Skip to content
Manitou Incline, Manitou Springs, CO

Photo: Ixbrian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure

Manitou Incline

Climb 2,768 steep steps up a former cable railway bed, gaining about 2,000 feet of elevation in under a mile.

Top of Ruxton Ave · Manitou Springs, CO

About Manitou Incline

The Incline follows the bed of a funicular railway built in 1907, whose track was damaged by a rock slide in 1990. Today it is a climb of 2,768 steps that gains about 2,000 feet in less than a mile, at an average grade of 45 percent. Hiking is free with an online reservation and a signed waiver, and you come down by Barr Trail or the Northern Return Trail, not the steps. Pets are not allowed, and a free shuttle runs to the base from Hiawatha Gardens parking.

  • #hiking
  • #stair climb
  • #fitness challenge
  • #pikes peak region

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Manitou Incline, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing

    The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway

    $50+

    A cog railway that climbs Pikes Peak to a summit at 14,115 feet, reported as the world's highest cog railway.

    Right next doorSwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum

    Under $25

    Walk through relocated Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and browse Native American artifact exhibits near Pikes Peak.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Manitou Springs

    No admission fee

    Historic mineral-spring mountain town near Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, with walkable arts and dining.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Garden of the Gods

    No admission fee

    Towering red sandstone formations rise against Pikes Peak in this free Colorado Springs park.

    3.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Open Road Rentals

    $50+

    Rent motorcycles, scooters, and adventure bikes near Garden of the Gods for self-guided rides.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    3.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Pikes Peak - America's Mountain

    Under $25

    Drive, ride the cog railway, or hike to the 14,115-foot summit that inspired 'America the Beautiful.'

    5.4 mi awayMore like this