• Pikes Peak Visitor Center 3

    Summit Visitor Center

the newest chapter in the pikes peak story

Blending seamlessly with its beautiful mountain top setting, the new Summit Visitor Center echoes the colors and textures of the granite of the mountain and the surrounding landscape of the summit. Take in the views, grab something to eat, and download the Summit app. Learn more about Pikes Peak and the region’s history and immerse yourself in the interactive interpretive space. Nestled into the mountain and built-in pursuit of the world’s highest standards in sustainability through the Living Building Challenge, the Summit Visitor Center allows you to experience the same unobstructed panoramic views as the explorers who first discovered it.

Experience New Heights

Pikes Peak Visitor Center 4

Living Building

Living Buildings’ philosophy is to view buildings as regenerative spaces that mimic nature and natural systems. The Summit Visitor Center focuses not only on using environmentally sustainable materials, but also on resilient materials that will hold up to the extreme conditions on the summit and restoring sites that have been disturbed over the decades. The center will educate guests about its unique environment and will be built with water and energy conservation in mind for the long term.

Facilities

Enjoy a new dining and retail experience, an outdoor dining terrace, restrooms, free guest Wi-Fi, water refill stations, bicycle racks, and a new interpretive space. Download the Summit app and take your experience with you as you walk the new exterior interpretive loop, an ADA walkway that interprets the beautiful views, historic sites, and key focal points across the peak. Take a seat at a bench as you explore and take in the unobstructed views across the summit. Don’t forget to take a picture at the new summit marker.

    A Large Screen With A Map On It
    A Group Of People Inside A Building
    A Group Of People In A Large Room

All-New Interpretive Experience

Who says learning can’t be fun? Or beautiful. New indoor and outdoor interpretive exhibits will tell the story of the mountain’s history, climate and geography, recreational opportunities, conservation initiatives, and more. An exhibit gallery inside will include interactive digital features to bring the mountain to life and allow visitors to weave their own personal experiences into the mountain’s story. Outside, interpretive rails around the summit describe the environment and the views, identify key landscape features, and tell fascinating side stories.

A donut from Pikes Peak Visitor Center 3

Yes, There Will be Donuts

One of the most-visited mountaintops anywhere in the world is also home of world-famous delicious donuts, the only ones in the world made above 14,000 feet. Because they’re made specifically at this altitude, if you try saving them for after you leave the summit, you’ll be very disappointed by donuts that have lost their fluff. Donut aficionados will be pleased to know that the doughnut-making machine did make its way into the new building. But at 1,500 pounds, it was so large it had to be brought in before the doors were framed.