Cog Railway — Attraction in Manitou Springs

I hate to leave a low review because we did ultimately enjoy this experience but a few things really stood out. First, the women's bathroom had a toilet completely backed up and the sink was out of order, so...gross. I paid nearly $200 for two tickets and y'all can't fix the restrooms? The seating map online is extreeeemely off scale. We booked two window seat tickets not realizing our knees would literally be touching those of the people across from us. Thankfully, we didn't have a full train so my partner and I moved to a more spacious area but heaven forbid it would have been full that day. The gal who narrated the ride up was cheerful and kept us entertained & informed. We thought we'd be on one side the way up and get to experience the other side on the way down, but nope. We did still get to enjoy the view and thankfully the other riders were a-okay with us grabbing pictures out their window. Our time at the top got cut short as we had to wait on the track for about 10 minutes for the other car that was coming down to pass. So that was unfortunate because we were hoping to spend a bit more time to eat, check out the gift shop, use a working restroom and take in the views. And since they understandably have to stick to a schedule, the delay caused by the other car cut our time off. Don't bother with the donuts everyone talks about, they were stale and tasteless. We did enjoy our lunch while at the station up top, but we cut it short as there was really not much time. The ride back down was relaxing, I think most people nodded off for a nap as it was relatively quiet and smooth sailing. Overall, we did enjoy the ride and we had great/clear weather...

September 13, we wanted to go up Pike’s Peak but at 70, I was worried about my ability to be able to safely drive, especially above 12,000 feet. I heard horror stories about the limited parking up on top. And as it turned out that was one of the few wise decisions I have made. The experience is great. Four trains run at the same time on the system, which is managed efficiently and kept in excellent condition. The seats are not lavish but comfortable. The narrative is informative and interesting. It is a nice relaxing experience. As it turns out my blood pressure did have problems above 12,000 feet. It did not incapacitate me, but I could feel the effects of that elevation. Remember you are going to 14,155’ feet and if you go to the top deck of the Visitors Center you can add 30’ feet more to that. You are at the top of Pike’s Peak, 40 minutes, more than enough time to take pictures and enjoy it. My wife climbed all over the place. The weather was not agreeable for us, so at 13,000’ feet we went into clouds. There was no panoramic picture taking for us. You could not see more than 50 feet. We heard that it snowed on the peak that night. There were snowflakes falling when we were up there. With the Railroad ticket I did not have to worry about getting back safely and the scenery was just as breathtaking down as up. The whole experience including querying and all takes about four hours. I would give this a five out of five stars and if you are over the age of 60 it should be the only way you think about going to the peak. You need to go because it...

cancelled on the shortest of notices and never properly compensated. what a joke of a service with a mediocre/unwelcoming staff

the cog railway team contacted to cancel our summit on us only 3 hours before our 2pm trip; however the cog railway team knew ALL the trips that day wouldn’t even be able to go up all the way, WHICH MEANS they already told their 3 trips they did before 11am that every trip for the day was cancelled. WHY WOULDNT THEY TELL US AS SOON AS THEY KNEW 🤔 i think you know why

not only them cancelling summit-ability last minute, but since we didn’t summit they claim that we only get a 30% discount because we still go up 70% of the way to the summit. HALF OF THE REASON WE GO UP IS GO OUTSIDE AND SEE THE SUMMIT. what an utter joke of an excuse to bait your customers. worst thing is that i would’ve been happy with at least 50% discount but 30% really feels like a slap in the face, and after the experience of going up only 70% of the way it was extremely frustrating not being able to experience the whole thing and still pay almost full price.

everyone on our train i spoke with felt the same way that since they cancelled so late they didn’t have time to adjust plans for the day and felt that the 30% discount was not sufficient.

their staff was just also straight up rude and unwelcoming, aside from the lady who answered our questions at the end. they have yet to respond to my latest email inquiry as well. truly pathetic and poorly...