The new stop at the top is really well done. A big upgrade from the previous building. Ride is pleasant. Wish we got a little more history and info. Do not eat the donuts read more

Loved the experience. From the train depot , the train itself, the mountain top experience, it is worth the trip. The train is clean and very comfortable ride to the top. The conductor was infomative with a good sense of humor. Highly recommend! read more

Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Train Stations Near Me - Manitou Springs, Colorado

It is hard to justify paying 80$ to ride a train 70 minutes each way when the 40 minutes you spend at the top are trying to move or the bathroom. The atmosphere change can be HARD on someone.. please be careful.. read the disclaimer. The view is amazing but be careful read more

Our conductor, David, was phenomenal -- engaging, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about what he does. And luckily, our engineer Seth was just as capable, because within the first 7 minutes of the ride, we actually got stuck. He had to stop, fix something, and flip a switch. It delayed us about 10 minutes, but honestly, no big deal -- we were sitting on a beautiful train surrounded by stunning scenery. The real bummer was that we couldn't go all the way to the top because of high winds. They gave us the option of getting off for a full refund or continuing the ride at 30% off, and my daughter and I chose to stay. It was still gorgeous, and there's no way I would've driven up there myself -- plus I'm not coming back for another year, so we made the best of it. Yes, we were a little sad to miss out on the "legendary" hot chocolate and donuts at the summit, but we came prepared. We brought warm jackets and gloves, and we knew that even if we had reached the top, the key was to take it easy -- not run around and end up with altitude sickness. (Our Airbnb host warned us that a surprising number of guests end up in the ER because they underestimate the altitude. Good tip to keep in mind!) The ride itself was absolutely beautiful. The scenery is breathtaking, and we learned so much from David's narration. Even at 30% off and not going to the summit, it was 100% worth it. A few practical tips: * Use the restroom before boarding -- there's no bathroom on the train. * Don't stress too much about missing the summit snacks. We chatted with someone who's been before and said the famous donuts are now machine-made and not what they used to be. We happily grabbed fresh beignets back in town instead. * Unless you're super confident driving steep switchbacks and downshifting correctly, I'd skip driving. The train is much more enjoyable (and you won't burn through your brakes). Even though we didn't get to the top, it was a wonderful experience and a fantastic way to see the mountain without the stress of driving. I'd highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area! read more

A very fun experience that was highly recommended by our friends in the area. We were able to reserve seats ahead of time and arrived just on time for our train. I appreciated all of the dad jokes and humor from the tour guide on the way up. We were able to see marmots, deer, and a couple of bears. The view from the top was spectacular and the snacks were decent. It felt like we were a little bit rushed with the timing at the top before we had to come back down, but it was still a great experience that's kid friendly and very scenic. read more

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Ok, this review relates to May timeframe. We rode the Cog Railway late May, and it wasn't entirely the Cog's fault, but our scheduled trip was canceled three times on us requiring several reschedules. Thankfully, we were in CO springs and able to make it work, but it was pretty last minute notifications. There are no refund options, and you just get a credit to come back within a year. It's so expensive at nearly $70 a person, and it's pretty wild to me with how much they have to cancel that you cannot just get a refund. I would recommend NOT purchasing in advance so that when you actually are in town you can make sure the weather is good. When you have to reschedule, you lose the good seats you specifically chose a time/ date for and are given whatever is available (near the back probably; extra seats on a different Cog). It created a fair amount of stress for us trying to be sure we got to do this. Our actual experience was fun enough. I don't regret getting to see my first 14er at the summit! It was fun to make snowballs, look down at the world, and explore at the summit! 45 min is plenty of time if you don't need to get a donut or what have you up there and just walk all about. The drive looked terrifying, so I'm sure glad we didn't do that! In short- go, maybe, but don't pre book your tickets so you're not out the money if the weather is flaky. And the weather is often going to be flakey at 14k feet at the summit! It was beautiful one of the times they canceled at the base, but snow from the previous day was impeding the cog. I felt like this experience was a bit overhyped! read more

Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Train Stations Near Me - Manitou Springs, Colorado

A rushed, overpriced, and underwhelming experience in July 2025 We booked the 2:00 PM Cog Railway ride ($67.99 per person) expecting a relaxing, scenic experience up Pikes Peak. While the train itself was fine, the overall logistics, lack of communication, and stress made it a major disappointment -- especially for families. Parking Confusion You're directed to an off-site parking lot in a sketchy part of town with no mention that paid parking is available right near the train station. The lot feels unsafe, and you're given strict instructions: * Arrive between 12:00 PM and 1:10 PM * Last shuttle leaves at 1:10 PM * You must leave the parking lot before 6:00 PM or your car is locked in overnight. Imagine having kids with you and missing the return shuttle or train. You'd be stranded with your car locked up and no backup plan. That anxiety killed the mood before we even boarded. Shuttle + Station The free shuttle was actually enjoyable -- kind of like a mini guided tour to the station. But once you arrive: * You're told there are no restrooms on the train * You only have 20 minutes before departure * There's no real food at the station -- just a small gift shop with jerky, chips, chocolate, and nuts So either eat before or bring your own food and drinks, especially if you're with kids. On the Train * The best seats are on the 3-seat side -- you get all the views. * The 2-seat side offers basically nothing but trees and a plastic flamingo. * Even on the 3-seat side, there's not much to see for the first 40-45 minutes. Only the last 25-30 minutes offer decent mountain and lake views. * The summit is the only real highlight. At the Summit (14,115 ft) * You're given only 45 minutes at the summit for everything: photos, gift shop, restrooms, and eating. * If you're not back by the 45th minute, they will leave without you. * It's freezing up there (40-42°F) -- one group even saw snowfall. Bring hoodies or jackets! The cafeteria food was surprisingly good -- we loved the fried donuts, cheese pizza, and broccoli cheddar soup -- but you'll need to rush like crazy to enjoy any of it. We were literally the last to board despite rushing through everything. It's a stressful and chaotic experience. Back Down = More Rushing When you return: * You're told to rush to the return shuttle because the last two buses around 5:00 PM fill quickly. * If you miss those, the next one is 40 minutes later, and again -- the parking lot locks at 6:00 PM. So once again, you're panicking instead of relaxing. Final Verdict: Skip It Despite the scenic views at the summit, this trip felt more like a checklist of warnings than an enjoyable ride. At nearly $70 per person, it's simply not worth the stress. We love scenic trains -- and Georgetown Loop Railroad is still our favorite in Colorado. The Cog Rail was a letdown for both adults and our kids (ages 11 and 15). Overhyped, overpriced, and poorly managed. We do NOT recommend this experience. read more

Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Utter nonsense! We rushed everything to get out by 5:45pm. - Train Stations Near Me - Manitou Springs, Colorado

OMG!! This is a train ride!!.. Ryan, our conductor, was very informative about what we were seeing as we traveled up the mountain....I appreciated his Humor... He did encourage us to drink plenty of water as you dehydrate quicker with the higher elevation... the view was amazing...& it was cold!!!.. but as long as you breathe deep& slow you won't pass out!.. highly recommend this attraction.. in the winter, it was beautiful with all the snow... will try to get back in the summer for a different perspective... read more

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An amazing the conductor was cracking jokes corny or not views were amazing if your Colorado Springs must go but the Dan at the visitor center were terrible read more

We had a great time riding the cog railway! I would suggest doing the paid parking. GPS will take you right there, the gate man will ask the time of your train and point you where to go. The guys working the paid lot will show you a spot to park and tell you where to pay. The machine is right on the sidewalk to the train station. Very easy to use. Type in your plate number and then we scanned to pay. Easily boarded our train and away we went. The conductor was wonderful! He was funny, engaging, and to the point. You are going up a mountain so you see a few things, and then you see rocks. (Duh, it's a mountain) It is very cold at the top so bring a good jacket and a head toboggan. There isn't tons to do up there which again, you are on top of a rock mountain 14 thousand some feet in the air. You are there for the views, not the side show attractions. LOL The visitors center is nice and clean (& WARM) Bathrooms are in good shape. I would suggest either getting off and getting straight in line for food, or waiting till the line dies down. You miss out on the views by standing in line. They had donuts and pizza by the time we got in line but we ate before hand so no big deal. Donuts were decent and the hot chocolate was great. We were last people in the food line and still had plenty of time to walk around and see the views. It didn't feel rushed to us. Felt like time was going by slow really. Others might have different experiences, but I would suggest everyone do this trip at least once. It's a whole different feeling being that high up and looking down on the world. read more

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What a waste! It was expensive and not very comfortable. The entire experience can be summed up as long train ride up. Half an hour to see the views and eat a donut (which wasn't anything special) followed by a long train ride back down. The views are great but can be had at the top of Rocky Mountain national park. read more

Amazing experience! Felt great outside, saw the most beautiful scenery, learned about the history of the cogway and Pikes peak. Spent just enough time at the visitor center. Overall recommend to anyone ! read more

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Late for our train due to accident. Called train. Went to voicemail every time. made the next one. Front desk said too bad. Only 5 minutes before departure. Asked for a refund. Nope. No refund. Store credit though. Could not make train at 1200 since had to pick up granddaughter at 3 pm. Sorry. Nothing we can do. I understand that they did nothing wrong, but when circumstances prevent things a bit of understanding is the best practice. We drove it instead. Much better and only 35.00 plus gas. Drive it. Forget this place. read more

This summer we showed up to ride the cog railway for the first time ever. We've been looking forward to it for quite some time. I had it in my mind that our tickets were for 10:20am. We pulled up to the parking lot at 9:40am and were immediately met by a very cranky older gentleman who was manning the gate. He asked what time our tickets were for. We said 10:20am. He immediately went on a tirade that there was no 10:20am train and started yelling at us and told us to find our tickets and figure out what the right time was. Then approximately 5 seconds later started screaming at us that we were holding up traffic. Im scrambling to find our confirmation email. When I did, I discovered to my horror that our tickets were for 9:20am not 10:20am. And well that just completely set him off. He had the nerve to say to us "we tell you 7 different ways how to get here and what time to get here". I can't even repeat everything he was saying, I was so upset that he was being so rude, on top of the fact I was feeling horrible that I screwed up the time. The situation could have been handled much differently. He made a bad situation 100 times worse. We will never spend another dime there. We lost our $200 - which was 100% my fault obviously - but the way it was handled was inexcusable. read more

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The conductor was very informative and pointed out points of interest. He also spoke about the historical information regarding the area as well as the cog railway. The time at the summit seemed short (45 minutes) but then again we flat landers were not moving very fast at that high altitude. The view was amazing! People who complained in previous reviews probably didn't check their emails or texts. I found the communication by the company excellent. My only complaint is that the train does not turn around for the return trip. So the people who had the spectacular view going up had the same view going down. Since you're not allowed to cross the aisle (with good reason) we were not able to enjoy the view like the people across the aisle. Take note if you decide to do this trip be sure to book seats in the row with 3 seats. read more

loved it ! the conductor was interesting and gave a wonderful narrative and history of pikes peak along the way. Scenery was beautiful and we found it to be well worth the expense. Parking was confusing, we apparently got there too early and although no one was parked we were told to come back in half an hour. We went there early because web site noted to get there early due to limited parking ! We went to Colorado for the Royal Gorge Train ride and were very disappointed, this made our trip worthwhile. read more

The actual railway is awesome. It's a great experience and the conductor is fantastic. I would give the conductor 5 stars if that were separate, but the problems are significant. Our total time on the peak was less than 40 minutes and it was already seemed rushed when it was listed as an hour. Even worse though, there was a little rain, and it apparently only takes a little rain to shut down the shuttle. We had to walk 2 miles to our car because no shuttles were running anymore and no one even told us they stopped. We had to look online why it never came. Completely unacceptable. read more