and make it to our Cog. And it would've been. Except for the fact that a tour bus had literally bottomed out on the road and completely blocked the entrance to the depot--right in front of us. I have no idea how the tour bus did it, but it's bottom was clearly stuck on the road and it wasn't moving. At this point, I'd like to point how how incredibly narrow and steep the roads are. We had a car line behind us, the tour bus in front of us and absolutely no way to turn around. Our only choice was to shimmy past the back end of the bus to get around it.

And here's the reason why I am enjoying Colorado so much.....the people in the car line behind us get out and start helping us negotiate our van around the bus--shouting out how many inches we had between us and the van, etc (the tour bus drive tried to help, too, but quite frankly we didn't have a whole lot of faith in his ability to negotiate these roads ) My husband was at the wheel and watching the left side, I was hanging out of the right side and the drivers behind us were watching the back end. We eventually made it with only a small smudge on the rental (easily buffed out) and then everyone behind us started cheering. Loved it and we got a great story to take home.

The Cog ride itself is absolutely amazing. We were able to make it all the way to Pike's Peak. I understand that sometimes they can't go all the way to the top because of the snow. Anyway, there were some toddlers and babies on the train. The toddlers were pretty bored and complained alot. The babies cried most of the time. I can't imagine how uncomfortable this would be for them in the summer when the trains are packed. If you're taking a toddler or baby, I think you need to weigh how much you want to see Pike's Peak vs how uncomfortable they--or the other riders--are going to be. Our youngest child is 10 and he was fine. I don't think I would've taken our kids when they were babies/toddlers.

The views are breathtaking--especially on the three-seat side. By the time we got to the top, we definitely understood what John Denver was talking about in "Rocky Mountain High". Wow. It wasn't really bad or anything, I just felt light-headed. Eating carbs and drinking water helped. In a few minutes, I was comfortable and walking around. At the top, there is another gift shop where you can get food and observation deck.

A little off-topic, but the Cog offers a packed lunch that you can take on the ride. We passed on that and opted to eat lunch at one of the family-owned places in Manitou Springs. Great little shops there and beautiful buildings.