In the final hours of our sibling bachelor party weekend for my younger brother we found ourselves in the Manitou Springs area of Colorado after driving through Garden of the Gods National Park. We attempted to drive up Pike’s Peak and were stopped at the main gate due to snow. We decided to see if the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway was running and by golly it was.
Pike’s Peak boasts one of the oldest and highest “cog railways” in the United States. (They are, it seems, jealous of New Hampshire’s cog train.) Riders can buy a relatively expensive ticket ($37) at the depot whilst enjoying some delicious roasted nuts and hot chocolate. (I say hot chocolate because the coffee was terrible and cold. Boo.)
Big Horn Sheep, Yellow Bellied Marmots, Deer, Elk, and Bears live on Pike’s Peak and can be seen on the ride unless it is snowing! As an alternative riders can relax and watch the beautiful rocky scenery go by as they are climbing/chugging/cogging up to 14,115 feet above sea level. One will see gorgeous pine trees, waterfalls, aspen trees, and eventually a blank wild land too high to sustain much vegetation. (I was slightly worried when I read the sign that said not to ride the train if you were pregnant, prone to heart disease, had difficulty breathing, etc etc etc. I was worried I might not do well in the altitude but I felt great the entire time.)
The ride was about three hours with a thirty minute stop along the way. Bring your jacket, gloves, and hat because the train is not heated and many of the passengers choose to open the windows for better photo taking. Please remember to be a kind human and shut said window if your seat mates are getting hammered by the snow coming in through your window. (Thank you!)
Have you ever taken an interesting train ride anywhere? Have you ever ridden a cog train?
Pike’s Peak Cog Train Depot
Map in the depot
“All aboard!”
Tickets, hot chocolate, and a window seat!
Ever wondered what a cog looks like in the snow?
We are climbing!
A view from hanging out the window in the snow.
Just your friendly snow plow at aprox 9,000 feet elevation. PacMan is going to eat that snow for dinner.
Still climbing
Snowing and cold but we were able to de-train (is that a word?) and walk around before heading back down the mountain.
Cold Feet
Bulldog Travels / Photos By Jenny 
We are planning to ride the Jacobite train in Scotland in june… a part from that, I’ve never been part of an interesting train journey
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There is a Jacobite train? Is the Conductor Bonny Prince Charlie? How cool! Enjoy the trip. I can’t wait to see photos from your trip.
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haha, I don’t know !! The route is the same as the one featured in HP so I’m really looking forwards the trip !! I’ll try to take a lot of pictures 😀
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Have a great time! Thanks for sharing and commenting.
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Great photos. I’ve driven to the top but I have never taken the Cog railway. 🙂
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The train was a fun way to see it for sure. And it was fun to see it in the snow.
I think it would be fun to drive to the top in one of their pikes peak rally races!
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How neat that the train was running. If the road wasn’t closed you never would have had the experience. I drove up multiple times but never took the train. Thanks for shivering your way through the day so we could see it through your eyes.
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Wait! What’s a cog train? The difference between a regular train? 😀 Awesome snow pics, including Pacman of course. 😀
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“Rack railway” on @Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_railway?wprov=sfti1
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It climbs up the track on a cog instead of regular train wheels. It is the only means to get it up and down at such an extreme angle.
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I don’t think I have ever been on a cog train before. Looks like a fun ride – but no heating..brrrr!! 🙂
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I’ve never heard of a cog train! sounds neat! The most interesting train ride (though it was short) I’ve ever done was in Australia. It was the steepest railway in the world!
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No way? And it wasn’t a cog train? The lady at pikes peak said cog trains were the only kind of trains that could handle any kind of a grade. Fun for you!
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I looked it up agaim online and it says nothing about cog. Huh…
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Engine is pretty against the snow. M’lady and I took some visitors on that cog rail early- mid-October one year. At the top the wind was blowing REAL hard and it was freeeeezing! Lovely!!
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Oh boy! Thankfully there was no wind for us.
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We drove there some years ago. I’d love to ride the train. Great post! 🙂
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Was pikes peak onpen in July 2115
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I don’t know. It was open when we were there in May at least partially. The road stopped at the gate due to snow. But the train went to the top. I don’t know about later in that year.
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