Public Meetings about Manitou Incline
Hiking the Manitou Incline has continued to grow more popular even though it’s illegal. The U.S. Forest Service has estimated that 70,000 people use the Incline annually.
This Thursday evening, June 24th, there will be a meeting to get public input on the Manitou Incline. It will be held at Manitou Springs City Hall, 606 Manitou Avenue, from 7 to 9 PM. Manitou Springs also has a project page with more information and maps of the Manitou Incline.
The following additional public meetings will be hosted in July at Manitou Springs City Hall.
- July 13th – Traffic and Parking Focus Area Session, 6 – 9 p.m.
- July 14th – Trails and Trailhead Focus Area Session, 6 – 9 p.m.
- July 15th – Management and Operations Focus Area Session, 6 – 9 p.m.
The planning process is funded by Great Outdoors Colorado and the Hill Family Foundation. The final plan will be presented to the Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs City Councils in February 2011.
For more information, please contact Aimee Cox at 719-385-6532 or aicox@springsgov.com.
THE INCLINE IS PRIVATE PROPERTY AND POSTED NO TRESPASSING. PUBLIC ACCESS ON THE INCLINE IS NOT ALLOWED. TRESPASSING ON THE INCLINE IS ILLEGAL.
Man Injured on Incline Brought Down by Search and Rescue
56 year old Paul Cohen is reported to have tripped and fallen on the Incline today. He impaled his leg on rebar and was seriously bleeding. Rebar has been used by underground volunteers to help keep ties in place.
Cohen fell soon after noon. El Paso County Search and Rescue took him down Barr Trail in a litter. He was then taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Read the Gazette article here.
UpaDowna Incline Happy Hour
Incline Happy Hour from Alpine Studio LLC on Vimeo.
Although hiking the Manitou Incline is still illegal, it hasn’t stopped a group of beer and outdoor lovers from meeting every Thursday evening to hike it. It’s the informal UpaDowna Incline Happy group.
There’s no set start time although some meet at the No Trespassing sign at 5 PM. At an average pace, the sign is 6-7 minutes from the parking lot. The goal is to be at the top around 6 PM and then meet around 7 back down at Kinfolks. Some people carry a PBR up for a celebratory drink at the top.
The gathering was started by the guys from the UpaDowna outdoor blog. UpaDowna is short for Up a Mountain, Down a Beer. They also have a Facebook page.
Brush Fires Near Manitou Incline
Yesterday winds up to 70 mph caused problems in the area near the Manitou Incline. There were 8 small fires down near the Pikes Peak Cog Railway from a blown transformer and powerlines blown down. About one acre burned without any major damage.
KKTV has a few more details.
Barr Trail Parking Lot to be Closed
The Barr Trail parking lot is scheduled to be closed Monday and Tuesday, May 24th and 25th for paving. Hopefully they’re also paving Hydra and getting it fixed up.
Update: Turns out they were paving just Hydra and not the parking lot.
1960s? Postcard
I found this postcard of the Manitou Incline cable car a little below the top. In it you can see the pulleys in the center of the tracks for the cables. Click for a larger image to see the pulleys better.
On the back the text says, “The thrilling mile and a quarter ride on the Mt. Manitou Incline affords passengers with superb panoramic views: Manitou Springs nestled in the valley below, Garden of the Gods, and an unending expanse of the Great Plains.”
It doesn’t have any date on it. My initial thought was that it was from the 70s because of the color and the way the guy is dressed. Then I noticed that the US Highway 24 Bypass wasn’t build yet. It was built in the late 1960s so the photo has to at least before that.
Web Cams
The Incline from the Incline Base Camp.
Web cam of the Pikes Peak Cog Railyard. The Barr Trailhead parking is hidden up the hill along the right near where the corner of the cog station building sticks out. Web cam may not update during cog construction
Manitou Incline Access
The Manitou Incline crosses land owned by the City of Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the Forest Service. For liablity reasons and because of parking issues, the Pikes Peak Cog has tried keeping people off the Manitou Incline. It hasn’t worked and thousands of people hike up it.
For more than a decade there have been several talks to make hiking the Incline legal. So far all of them have fallen through. Currently nearly $100k is being spent to study how to make it safe and to deal with the parking issues. Manitou Springs has an information page on the ongoing meetings.
Trailhead
The bottom of the Incline is behind the upper Pikes Peak Cog Railway parking lot on Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs. There’s a trail that drops down by the electric substation from the Barr parking lot and then over to the Incline bottom.
From the free shuttle drop off and Iron Springs Chateau, you can cut up through the Cog Railway parking lot to get to the bottom of the Incline. Just past the townhomes on the right, there’s a steep drive and a sign that says future Incline trailhead (click photo to get larger view). Walk up there and go to the back of the parking lot.
The 2 places to for parking are at the Hiawatha Parking Lot near Memorial Park and taking the free shuttle or parking at the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama. The Hiawatha is by the hour and the hourly rate increases the longer you’re parked. See the Manitou Springs Incline parking page for rates. Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama is $15 for fours of parking. The parking on Ruxton is only for residents with parking permits.
About
ManitouIncline.com is where you can find information about the Manitou Incline.
