Best Time to Visit

Time of day

The park’s own advice is to come early (before about 8 am) or late (after about 4 pm), for the light and fewer people; Visit COS gives the same advice for crowds. The park opens at 5 am, so a sunrise visit is possible year-round, and the park notes that sunrise lights the red rocks. The Visitor & Nature Center opens at 9 am, and the guided nature walk leaves at 10:30 am. Closing time is 9 pm from November 1 to April 30 and 10 pm from May 1 to October 31.

In recent years the park has also held a monthly Early Bird Hike & Bike from 5 to 8 am and Motorless Morning dates, when the roads close to vehicles from 5 am to noon. Dates change each year.

The seasons

Summer

Summer brings the most visitors to a park the city says receives over 4 million a year. The Visitor Center lot has fewer than 200 spaces and often fills in summer and on holidays. The free shuttle runs roughly Memorial Day weekend to late August, plus Labor Day weekend in recent years; check gardenofgods.com for this year’s dates, with a loop about every 15 minutes.

The park warns that summer afternoon storms can form within minutes and that temperatures can drop 20 degrees or more. Dark, flat-bottomed clouds, a wind shift or distant thunder are its signs to head back. The sun is strong at about 6,400 ft, and the park suggests about half a liter of water per hour of hiking. A morning visit tends to avoid the afternoon storms.

Winter

Snow on the red rocks is one of the park’s winter sights, and the park calls winter hiking "seriously underrated". Trails can be icy, the paved Perkins Central Garden Trail is described as "easily accessible in all seasons". The Visitor Center keeps winter hours of 9 am to 5 pm. The Pikes Peak Highway is open year-round, weather permitting, although part of it may close for snow in winter, according to Visit COS.

Spring and autumn

The shoulder months fall outside the shuttle season, so visitors drive, walk or cycle in. The park closes at 10 pm from May 1. Climbers meet seasonal closures: the east faces of Gray Rock and North Gateway Rock from April 1 to July 31, and the west face of the Tower of Babel from September 1 to October 31, for nesting raptors. On Pikes Peak, the 2026 timed-entry permits for vehicles passing Mile 7 run from May 22 to September 30.

Holidays

The park itself opens daily, but the Visitor & Nature Center closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Visitor Center lot often fills on holidays; the parking and shuttle page lists the other lots.

Morning tours

The Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods Jeep Tour runs morning departures, according to its listing, "to take advantage of the best views and weather ... as well to avoid the traffic". It lasts 4 hours, drives the Pikes Peak Highway to the summit and then tours the park; its listing includes the highway fees. From November to March the listing names the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center as the meeting point.

Frequently asked questions