Manitou Incline (Manitou Springs, Colorado)

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The Manitou Incline, a unique and popular "rail trail".

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www.manitouincline.net

Previously, this was the route of the Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway, a famous funicular. It operated as a tourist attraction (mainly as a side attraction to the Cog Railway) until part of the track was destroyed by a rock slide in 1990. The route was subsequently taken over by hikers, who quickly established the Incline as one of the most popular "trails" in Colorado, despite (until recently) being officially off-limits to the public.

Gaining 2000 vertical feet in its dead-straight one mile length, and studded with thousands of wooden railroad ties (left in place to control erosion when the rails were removed), the Incline is more like a giant staircase than an actual trail. The average grade is 41%, and it reaches 68% at its steepest point.

A study commissioned by the cities of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs estimates that the Incline is climbed between 350,000 and 500,000 times per year. Ironically, this means the Incline is considerably more popular as a trail than as a funicular, as its ridership in its final year of operation was only 45,000.

In addition to recreational hiking, the Incline is also frequently used for endurance training by soldiers from Fort Carson, as well as Olympic athletes from the USOC Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Despite the popularity of the trail (and its importance to both national security and national Olympic glory), it was technically illegal to hike it until Feb. 1, 2013, when it was officially opened to the public. To make this possible required the Cog Railway (which owned the Incline when it was a funicular) to relinquish its right of way, which, due to a legal technicality resulting from the terms of a law enacted in 1875, required an act of Congress to authorize. The bill to do this, H.R. 4073, was introduced by Representative Doug Lamborn on Feb. 17, 2012, passed both houses of Congress, and was signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 10, 2013.

Mentioned as a contributing resource in the NRHP listing for the Manitou Springs Historic District "multiple resource area".

History:

The Incline was originally built in 1903-04 by the Pikes Peak Hydro-Electric Company to haul material and equipment used to build the penstock for the Manitou Hydroelectric Plant. It was re-built to carry passengers in 1907-08, by a group of investors including Charles W. Stiff, Frank M. Fishback, Charles Luther McKesson, and Newton N. Brumback. Charles McKesson's son Claude Leon McKesson designed the new funicular.

In 1923 the Incline was purchased by Cripple Creek gold mining magnate and Broadmoor Hotel owner Spencer Penrose. He would later acquire the Cog Railway as well in 1925, ending the competition between the two attractions.

The funicular's final season of operation was in 1989.

Another funicular, located lower down on Ruxton Avenue, and called the "Red Mountain Incline", competed with the Incline and the Cog Railway in the 1910s and 20s: wikimapia.org/1161859

Site development and management plan: www.manitouspringsgov.com/library/documents/general/inc...

Historic photo:

cdm15981.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15981co...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_Incline
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   38°51'27"N   104°56'23"W

Comments

  • It was quite the ride. Two cars and one cable. I remember riding it in 1960. It was cold at the top. Not as exciting as the Cog Railway, but a good ride none-the-less.
  • It takes about an hour for first-time hikers to climb it (assuming you're already in good shape). I recently climbed it in 66 minutes including a few breaks.
This article was last modified 12 years ago