St. Peter's Dome

Overview

St. Peters Dome is a striking foothill in the Pikes Peak Region that is not well know today but was a very popular side trip back in the Pikes Peak or Bust gold rush days for folks traveling back and forth between Colorado Springs and the Cripple Creek area via Gold Camp Road. You can still see the remnants of the stairway that was used by travelers to access the lookout point.

St. Peter's Dome is a fairly short hike ending in a fun scramble (since the stairway is in ruins) from Gold Camp Road with unique views of Cheyenne Mountain, South Cheyenne Canyon, Cook Stove Mountain, Mt. Rosa, and the rarely visited Rosa Cascade tumbling down the east slopes of Mt. Rosa.

Getting There

Travel south on Nevada Avenue (SH 115) from I-25 on the south side of Colorado Springs. Turn right (west) on Lake Avenue. Continue straight west on Lake Avenue towards the famous Broadmoor Hotel.

At the second roundabout head south (left) on Old Broadmoor Road. Continue on this road as it changes to Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard through the Broadmoor Golf Course. Just past the golf course you will come to the intersection where Penrose Boulevard heads right, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road heads left and Old Stage Road heads straight.

Proceed straight on Old Stage Road approximately 6.8 miles past this intersection to the intersection with Gold Camp Road on the right. Continue approximately 0.9 miles on Gold Camp Road to the Colorado Springs lookout point which will be quite obvious. The trail heads off to the left from the parking area.

Misc. Photos

Red Tape

The entire area is located within Pike National Forest. Road conditions on Old Stage Road and/or Gold Camp Road will limit access during snow season.

When To Climb

The route can be climbed anytime the trailhead is accessible, however the upper section of the trail and the final summit scramble could be rather dangerous under the wrong conditions due to steepness and occasional exposure.

Camping

The area is entirely in Pike National Forest but there is not really any suitable camping areas along the trail or at the trailhead. Camping opportunities are available occasionally along Gold Camp Road. After summiting St. Peter's Dome, you could head further west on Gold Camp Road and take a right on Frosty's Park Road (FR 379) and camp in Frosty's Park. The next day a Summit of Mt. Rosa would be possible from here.

Mountain Conditions

Check Colorado Springs weather at: Colorado Springs weather

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

Viewing: 1-5 of 5

Sarah Simon - Jul 1, 2007 8:09 pm - Hasn't voted

Very minor correct, Old Stage

Hello, My eye just happened to pick up on this: Proceed straight on Old State Road approximately 6.8 miles.. (note State instead of Stage). No big deal for locals, but I'd hate an out of town visitor to drive around in circles looking for "Old State Road". Cheers! Sarah

csmcgranahan - Jul 1, 2007 9:22 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Very minor correct, Old Stage

Thanks for the info. I've made the edit.

hans.schenk - May 26, 2011 3:21 pm - Hasn't voted

Overlook

The overlook of Colorado Springs has a name...Duffield's.

Inness - May 25, 2013 11:37 am - Hasn't voted

Rosa Cascade

This is the real Josephine Falls, and was identified as such by Robert Ormes on the original Pikes Peak Atlas. The name Josephine Falls is seen on maps of Bear Creek, for a diminutive waterfall there, that never had a name of which I was aware. We used to call it Kineo Falls because it was below Mt. Kineo.

coconnor - Dec 28, 2014 7:08 pm - Voted 7/10

Some scrambling required

An easy and obvious trail leads up and around the mountain, zig zagging up to the rocky summit (maybe 3-400' of elevation gain). The most difficult part is the first 15 feet of 'climbing' up on to the 'summit rock'. An old knotted rope attached to some fixed iron rebar is in place to aid hikers in getting up the first six to eight feet and the scramble gets easier and less exposed after another five feet. Would not recommend trying to negotiate this in the winter as the amount of snow and verglas (thin ice layer on exposed rock) accumulated on this last 'climbing' portion makes an otherwise easy summer scramble into a dangerous unprotected scramble with undesirable consequences should one fall!

Viewing: 1-5 of 5