Pikes Peak breaks driving attendance record again

A summer of change did not discourage many people from driving up to Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, this season.

On Wednesday, officials announced the popular attraction has broken its driving attendance record for the fourth straight year, with more than 527,000 visitors through September.

The increase comes despite the closing of the Cog Railway, construction of a new summit house on the peak and the use of shuttle buses to ease traffic congestion.

It’s unclear whether overall attendance, however, is down this year without the railway’s estimated 300,000 annual passengers.

Last year’s driving attendance was just under 500,000.

“We anticipated an increase of visitors this year due to both steady growth the last few years, plus the closure of the railway,” said Jack Glavan, manager of the Pikes Peak Highway. “People seemed to enjoy the shuttle service. We may continue it to some extent after the new summit house opens in 2020.”

The shuttle service, except for during the next two weekends, has ended until next spring.

“Because of flexibility and levels of attendance at different times, we also were able to allow more people to drive to the peak than we expected,” Glavan said.

On Wednesday, some visitors waited in long lines at the gate even though it was an off-peak-season weekday.

“It’s my first time ever to Pikes Peak,” said Mike Burnett, from Tennessee. “Very excited. Flew all day, drove all night. Couldn’t wait to get here. Did I expect this? No, I did not. We were hoping to get in and out of here pretty quick.”

A Massachusetts traveler, David Binns, agreed.

“We’ve covered a lot of parks around the country, and it does get a little frustrating when there’s a lot of traffic,” he said. “I get impatient driving.”

Glavan said he’s not worried about Pikes Peak being overrun with visitors and causing concerns, as has happened at Garden of the Gods and Rocky Mountain National Park.

“We have a bigger staff now and when people come here, they go in different directions and not always to the Peak,” he said. “We’ve done research and feel we can handle another 200,000 visitors comfortably.”

Rocky Mountain National Park had 4.4 million visitors last year, while Garden of the Gods — with free admission — is believed to have drawn nearly 6 million.

On Friday, officials expect to release this year’s attendance figure for Garden of the Gods.

David Bates, a visitor from Alabama, said he’s not worried about parks and attractions losing the qualities that made them popular.

“Today was the first time I drove up to Pikes Peak myself,” he said. “I took the Cog Railway before. It didn’t seem too crowded. When you’re on vacation, you have to put up with things. Time doesn’t really matter.”

Susan Bogus, a California visitor, agreed.

“We’re used to crowds in California,” she said. “It’s really a turn-off. It doesn’t make an attraction very inviting. But we went to Garden of the Gods in the evening and to Pikes Peak this morning, so it worked out great for us.”

In a related matter, Glavan said construction of the new summit house is proceeding well.

“We’re still in the excavating and blasting stages,” he said. “We hope to pour concrete soon and finish the foundation before work stops for the winter.”

To read the previous story, click here.