Pikes
Peak
Zebulon Pike spotted the peak in November 1806 and tried to climb it, but turned back in deep snow, writing that no one could reach its summit. Fourteen years later, botanist Edwin James did reach the top, on July 15, 1820, during Major Stephen Long's federal survey expedition; Long's own name went to Longs Peak, 100 miles north, while this one kept Pike's. The Ute called the mountain Tava, or "sun," and identified themselves as the Tabeguache, "people of Sun Mountain."
Poet Katharine Lee Bates rode a wagon to the summit in 1893 and drafted "America the Beautiful" soon after, first published in 1895. The Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway had already reached the top by 1891, financed by mattress magnate Zalmon Simmons after his own grueling mule trip up the mountain. Spencer Penrose's toll highway followed in 1915, and it has hosted the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb auto race since 1916.
SOURCE Wikipedia — Pikes PeakBarr Trail: no fee or permit for the trail itself; trailhead-area parking is pay-only and fills early (14ers.com East Slopes page, checked July 2026). Crags TH for the NW Slopes: US 24 to Divide, CO 67 south 4.3 mi, then CR 62/FS 383 for 3 mi of dirt; no fees noted (14ers.com Northwest Slopes page). The Pikes Peak Highway (toll) and the cog railway also reach the summit house, so the summit itself is developed.