About this event
The 2026 Great Mountains of Colorado Tour
Note: Minor details are subject to change and hotel arrangement info is coming soon.
Quick Stats:
6 Official Days (+ 1 or 2 days home from Manitou Springs with recommended return route)
2,419 miles round trip
8 scenic byways encountered
17 named mountain passes conquered
Overnight Locations - Hotel booking information will be sent directly to registrants:
-Ogallala, NE
-Estes Park, CO
-Vail, CO
-Palisade, CO
-Durango, CO
-Manitou Springs, CO
Highlights:
-Poudre Canyon
-Big Thompson Canyon
-Rocky Mountain National Park and Trail Ridge Road
-Independence Pass
-Unaweep Canyon
-Million Dollar Highway
-San Luis Valley
-Pikes Peak (unofficial, on your own)
-delicious food, beautiful roads, and wonderful people!
Logistics Notes:
-Driven by a desire to more widely share these great experiences, the attendance cap is nearly double (20 cars) for 2026’s EPIC tour! Growing demand for these drives, like the 2024 Great Western Skies Tour and the 2025 Lake Superior Circle Tour, led us to have two groups - one leaving on Saturday and the second one on Sunday following the first group one day behind. Back-to-back groups help simplify logistics planning for the trail boss, the restaurants, and the hotels on this fantastic multiday event.
-Timed Entry at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) will be active at the time of our trip. The plan is to depart our Estes Park hotel in time to enter RMNP before Timed Entry is required (typically 9AM-4PM daily). If this doesn’t work out, an alternative route for that part of the day is under development.
-The trip officially ends after dinner in Colorado Springs with the overnight stay in Manitou Springs. The intent is to open up options for tour attendees like Pikes Peak (note possible Timed Entry requirements), Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, family and friend visits, countless museums, or choose between powering home in one day or two. It’s approximately 700 miles from Colorado Springs to Des Moines (this is included in the 2,419 mile figure for the trip).
Please contact Eric Nelson with any questions you may have at nelsone2@gmail.com or by calling or texting (preferred) at 641-745-7200.
Event requirements
This event is classified as a "driving tour" and will be conducted in accordance with the Porsche Club of America's Driving Tour Standards. We will be using Ride with GPS phone app for navigation. If you have not downloaded the app on your phone, please follow this link to do so and review the guides we have developed for the users.
https://schonesland.com/driving-tour-app/
If you have any questions, please contact Skip Hammerman at 515-419-8734 or Ben Nordman at 612-910-1699.
