Aug 19, 2026

Colorado Springs With a Dog, Month by Month: All 12 Ranked

No month in Colorado Springs fails a dog trip, because the best free places never close. What changes is the mountain, the fees, and the three days a year the Pikes Peak Highway shuts.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Colorado Springs, Colorado11 min readThings to Do

Colorado Springs is a year-round dog destination, which is not something you can say about most mountain towns. The city's best free places stay open all twelve months, and the Pikes Peak Highway is open year-round, weather permitting.

What changes month to month is not whether you can come. It is what is open on the mountain, what the fees are, and which three days the highway shuts entirely.

The three dates the highway closes

Start here, because these are fixed and they catch people out. Pikes Peak publishes them on its hours and rates page: the Pikes Peak Highway is closed on Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Day, and on the third Sunday in June for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

That June closure is the one nobody expects. It falls in the middle of the best month for a mountain day, and if you have booked a hotel around a Pikes Peak drive, check the date first.

The ranking, and what drives it

Rank	Month	Why
1	September	Summit season still open, heat gone, crowds thinning
2	June	Long days and full access, minus one closed Sunday
3	May	Summit season opens May 22, fees start May 1
4	October	Cool walking, free parks all open, mountain unpredictable
5	August	Great early mornings, afternoon storms and heat
6	July	Same as August plus peak crowds
7	April	Shoulder month, good city walking
8	November	Fees end November 30, quiet parks
9	March	Variable, decent for city parks
10	February	Cold but calm, free parks empty
11	December	Christmas Day closure, short days
12	January	Coldest, shortest, mountain least reliable

No month is unusable. Even January gives you Garden of the Gods free from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 25 fenced acres at Bear Creek. The ranking is about the mountain and the weather, not about whether the trip works.

1. September, the best month

Summit access is still open and the heat has broken. Pikes Peak's extended season runs through September 30, with uphill gates opening at 7:30 a.m., last entry at 6 p.m., the summit closing at 7 p.m. and downhill gates closing at 8 p.m.

For a dog this is the ideal combination. Pavement and red rock are no longer dangerous by mid-morning, so the walking window widens from a dawn sliver to most of the day. Garden of the Gods is still free and still open from 5 a.m., to 9 p.m. through April and to 10 p.m. from May 1, and the crowds that fill the loop in July have thinned.

2. June, with one Sunday crossed off

Long days, full access, and the Hill Climb closure. June is the month Pikes Peak names as within its best hiking window, alongside July, August and September.

The catch is that third Sunday. Plan around it and June is close to perfect. Plan into it and you drive to a closed gate.

June is also when afternoon heat starts to matter. Our summer heat safety for pets guide covers the pavement test that decides whether a midday walk happens at all.

3. May, when the season and the fees begin

Two dates matter in May. The general admission fee for the Pikes Peak Highway applies from May 1, and the extended summer hours with uphill gates at 7:30 a.m. begin May 22.

The published fees are worth knowing before you arrive: adults 16 and over $18 per person, children 6 to 15 $8 per person, a carload rate of $65 per vehicle for up to five passengers, additional adults $13, additional children $5, and the summer timed-entry permit at $2 per vehicle.

The carload rate is the one for a dog family. Five people at $18 each is $90. The carload is $65, and your dog does not count as a passenger for pricing.

4. October, cool and quiet

The best walking temperatures of the year, and an unreliable mountain. City parks are at their most pleasant, Bear Creek is empty by comparison to summer, and Garden of the Gods in low autumn light is the version photographers want.

The mountain is the variable. Pikes Peak is open year-round weather permitting, but conditions change fast in October. The mountain recommends calling its pre-recorded information line on (719) 385-7325, selecting option 1 twice, for current road conditions. Staff update it roughly 15 minutes before opening and then as conditions change.

5 and 6. August and July, early mornings only

These two are ranked low for one reason, and it is not the crowds. It is the ground temperature.

Red rock and paved loops hold heat, and high-altitude sun is stronger than the air temperature suggests. A walk that is fine at 6 a.m. is a burned-pad risk at 2 p.m. Garden of the Gods opening at 5 a.m. is what makes these months workable at all.

The plan for July and August is fixed: mountain or park before 9 a.m., shade or indoors in the middle of the day, and a second outing after 6 p.m. Bear Creek closes at dusk, so the evening slot is generous in midsummer.

July adds peak crowds to the same heat, which is why it ranks below August.

7. April, an honest shoulder month

Good city walking and an unpredictable mountain. April is when the free city off-leash areas come into their own, because the ground has dried and the crowds have not arrived.

The city runs seven of them, three unfenced dog runs and four fenced dog parks, all free, listed on its dog parks page. April is a good month to work through them.

8. November, the fee window closes

The general admission fee period runs to November 30, and the mountain is open year-round weather permitting after that.

November is quiet, cold and perfectly good for city parks. It also holds the Thanksgiving Day highway closure, so a holiday-week mountain plan needs the alternative day.

9, 10 and 11. March, February and December

Cold, short, and still entirely usable. Everything free stays free. Garden of the Gods keeps free entry and a 5 a.m. opening all year, with a 9 p.m. close from November 1 to April 30. Bear Creek stays open year-round with restrooms just inside the gate open year round too.

What changes is surface. Shaded pavement holds ice long after open stretches have dried, and treated pavement irritates pads and then gets licked off. Our cold weather pet safety guide covers paw protection and the salt problem.

December carries the Christmas Day closure of the highway.

12. January, the hardest month, and still fine

Coldest, shortest days, least reliable mountain. Bear Creek's dawn-to-dusk hours are at their narrowest, and a January evening visit closes early.

But the city does not shut. If you are here in January, do the city: the fenced dog parks, Old Colorado City on a leash, and a Garden of the Gods loop in the middle of a bright cold day.

What the mountain says about who should not go up

This is published guidance and it is worth reading. Pikes Peak's health and weather tips page notes that "There are health concerns and weather concerns associated with the ascent to 14,115 feet in elevation."

It advises that if you have "a history of severe cardiac or respiratory problems, it is not recommended that you make the ascent to the summit," and that the ascent is not recommended for infants under six months, because "The thinner air at the summit makes it difficult to breathe."

That guidance is about people, and the same logic applies to dogs. PetMD puts the threshold for altitude effects on pets above 8,000 feet, and a dog with a heart or airway condition is in the same category the mountain is describing.

The mountain's own instruction on altitude sickness is unambiguous and matches the advice for dogs: "The only real treatment is retreat to lower altitude."

It also warns plainly about the temperature difference: "Be prepared for the weather on the Summit. It's colder up there than it is down here!" The page points visitors to a summit forecast and live summit cameras, both of which are worth checking on the morning rather than the night before.

There is a second hazard listed alongside altitude, and it is the one that shifts the month-by-month picture most. The mountain covers hypothermia, which it also calls exposure, and that risk does not respect the calendar at 14,115 feet. A September afternoon that is mild in the city can be genuinely cold at the summit, and a wet dog in wind at that elevation loses heat faster than an owner expects. If your dog has been in a reservoir at 9,000 feet, dry it before you climb another 5,000.

The month-agnostic checklist

Four things that matter in every month.

A flat buckle collar. The city's dog park rules require that pinch and spike collars come off before entering an enclosure.

Water, more than you think. This is a dry climate and dogs lose water faster than owners expect, in January as much as July.

The two emergency numbers. North Springs on (719) 920-4430 and Southern Rockies on (719) 473-0482, both 24/7 walk-in.

The city dog map. Free, and the thing that stops you driving to the wrong corner of Palmer Park.

Where to stay in any month

Our pet-friendly hotels in Colorado Springs page lists what each property charges and allows, and the wider PetCompass hotel directory covers the region. The official Visit Colorado Springs site carries the event calendar, which is how you avoid arriving on Hill Climb Sunday by accident.

For the free options in any season, Garden of the Gods and El Paso County's Bear Creek Dog Park are the two that never close and never charge.

Conclusion

September first, June second, and no month that fails. The three fixed closures are Thanksgiving, Christmas and the third Sunday in June, and the fee window on the highway runs May 1 to November 30.

Beyond that the pattern is simple. In summer, go early. In winter, watch the ice and the salt. And in any month, call (719) 385-7325 before you drive up the mountain.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best month to visit Colorado Springs with a dog?

September. The Pikes Peak summer season runs through September 30, the summer heat that makes pavement dangerous has broken, and the crowds have thinned. June is a close second if you avoid the third Sunday.

When is the Pikes Peak Highway closed?

On Thanksgiving Day, on Christmas Day, and on the third Sunday in June for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, according to Pikes Peak's own hours and rates page. Otherwise it is open year-round, weather permitting.

How much does the Pikes Peak Highway cost?

The published general admission fee for May 1 to November 30 is $18 per adult aged 16 and over, $8 per child aged 6 to 15, or a carload rate of $65 per vehicle for up to five passengers, with additional adults at $13 and additional children at $5. A summer timed-entry permit is $2 per vehicle.

What are the Pikes Peak Highway summer hours?

From May 22 to September 30, uphill gates open at 7:30 a.m., last entry is 6 p.m., the summit closes at 7 p.m. and downhill gates close at 8 p.m.

How do I check Pikes Peak road conditions?

Call the pre-recorded information line on (719) 385-7325 and select option 1 twice. Pikes Peak says staff update it about 15 minutes before opening and then as conditions change through the day.

Is Colorado Springs good for dogs in winter?

Yes. Garden of the Gods keeps free entry and a 5 a.m. opening all year, closing at 9 p.m. from November 1 to April 30 rather than 10 p.m., and Bear Creek Dog Park is open year-round with restrooms just inside the gate open year round. Watch for ice on shaded pavement and salt on treated surfaces.

Sources

Fees, hours and closure dates are as published and change between seasons. Call the mountain's information line before you drive.