If you’re hiking in the area of Colorado’s 14,115-foot Pikes Peak between June 16 and June 21, you might hear the distant sound of an engine roar echoing through the landscape. After all, the iconic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race is upon us.

With the 104th running of the race that travels up the Pikes Peak Highway set to take place on June 21, the event will also include practice days and the popular June 19 Fan Fest event, which brings about 35,000 people to downtown Colorado Springs and famously includes a motorbike show in which riders take to the sky above the Tejon Street pavement.

The first Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race took place in 1916, with the course featuring 156 turns and about 4,725 feet of vertical gain over 12.42 now-paved miles. The current course record for the ‘Race to the Clouds’ is a blistering 7:57.148, set in 2018 in an electric Volkswagen by Romain Dumas.

While Fan Fest is free to attend, tickets for the events that take place on Pikes Peak can still be purchased with both race day and practice week tickets available. Camping options are available, as well.

For those curious about hiking to the summit of Pikes Peak during race week, race operations typically mean that the Crags Trail has some closures in place from the Devils Playground area (where the trail hits the road) to the summit of Pikes Peak. That said, Barr Trail tends to remain open.

Find additional information about the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race here.

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