Last Updated on: 9th May 2025, 11:52 am
Located in Manitou Springs, Colorado, the Manitou Incline isn’t your typical hike. Rather than hiking up a mountain via an ever-changing winding path, the Manitou Incline is simply a massive staircase leading straight to the summit. Not only does it consist of nearly 3,000 steps, but visitors coming from lower elevations might struggle with the altitude.
While everyone’s time is going to vary, expect the full roundtrip hike to take from around 2.5-4 hours. That also leaves you with plenty of time to see more of Manitou Springs or neighboring Colorado Springs later in the day.
In the following guide, we’ll be covering everything you need to know to prepare for hiking the Manitou Incline and its many steps, along with a detailed description of the experience.
For more info on where to stay in the area, be sure to check the end of the article.
How Many Steps Is The Manitou Incline?
Precisely, the Manitou Incline is 2,768 steps. But if you’ve never climbed up that many steps at once before, it can be hard to imagine how tiring that really is. Simply put, it’s really, really tiring!
While the Manitou Incline may have 2,768 steps, they’re not all evenly spaced. Many of the steps near the bottom are quite small, while the gaps seem to get bigger and bigger the higher you go. In any case, you’ll occasionally find markers telling you how far you’ve come.
Other Things to Know
RESERVATIONS: At the time of writing, access to the Manitou Incline is free. Visitors are, however, expected to make an advanced reservation in order to avoid overcrowding. You can do so at this link.
I made my reservation the previous day, and the earliest available slot was for 11:30 am. I then carefully planned the rest of my day around this, only to realize that no staff is there to actually check!
PARKING: While located in the small town of Manitou Springs, the Manitou Incline is not walkable from the town center. The most popular option is for visitors to park at the ‘Manitou Hiawatha Gardens – Parking and Shuttle’ located in the east part of town.
While parking is paid, you can take a free shuttle from there all the way to the base of the Manitou Incline. But as I’d later realize, this free shuttle runs along the entirety of the town’s main road, Manitou Avenue. So you could also park in a more central location and hop on the bus from there.
Furthermore, considering how the base of the Manitou Incline is situated right by the Cog Railway up to Pikes Peak, you’ll find additional parking lots by the entrance.
WHAT TO BRING: While no special climbing gear is required for this hike, be sure to bring proper footwear, sunscreen and plenty of water.
Climbing The Manitou Incline
As mentioned, the base for the Manitou Incline can be found near the entrance to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Arriving in the area via shuttle, you’ll immediately encounter signs pointing you in the right direction.
And before you know it, you’ll be looking right up at the Manitou Incline and its 2,768 steps.
Note, however, that there is a ‘false summit,’ so the uppermost portion that you see from the very bottom is not yet the real summit.
As we’ll cover below, it’s also possible to take a more standard hiking trail through the forest all the way to the top. But that would defeat the overall purpose of the Manitou Incline. The forested trail is, however, a good way to come down.
The base of the incline is 6,600 ft (2010 m) above sea level. And the summit stands at 8,5550 ft (2606 m) above sea level.
So while the elevation isn’t enough to give you symptoms of altitude sickness, those coming straight from lower elevations will likely find themselves tiring out more quickly than usual.
In my case, I did this hike before doing numerous long hikes at Rocky Mountain National Park. If you’ve visited Rocky Mountain first, you should already be well-acclimated to high elevations.
On the other hand, after conquering the Manitou Incline, some of the steeper hikes at Rocky Mountain might not seem that bad.
The Manitou Incline starts easily enough – especially if you’re someone who exercises regularly. And as mentioned, the steps near the bottom are quite small and close together.
But before long, the fatigue will start to kick in, and you’ll likely decide to stop for a break somewhere. And then another, and another, and another.
At times I felt like I was barely making any progress, seemingly needing to catch my breath every 20-30 steps.
Except for those in impeccable shape, or those who’ve just spent the summer conquering some of Colorado’s toughest mountains, I’d imagine that most climbers will go through stages of self doubt at different points of this hike.
‘Maybe I can’t really do this,’ I thought to myself a few different times. And overhearing other people’s conversations, I certainly wasn’t the only one.
As cliche as it may sound, the key is to take things one step at a time. That, and of course, drinking lots of water.
Before long, I found myself at the halfway point. Though according to the sign, I still had about 1,000 more steps to go! If you really feel that you can’t make it, the halfway point offers access to the forested nature trail that you can use to climb up or back down.
Eventually, after seemingly taking a break every few steps, I caught a second wind and started to make a lot more progress between each rest. The next thing I knew, I’d already climbed over 2,000 steps, with just several hundred more to go.
Frankly speaking, the Manitou Incline isn’t the most scenic hike you’ll ever do. While you will want to frequently turn around to take in the views of the mountains and town below, the scenery barely changes throughout.
Obviously, this is a very different experience from doing a scenic hike at Rocky Mountain or other National Parks, and should best be thought of as a fun challenge rather than a proper mountain hike.
It was after roughly 90 minutes of hiking (and resting) that I finally made it to the top.
Without trying to sound rude, once at the summit, I encountered various people who, well, didn’t look like they exercised a whole lot. Therefore, I think most people can manage to conquer the Manitou Incline if they just push themselves hard enough.
While the Manitou Incline is indeed a very tiring hike, and the fitter you are the better, I also think it’s just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one.
Throughout most of the journey, all you can see ahead of you are endless steps, which can feel especially daunting. That’s why repeatedly turning around to see how far you’ve come can be helpful.
The summit of the Manitou Incline doesn’t really offer a whole lot other than some trees and some boulders you can sit down on to rest. As such, I didn’t linger for very long before beginning my descent.
The Descent
You have two options when it comes to descending. One is to simply walk down the Manitou Incline’s 2,768 steps the way you came. And I did indeed see people doing this.
I decided not to for a couple of reasons. I wanted a change of scenery, while I also feared that walking down all these steps would wreak havoc on my knees.
And so, I took the alternate route down, known as the Manitou Incline Connector Trail. This is much more of your typical mountain trail, and it offered a nice change of scenery from the endless steps of the incline.
The slope is a lot more gradual here and easier on your knees. But that also means that it’s going to be considerably slower than simply walking down the steps.
All in all, even though I didn’t take any breaks here, the descent took me just as much time as the way up: about 90 minutes.
Eventually, you’ll find yourself overlooking the Cog Railway for Pikes Peak. The railway departs from the base of the mountain, taking visitors straight up to the 14110-ft summit.
But considering what a long roundtrip journey that is, you wouldn’t be able to squeeze in the Manitou Incline on the same day.
In any case, the entrance to the Cog Railway is where you’ll want to wait to take the free shuttle back to town and the parking lot.
All in all, I felt the Manitou Incline to be worth the experience, and felt a great sense of accomplishment for having made it to the top.
But if I had to choose between hiking up a bunch of steps and hiking to some of Rocky Mountain’s picturesque lakes, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.
Additional Info
As mentioned, the Manitou Incline is located right in the small town of Manitou Springs. Not only is the town center charming, but it’s also home to landmarks like the Wind Cave, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and more.
Given the size of the town, many of the centrally located accommodations are motels, such as the Eagle Motel or Villa Motel. The Cliff House at Pikes Peak would also be central enough to walk most places.
Just next to Manitou Springs is the small city of Colorado Springs, most known for being home to Garden of the Gods. For those interested in staying here, highly-rated mid-range options include Quality Inn & Suites Garden Of The Gods and Home2 Suites.
And those able to splurge a bit more might want to look into Historic Home w/Pikes Peak Views or the Cheyenne Mountain Resort.
The Manitou Incline can also be visited as a day trip from Denver. Expect the journey to take you around 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on traffic and which neighborhood you’re staying in.
I’m far from an expert on Denver. But when researching hotels for my recent trip, I had a very challenging time.
Nearly every time I found a place that seemed to be a good value in a convenient location – whether the city center or suburbs – I encountered numerous reviews complaining of strange individuals loitering in the hallways and parking lots.
In the end, I chose to stay at La Quinta Inn in the southwestern suburbs of Lakewood. This was also convenient for some of the day trips I’d be taking. The area turned out to be fine, though it may not be convenient for those spending multiple days in central Denver.
Whichever place you choose, I would carefully read the reviews, as Denver seems to be going through a rough time at the moment.