Water is available for you to personally filter or treat at Barr Camp.  We do NOT have a potable water source.  We recommend you bring your own treatment or filter.

We have a limited quantity of 24 ounce bottles of water for $2.00.  We do not have enough bottles to supply large groups.

Pikes Peak dominates the land like no other Colorado peak; rising abruptly 8,000 feet from the high plains, it can be easily seen over 100 miles away. Pikes Peak is one of Colorado's most celebrated and difficult peaks to attain. The difficulty arises from the length of the climb and the elevation gain, rather than from its technical difficulty (over 7,500 feet of total elevation gain). The long hike and altitude can be demanding at times, but with a layover at Barr Camp, properly equipped individuals with average physical conditioning (and above average fortitude) reach the summit on a regular basis during the spring, summer and fall seasons. More adventurous hikers have found the beauty and challenge that a winter ascent can bring. Barr Camp's central location on the East face of Pikes Peak makes it an excellent base camp for overnight and day trips to other points of interest on the mountain such as Bottomless Pit, Elk Park, Ghost Town Hollow, and Ad-a-man Rock.

Come and stay awhile with us in a remote camp and cabin setting in one of the most beautiful and historic settings in the country. It will be an experience that will stay with you forever.

• Barr Camp provides a year round base for rescue operations and offers potentially life saving advice and information to hikers on Pikes Peak.
• Barr Camp is committed to protecting the environment and educating the public on outdoor wilderness ethics.

Mr. Barr was a firm believer in trails through the mountains of the region. He believed that the best views of the beauty offered by the Pikes Peak mountain area are to be obtained from hikes along trails, rather than by driving over highways in automobiles. Around 1905, he operated a horse-and buggy sightseeing establishment near Adams Crossing, providing horse-drawn vehicles for persons desiring to visit the more easily accessible scenic spots of the region. In 1918 he began surveying the route that he would carve to the summit of Pikes Peak. Completing the survey on Christmas eve in 1918, he spent the night alone on the summit. Three years later, the trail was complete. Working as a miner in the winters, Fred Barr would save his money to build Barr Trail and Barr Camp during the summer seasons.

About the time the Barr trail was completed to the top of Pikes Peak Mr. Barr erected a cabin on the trail, which was so situated that it made a convenient stopping place for hikers who did not wish to make the walk to the summit in one day. Fred ran a burro team out of this camp for some twenty years. He would bring people up four miles from the summit of Mt. Manitou on the trail he made. He would feed them a hearty meal, and put them up for the night in one of the four cabins he built. Iron beds with springs and mattresses insured a good night sleep. Early the next morning they would eat breakfast and start up the trail for the six mile ride to the summit. Fred liked to get an early start for he knew how fickle the weather could be late in the afternoon. He also enjoyed treating his clients to the sunrise to be seen from the higher elevations above the cabin.

Mr. Barr was one of the original "frozen five", or the first five members of the AdAmAn Club. This group, in 1922 began its annual trek to the summit of Pikes Peak to fire pyrotechnics as a New Years greeting to residents 8,000 feet below. Every year since, they have officially "added a man" to the group's roster, thus the group's name. He always took part in the annual trek, which is still made today in time to set off the fireworks display on New Years Eve.

Fred Barr died from a heart attack April 3, 1940. His legend lives on in the mountains he loved, and the trail and camp that to this day still bear his name.