Can you drive a Prius to Mount Evans in Colorado

It opened for the season about a month ago -- later than usual due to snow/ice. I don't think the Prius would have any trouble -- its all paved. You have to determine whether the drive would be enjoyable for you -- there are no guardrails and its pretty narrow. People have been known to park in a lot and walk up to avoid the "thrill" of driving. OTOH, its the only road to the top of a 14er, and forever will be since it got grandfathered in -- they drew the wilderness boundary around it.

P.S. Take a coat!

 

If I could ride my bicycle up there, I'm sure you can take your Prius there. I've had my Prime over 13k feet. I really wanted to drive up Mt. Evans when we were in CO in May, but the road was still closed. Just be sure to use B mode on the way down as needed. That's what it's there for -- to save your brakes on long steep descents.

 

I plan on driving up through Colorado on I-25 in a week or two and the thought of driving up to that altitude intrigued me. Looked it up on Google maps and saw it was west of the Denver area. On the Maps page there was a tab to buy tickets. 110.00 per person! I am going to have to pass on that. I did get to drive most of the way up Pikes peak this year. Had to take a shuttle bus to the top because of construction taking up most of the parking area at the top.

 

Plenty of others have, I'm not sure why yours couldn't do the same.

It might be scary for flatlanders not accustomed to steep mountain roads and switchbacks, but those are people issues, not car issues. Though unfamiliar drivers can turn them into car issues. (NB, I have been on only Pikes Peak, not Evans.)

When did Pikes Peak shrink? It was a 14er when I visited.

Couldn't actually drive to the top that day due to a recent unplowed snowfall with deep drifts in the road cuts, so had to park at 13k+ and walk up. That was in my 2010 (also purchased in June 2009), and visited before the road was paved.

On my Pikes Peak descent, from just the Devil's Playground area due to mentioned road closure, I did find that while B mode was essential, it also wasn't enough. Due to cars ahead descending in very low gear, perfectly appropriate for them but too slow for my Prius to generate much engine braking, my friction brakes were getting fairly hot. The road had no safe passing opportunities, so I took several turnouts for brake cooling. Maybe more than really needed, because at the mandatory brake checkpoint, the attendant with the IR thermometer gun was pleased that my rotors were less hot than many other cars.

 

WHAT!!!??? That's crazy. I wouldn't pay it either. $110 is the price of a bus tour from Denver. The last I knew there was no toll, but I've been away for a long time.

 

Well I stand corrected. The link I saw on the Google maps page must have been for a bus tour. I looked it up and the fee is actually 10.00 per car for up tp 12 people and is valid for 3 days. Much more reasonable and I think I will try to put it back on my list.

 

I thought Mount Evans was the only one paved to the top, but I stand corrected.

I just Google'd and learned that the Sierra Club won its lawsuit and Pikes Peak got paved to the top in 2011. It used to be gravel to the top.

Apparently, I need to get out more.

 

I still called it a road even when it was gravel. I was there probably in 2009, the top portion of the road was closed to public traffic only because of recent unplowed snow requiring very high clearance vehicles to get through.

That is a good idea in its own right, regardless of topic.