Description: The famed Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Rage of the Rocky Mountains, situated approximately 10 miles west of Colorado Springs. Originally known as “El Capitan” by Spanish settlers, the pike got its current name from the explorer Zebulon Pike, Jr., who explored the area in 1806. Today the peak stands 14,115 ft. above sea level, and is one of Colorado’s 54 “Fourteeners” - mountains standing above 14,000 feet above sea level. The peak of this National Historic Landmark stands 8,000 feet above the city, and can be reached by a variety of routes. Visitors can take the Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway, an old-fashioned cog railroad from Manitou Springs, can negotiate the turnbacks and steep cliffs of the Pikes Peak Highway, or can hike up popular trails like Barr Trail, approaching the peak from the east.
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