The Pikes Peak Highway is a 19-mile (31 km) toll road that runs from Cascade, Colorado to the summit of Pikes Peak in El Paso County, at an altitude of 14,115 feet (4,302 m). It is at least partially open year-round, up to the altitude where snow removal becomes excessively difficult. The rate structure varies depending on time of year and ranges from $10 per adult and $5 per child throughout winter up to $50 per carload (5 passengers or fewer) with discounts on additional passengers. The highway has been home to an annual automobile and motorcycle race called the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb since 1916.
The Pikes Peak Highway was constructed in 1915 and financed by Spencer Penrose at a cost of $500,000. It was maintained by Colorado DOT as Colorado State Highway 250 from 1939 until 1947. Today, the road is maintained by the city of Colorado Springs.
Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The ultra-prominent 14,107-foot (4,299.83 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12 miles west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike, even though he was unable to reach the summit. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.