Ring the Peak is an idea that has existed for decades in our community, and MedWheel has been involved since the early 1990s. We have enjoyed a long partnership with Friends of the Peak, a volunteer group dedicated to trail maintenance on Pikes Peak, and who carried the mantle of advancing the RTP concept for many years. Challenges in closing the southwest gap are significant, and work continues.
In 2017 a GoCo grant allowed the creation of a master plan for RTP, in terms of mapping the most feasible route. Some great community meetings took place and helpful maps were created, but unfortunately this process didn’t result in much progress in securing access through the SW corner.
In January 2025, a press release announced the possibility of new involvement from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. What does this mean?
This is potentially a significant positive step but it is a small one. The letter of intent that was signed is here, and this is the USFS statement about it. This isn’t the same as turning Pikes Peak into a state park, or the USFS relinquishing ownership or relaxing its formal processes for completing the SW loop. For now this is a statement of intention to explore the possibility of CPW taking over a management role, almost certainly for the existing portions of the trail to start with. It’s not clear how this will work – but CPW is an enterprise of the state of Colorado and would need to find a way to fund a new management role, if it moves ahead. Does that mean fees for trail access? We don’t know yet but implementing fees on existing portions of RTP will obviously raise concerns from users of the Intemann trail in Manitou and Colorado Springs, Ute Pass trail and Jones Park on El Paso County property, among other existing trails.
The gazette did a good job of providing context for the announcement about the letter of intent.