Spanish and American explorers followed the trail. Major Lon's expedition of 1820 stopped for a lunch on bison ribs near the springs at the bottom of the pass. In his diary he noted "a large and frequented road passes the springs and ascends into the mountains."
Gold prospectors by the thousands led their burros up the old trail, followed by freighters hauling supplies to the gold camps. Timber cutters, ranchers and the first standard gauge railroad to cross the Rocky Mountains would their way up the pass. El Paso County was named for this important route that would become the first "Ocean to Ocean" Highway.
In the resort town of Cascade just below you would have seen the tower of the famous Ramona Hotel, the summer retreat of presidents and politicians. The Cascade Town Company backed by the Colorado Midland Railway helped to build the Carriage Road to the summit of Pike Peak.
| HM Number | HMUS9 |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Placed By | City of Colorado Springs |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Saturday, October 18th, 2014 at 1:16pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 13S E 501793 N 4305605 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 38.89933333, -104.97931667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 38° 53.96', W 104° 58.759' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 38° 53' 57.60" N, 104° 58' 45.54" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 719 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 5069 Pikes Peak Hwy, Cascade-Chipita Park CO 80809, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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