Entry No. 88 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: haunted
Red Mountain
Everyone in Manitou grinds up the famous Incline — almost no one climbs the mountain right across the canyon, which is stranger and emptier. Red Mountain had its own scenic incline railway, built in 1912 and so steep it terrified riders; it limped along and died by 1922, leaving only the foundations of a summit dance pavilion and engine house up top. It's also the mountain Emma Crawford begged to be buried on — her fiancé and eleven townsfolk hauled her coffin up in 1891, and decades later the rains washed her bones back down the slope, which is why Manitou races coffins down Main Street every Halloween. The trail nearly traces the dead railway's grade to a 360° view of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, usually with no one else on it.
The story
While thousands of weekend warriors queue up across Ruxton Canyon to grind up the Manitou Incline’s 2,700-plus wooden steps, Red Mountain sits almost entirely empty. You didn't hear it from us, but this is where you go when you want real altitude without the sweat-soaked parade. In 1912, contractors built the Red Mountain Incline Railway—a cable car so steeply perched over a wooden trestle that it terrified riders and went defunct by 1922. The tracks are long gone, but the trail still traces that dead railway's grade right to the flat concrete footings of the old summit engine house and dance pavilion.
The real reason Manitou locals glance up at Red Mountain with a quiet shiver involves a 19th-century musician named Emma Crawford. She moved here in 1889 to treat her tuberculosis with local mineral waters, but before dying in December 1891, she requested burial on top of this peak. Her fiancé, Wilhelm Hildenbrand—a civil engineer on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway—and eleven townspeople hauled her heavy wooden coffin up the 7,200-foot slope. She rested up top until 1929, when severe rains eroded the soil and sent her coffin sliding all the way down the mountain. Local children eventually discovered casket handles, a nameplate, and a few bones at the base, spawning the bizarre local tradition where Manitou races wheeled coffins down Main Street every Halloween.
Walking the Red Mountain Trail today puts you squarely inside that weird, washed-out history. You’re hiking a ghost-railway grade that doubled as a fugitive gravesite, staring directly across at Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods from a summit pavilion ruin where almost no one else is standing.
What it's like
Arriving at the trailhead off Ruxton Avenue—just past Iron Springs Chateau—you’ll use the same paid parking system as the Incline and Cog Railway crowds, but the moment you step onto the trail, the tourists vanish. Expect a moderate-to-difficult, roughly 2.5-mile out-and-back climb filled with steep switchbacks and loose scree that call for real hiking shoes rather than casual sneakers. Local hikers and forum reviews note that while the Incline across the gulch feels like an outdoor stairmaster workout, Red Mountain is quiet, uncrowded, and raw. Bring plenty of water, keep an eye out for trail markers where it branches off the Intemann Trail, and look for the flat concrete slabs at the top where the 1912 pavilion and cable machinery once sat.
The move: Skip the Incline's stair-climbing crowds and take its empty twin instead — start by the Cog Railway / Iron Springs Chateau, hike the switchbacks up the old ghost-railway grade, and split a thermos at the pavilion ruins where Emma Crawford was once buried, the whole city laid out below.
📍 Before you go Steep, rocky out-and-back (~2.5 mi, moderate-to-difficult) — real shoes and water. Trailhead parking uses the same pay system as the Manitou Incline; start at the Cog Railway lot or the Iron Springs Trailhead.
- 📍 Manitou Springs
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Red Mountain Trail — trailhead at the base of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway / Iron Springs Trailhead by Iron Springs Chateau, Ruxton Ave, Manitou Springs, CO 80829
Pair it with
- Crystal Valley Cemetery — Follow Emma Crawford’s post-mortem journey down the canyon to the historic hillside cemetery where her washed-down bones were eventually reinterred.
- Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama — The trailhead starts right by this Victorian venue, making it easy to pair the silent ghost-railway hike with a show built directly over the mineral spring that brought 19th-century health-seekers to town.
- Penny Arcade — After descending the empty summit, head seven tenths of a mile down Ruxton into central Manitou to play century-old mechanical fortune tellers and arcade games.
- Haunted Lantern Tour at Cave of the Winds — Extend the town's dark history theme by swapping open mountain ruins for a flame-lit tour through narrow underground cave passages.
Good to know
How hard is the hike up Red Mountain?
It is a moderate-to-difficult out-and-back trail spanning roughly 2.5 miles. The path features steep grades, switchbacks, and loose rock, requiring sturdy footwear and adequate water.
Where do I park for the Red Mountain Trail?
You park at the base of Ruxton Avenue near the Iron Springs Trailhead or the Pikes Peak Cog Railway parking area. Parking uses the city's paid reservation and kiosk system shared with Manitou Incline visitors.
Can you still see ruins from the 1912 Red Mountain Incline?
Yes. At the summit, you can find the remaining concrete and stone foundations of the original 1912 engine house and summit dance pavilion.
Is Emma Crawford still buried on top of Red Mountain?
No. Severe rainstorms and erosion washed her coffin down the slope in 1929, after which her remains were recovered and eventually reburied in Manitou's Crystal Valley Cemetery.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: manitouspringsheritagecenter.org · Facebook · visitcos.com · springsmag.com · 5280 · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-27