Pikes Peak altitude and summit weather

The summit is about 14,115 ft. Air pressure there is roughly 58% of sea level, and weather up top is often nothing like Manitou Springs.

Live forecast near the summit

Loading the National Weather Service forecast…

Source: National Weather Service grid forecast for the cell containing the summit. A grid cell is a few kilometres wide, so conditions on the peak can differ. Always check the NWS point forecast before you go.

What the summit feels like, month by month

Colorado Springs normals tell you little about the top. Here are both: the city's normal daily high and low, and an estimate for the summit about 7,934 ft higher. In July a normal day of 58 to 87 °F in town works out to roughly 30 to 58 °F on the summit. Even in July, the warmest month, the estimated summit high is about 58 °F, and in 5 months (Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec) even the estimated high stays below freezing.

Colorado Springs: NOAA 1991 to 2020 monthly normals at the airport station (6,181 ft). Summit: the same normals lowered by the standard lapse rate of 3.57 °F per 1,000 ft over 7,934 ft, about 28 °F. This is a standard-atmosphere estimate, not a measurement. Published trail guidance says the summit can be about 40 °F colder than the trailhead in any season, so real summit temperatures can be lower than shown. Wind makes it feel colder still.

The numbers, month by month

Month	Colorado Springs high / low	Summit estimate high / low
Jan	45 / 19 °F	17 / -10 °F
Feb	47 / 20 °F	18 / -8 °F
Mar	55 / 27 °F	27 / -1 °F
Apr	61 / 34 °F	33 / 6 °F
May	71 / 44 °F	42 / 15 °F
Jun	82 / 53 °F	53 / 24 °F
Jul	87 / 58 °F	58 / 30 °F
Aug	84 / 57 °F	55 / 28 °F
Sep	77 / 49 °F	49 / 21 °F
Oct	65 / 37 °F	36 / 8 °F
Nov	53 / 26 °F	25 / -2 °F
Dec	45 / 19 °F	16 / -10 °F

Sunrise and sunset on the summit

Computed in your browser with NOAA's solar calculator method for the summit (38.8405° N, 105.0442° W), in Mountain Time (MST or MDT as the date requires). The method assumes a flat, sea-level horizon. From 14,115 ft you see past that horizon, so the sun shows a little earlier at sunrise and a little later at sunset than these times; we do not correct for it. Regular Highway gates open after sunrise all year (7:30 AM at the earliest); sunrise openings are separate special events, and regular admission is not valid for them.

What the altitude does

These are standard-atmosphere calculations, not measurements; real pressure moves with the weather.

Place	Elevation	Air pressure vs sea level	Water boils at
Sea level	0 ft	100%	212 °F
Colorado Springs (about 6,000 ft)	6,000 ft	80%	201 °F
Barr Trail trailhead	6,707 ft	78%	200 °F
Summit	14,115 ft	58%	186 °F

Oxygen is still about 21% of the air, but each breath carries less of it because the pressure is lower. That is why even fit visitors get breathless on the summit stairs.

Temperature

Temperature falls roughly 3.6 °F for every 1,000 ft of climb in a standard atmosphere. From the trailhead to the summit that is about 26 °F; published trail guidance says the summit can be about 40 °F colder than the trailhead in any season, so the real gap can exceed the standard-atmosphere figure. Wind makes it feel colder still. Pack a windproof layer even in July.

Altitude sickness: what to do

This site is not medical advice. Altitude illness is a medical topic, and anyone with heart, lung or blood conditions, or who is pregnant, should ask a doctor before going above 10,000 ft. If you feel unwell on the mountain, go down and get help.

Planning a hike? Use the Barr Trail calculator to check you are off the summit before the afternoon storms. Thinking of the Highway or Cog Railway? See tickets and timed entry.

Sources (8)· checked 2026-11-03

Every figure with its exact source: The mountain on the facts page.

Facts on this page last checked 2026-11-03 by the pikespeak.info editor. Rules and prices change; confirm with the operator before you travel. See every figure with its source.