🏔️ Rusting ore carts, creaking log walls, and a sealed tunnel mouth that dares you to guess what’s still inside—Ghost Town Hollow isn’t a theme-park set. It’s the real, windswept remnant of Pikes Peak’s gold-rush fever, and it’s parked less than an hour from your campsite at Pikes Peak RV Park.
Key Takeaways
– Ghost Town Hollow is a 4-mile out-and-back hike near Pikes Peak, about a 40-minute drive from Pikes Peak RV Park.
– The trail climbs roughly 850 feet and starts high (around 11,500 feet), so hikers feel the thin air quickly.
– Most people finish in 2–4 hours; no hand-over-hand climbing is needed.
– Good fit for active kids (about age 10+), careful knees, dogs on leashes, and sunrise runners.
– Old mining cabins, sealed tunnel, and rusty ore carts make great photo spots—look, don’t touch!
– Weather shifts fast: morning sun can flip to lightning by noon. Pack layers, water, sunblock, and be off the ridge if storms build.
– Cell service is weak but workable (1–2 LTE bars in pockets); Glen Cove has the best signal for quick work calls.
– Parking is limited; arrive early for the shoulder pull-out below Glen Cove or use the summer shuttle.
– Stay on the marked path, leave artifacts where they are, and pack out every bit of trash.
– Sleeping at the RV park (6,300 feet) helps you adjust to altitude before hiking high the next morning.
Whether you’re chasing 📸 shutter-gold, a spine-tingling family story, or a mellow history stroll with plenty of bench breaks, the abandoned mining cabins above Manitou Springs deliver the sweet spot: four miles round-trip, 1,600 feet of intrigue, and zero souvenir crowds.
Craving hidden photo ops? Wondering if the kids (or knees) can handle the grade? Need to beat the 9-to-5 and still make your noon Zoom? Stick with us—next up are trail stats, door-to-door logistics, ghost-lore nuggets, and the pro tips locals never post on the trailhead sign. 👻➡️
Quick-Scan Trail Snapshot
Ghost Town Hollow is a four-mile out-and-back that climbs roughly 850 vertical feet to a high point of 11,800 feet, so you’ll be breathing alpine air fast. Most hikers finish in two to four hours, and the grade stays moderate without hands-on scrambling, making it doable for fit tweens, knee-cautious retirees, and sunrise trail runners alike. Summer melts the last snow drifts by July, yet afternoon thunderstorms are legendary, which means crowds thin dramatically before 7 a.m. and after 3 p.m.—sweet windows if solitude matters.
Connectivity isn’t perfect, but pockets of LTE give one to two bars for quick work check-ins. Leashed dogs are welcome, as long as owners pack out waste and keep a respectful distance from mountain goats that sometimes lick salt off parked cars. For families tallying rest stops, remember there are no benches, yet flat granite slabs near mile 1.4 make natural seats.
Why Ghost Town Hollow Belongs on Your Pikes Peak RV Park Itinerary
Pikes Peak RV Park sits only 20 asphalt miles from the trailhead, so you can roll from cozy bed to alpine tundra before most tourists hit the highway. That proximity unlocks a half-day adventure that meshes perfectly with limited vacation calendars: hike early, shower by lunch, explore Manitou Springs galleries in the afternoon, and catch the Haunted Manitou walk after dark.
The site itself nails the triple-threat of history, scenery, and Instagram-worthiness. Trailblazing Millennials nab wide-angle ruins framed by endless sky, History-Loving Retirees trace mining stories without stepping into a museum line, and Adventure Families spark kids’ curiosity with a pinch of spooky mystery—no jump scares, just goosebumps delivered by creaking cabin timbers in thin air.
Door-to-Door Logistics From the RV Park
Set your alarm for 5:30 a.m., gear up quietly to respect RV-park quiet hours, and drive Ruxton Avenue to Serpentine Drive, merging onto US-24 before taking the signed turn for Pikes Peak Highway. Traffic thickens after 8 a.m., so the 40-minute hop can stretch past an hour; starting early avoids idling while that first latte cools. Pay the highway toll once, keep the receipt for re-entry if you choose to descend for a lunch break, and watch your odometer—mile marker 13.5 signals the prized shoulder pull-out just below Glen Cove. Should those slots be full, continue 0.25 mile to Glen Cove’s main lot and add an easy quarter-mile foot approach.
No rental car? Walk two minutes from the RV park to Manitou’s free city shuttle stop, transfer at the Pikes Peak Shuttle lot, and ride the highway shuttle that operates summer peak dates. The bus combo adds about 35 minutes each way, yet it erases parking roulette completely. Last return shuttle leaves around 5:30 p.m., so set an alarm if you’re prone to lingering among rusty ore cart wheels for the perfect TikTok.
Gear and Altitude Prep Checklist
Sleeping one night at the RV park’s 6,300-foot elevation jump-starts acclimatization, cutting the odds of altitude headache when you step onto trail at 11,500 feet. Hydration matters even more than caffeine; aim for a liter every two hiking hours and toss electrolyte tablets in the side pocket for afternoon replenishment. Smart hikers carry an altitude mini-kit of ibuprofen, sports drink mix, and a pulse oximeter—watch for readings below 88 percent and be ready to drop altitude if nausea or dizziness escalate.
Weather swings 30 degrees in minutes, so dress like an onion: synthetic base, light fleece, windproof shell, and thin gloves that live in your pack until the summit breeze bites. Apply SPF 30+ every two hours and slip on wrap-around sunglasses to handle glare off lingering snowfields. For early-season treks, micro-spikes earn their weight crossing shaded snow tongues, and a lightweight climbing helmet protects noggins from loose timbers if you peer into collapsed adits.
Trail Guide: From Glen Cove to 19th-Century Ruins
Sign the trailhead register at Glen Cove, snap the ranger emergency number with your phone, and step onto a moderately graded path that meanders through krummholz pines. At 0.7 mile the trees bow out, revealing tundra dotted with alpine avens—pause for a panorama without firing up drones, which are prohibited along the highway corridor. Keep boots on the narrow tread through talus where tinkling rocks sing beneath your steps; rust-flecked ore cart wheels mark the midway point, so you know you’re on historical ground.
Just past 1.8 miles the gaping mouth of the Oil Creek Tunnel appears, sealed by a steel grate that hints at 1,600 feet of darkness beyond. A few steps farther sit four log-wall cabins, roofs collapsed under heavy snow decades ago, yet corners still square thanks to bygone craftsmanship. Mountain goats sometimes patrol the site, drawn by salt on rocks and backpacks, so maintain a respectful fifty-foot buffer while framing that perfect sepia-toned portrait.
History Hit: Gold Fever, Thin Air & a Fast Exit
By late 1859 prospectors had followed rumors of a mother lode right up Pikes Peak’s rocky spine, chiseling the Oil Creek Tunnel in hopes of intersecting a giant vein. Water seepage and fault lines derailed the project, and when winter 1861 buried cabins under twelve-foot drifts, miners evacuated, leaving frozen tools exactly where you see them today. The full story is detailed in 303 Magazine’s overview of the site, which you can skim mid-drive via this concise article.
Ghost Town Hollow wasn’t the only lofty gamble. Farther down Ruxton Creek, a scrappy hamlet called Ruxton Park pivoted from pickaxes to hydro power; its stone plant has quietly generated electricity since 1925, as chronicled in Ruxton Park history. Connecting both locales helps modern visitors grasp how fast dreams morphed from gold dust to water wheels when profits fizzled under snow.
Safety First: Exploring—Not Excavating
Nothing kills a vacation vibe faster than a rotten beam through the shin, so treat every wall as unstable and keep curious hands off weathered nails. The tunnel grate is there because the inner adit dips into oxygen-poor pockets and hides vertical shafts—shine your headlamp through the bars for eerie depth perception, then step back. Log your intended route at the Glen Cove ranger desk and hike with at least one partner; even sprained ankles feel like emergencies at 12,000 feet.
Weather dictates headlines on Pikes Peak, with storms building by noon and lightning finding the tallest hiker first. Follow the 30-30 rule: if thunder follows a flash in fewer than thirty seconds, descend below treeline within thirty minutes. Digital nomads relying on their phones should keep batteries warm in an inside pocket, because cold drains power and eliminates your lifeline to the expected afternoon video call.
Leave No Trace & Preserve the Past
Each square nail and ore shard tells a chapter in Colorado’s gold-rush saga, and pocketing one erases the page for everyone after you. Photograph artifacts from different angles instead; vibration and skin oils speed decay of century-old logs. When social-media tagging, geotag responsibly or use general labels like “Pikes Peak backcountry” to curb viral overuse of fragile tundra paths.
Stick to the narrow, already-trampled tread through Ghost Town Hollow and resist shortcuts across cushion plants that take decades to recover. Pack sandwich crumbs, snack wrappers, and even orange peels back to the RV park’s recycle bins. If fresh graffiti sickens your view, grab a GPS-tagged photo and report it at the highway gate—rangers can mobilize volunteers quickly when they know exactly what needs cleaning.
Kid & Senior Success Tips
Tweens often hike farther when they’re on a mission, so turn the route into a scavenger quest: find a square nail, hear a pika squeak, and spot the tunnel grate. The flattest picnic boulders sit a hundred yards east of the cabins, shielded slightly from wind, yet pack layers because shadows cool instantly. Remember there are no toilets on trail; a pre-hike pit stop at Glen Cove’s vault bathrooms saves mid-route panics.
Retirees who savor guided narration can join monthly interpretive walks led by Pikes Peak Summit House volunteers—dates appear on the RV-park lobby board each Friday. Trekking poles aid balance on talus, and a collapsible stool offers high-altitude breathers without hunting for a rock seat. Because uphill grades feel steeper at altitude, budget fifty percent more time than you would for a similar trail back home at sea level.
Work-Then-Wander Timeline
Slip out of the campground at 5:30 a.m. to clear the highway gate before lines form, step onto the path by seven, and you’ll tag the cabins, snap reel-length videos, and retrace steps well before noon. LTE typically spikes to three bars at Glen Cove’s picnic pavilion, a sweet spot for hotspotting the 11:45 a.m. Zoom call, headset on while lunching under lodgepole shade. Once files upload and co-workers applaud your “neutral gray wall,” cruise downhill to Good Karma Café for Wi-Fi that hums faster than alpine winds and espresso that kicks harder than thin air.
Front-loading the hike leaves afternoon freedom to stroll Manitou’s art arcades or soak tired calves in the mineral-spring font next to the arcade building. If deadlines intrude, keep the highway receipt to re-enter for sunset shots—golden light on weathered logs turns every phone photo into postcard stock. Even a quick hour of gallery browsing feels more relaxing when your morning miles are already in the bag.
Expand the Adventure: 3-Day Historic Loop From One Campsite
Day one eases you into altitude: settle the rig, then wander Manitou’s mineral springs circuit while browsing the farmers market for picnic-friendly produce. Day two features Ghost Town Hollow in the morning and the quieter ruins of Ruxton Park by late afternoon, followed by the Haunted Manitou tour that threads Redstone Castle lore through downtown alleys. The Queen Anne mansion’s spooky backstory of séances surfaces during the walk and ties neatly to its documented history on Redstone Castle.
Day three flips to geology with Red Rock Canyon Open Space, where pink sandstone fins hide quarry scars and a rehabilitated gold mill. Follow trails that loop past interpretive panels, then cap the heritage immersion at Colorado Springs’ indoor Ghost Town Museum for close-up relics unscathed by weather. Dining inside an 1890s saloon on Colorado Avenue closes the loop, clinking glasses where miners once swapped tall tales about that very tunnel you walked the day before.
Insider Pro Tips for Locals & Repeat Visitors
Regulars tired of Glen Cove traffic aim for the unmarked mile-marker 12 pull-out: a faint boot path there merges with the main trail after a tenth of a mile and usually sees single-digit hiker counts all morning. Trail runners catching sunrise temps should wear micro-spikes; overnight frost makes talus slick, and predawn mercury can register thirty degrees lower than Manitou’s street cafés. A pre-dawn start also guarantees empty photo angles at the cabin ruins.
Dog owners, rejoice—canines are allowed as long as they stay leashed and you pack out every gram of waste. Bring a wag bag because no trash cans exist above the highway gate. If your pup starts hoof-to-horn staring contests with a mountain goat, retreat calmly; goats often charge when they feel crowded, and a gored thigh ends the weekend fast.
Sources & Further Reading
For deeper dives into the mining saga, scroll through the concise hike overview at 303 Magazine before leaving town. History buffs can compare Ghost Town Hollow to the evolution of hydro power at Ruxton Park, while architectural sleuths will enjoy the spectral narratives linked to Redstone Castle.
Manitou Springs Heritage Center sells the pocket pamphlet Mining Camps of Pikes Peak, and the indoor Ghost Town Museum curates preserved storefronts that shelter delicate artifacts from the weathering you witnessed on the mountain. Together these resources round out the tale of ambition, abandonment, and alpine resilience etched into every rusty nail you left untouched.
Pack the memories—leave the relics—and let Ghost Town Hollow’s hush follow you back down the mountain; the campfire will be crackling, showers steaming, and Wi-Fi humming at Pikes Peak RV Park, but creekside and pull-through sites vanish once bluebird skies hit the forecast, so click “Reserve Now” or call our hosts today to anchor your rig at the foot of Pikes Peak history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I reach the Ghost Town Hollow trailhead from Pikes Peak RV Park without a car?
A: Walk five minutes to Manitou’s free city shuttle stop on Manitou Avenue, transfer at the Pikes Peak Shuttle lot, and ride the Pikes Peak Highway shuttle to Glen Cove; the combo takes roughly 75 minutes, costs nothing beyond the highway toll included in your shuttle ticket, and the last return bus leaves around 5:30 p.m., so set a phone alarm if you plan to linger for sunset photos.
Q: Is the trail gentle enough for seniors with trekking poles?
A: The four-mile round-trip gains about 850 feet at a steady grade with no scrambling, so active retirees using poles typically succeed by allowing two to three hours up and back, pausing on flat granite slabs around mile 1.4 and watching pulse and hydration at the 11,500-foot starting elevation.
Q: Can tweens and teens handle the route safely?
A: Most kids ten and older enjoy the mildly spooky ruins as long as adults keep them back from the sealed tunnel grate and unstable cabin walls, enforce stay-on-trail rules through talus, and schedule a restroom break at Glen Cove’s vault toilets before starting because there are no facilities on the path.
Q: Are dogs welcome on this hike?
A: Leashed dogs are permitted on the Pikes Peak Highway corridor and at Ghost Town Hollow, but owners must pack out all waste, carry extra water for pups in thin alpine air, and keep a 50-foot buffer from mountain goats that occasionally roam the ruins and may charge if challenged.
Q: Where can I park, and will my Class C fit?
A: Standard passenger spots line the shoulder just below Glen Cove, while larger rigs up to a 30-foot Class C should use Glen Cove’s paved lot a quarter-mile farther up; overnight parking is prohibited, so plan a morning arrival before 8 a.m. to snag a space and display your highway toll receipt on the dash.
Q: What’s the best time of day to avoid crowds and summer storms?
A: Hitting the trail between 6 and 7 a.m. almost guarantees solitude and positions you below treeline again before the noon thunder build-up, whereas late-afternoon hikers often enjoy post-3 p.m. quiet if radar shows clear skies but must be ready to retreat quickly if clouds form.
Q: Will I have cell service good enough for a work call?
A: Verizon and AT&T users see one to two LTE bars at the cabins and three bars at Glen Cove’s picnic pavilion, so many remote workers finish the hike by 11 a.m., set up a hotspot on a shaded table, and hop onto Zoom with only the occasional wind gust in the mic.
Q: Can I join a guided or ranger-led tour?
A: Yes—Pikes Peak Summit House volunteers lead free interpretive walks on select Saturdays and the RV-park front desk posts the monthly schedule every Friday; sign-up early because groups cap at 12 hikers and fill quickly during peak season.
Q: May I camp overnight or explore inside the tunnel?
A: Camping, fires, and entry past the steel grate are all prohibited by Pikes Peak Highway regulations to protect fragile tundra and to prevent accidents in oxygen-poor shafts, so plan this as a day hike and savor the spooky vibe from a safe, daylight distance.
Q: Where can I read more about the mining history I’ll see on the hike?
A: Pick up the pamphlet “Mining Camps of Pikes Peak” at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, browse the 303 Magazine article linked in our Sources section, or visit Colorado Springs’ indoor Ghost Town Museum after your trek for protected artifacts and context that tie the cabin ruins to larger regional boom-and-bust tales.
