# The View That Inspired 'America the Beautiful'
Katherine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" in 1893 after a transformative journey across the United States, and the song's inspiration remains rooted in a specific Colorado destination that continues to draw pilgrims today.
Bates, a Massachusetts poet and English professor, traveled west by train to teach a summer course at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. The defining moment came when she ascended Pikes Peak, the 14,115-foot mountain towering over the city. The panoramic view from the summit, stretching across the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains, sparked the verses that would become America's unofficial second national anthem.
"O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain," Bates wrote, capturing the landscape she witnessed. The journey itself, crossing prairies and mountains from coast to coast, informed every stanza of the composition.
Today, Pikes Peak remains Colorado Springs' crown jewel. Travelers reach the 14,115-foot summit via the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, a historic rack-and-pinion train that departs from downtown Colorado Springs. The narrow-gauge railway climbs nearly 6,800 feet in under an hour. Alternatively, visitors drive the 19-mile Pikes Peak Highway, a scenic toll road that opens annually from late spring through November.
The base station sits at 6,571 feet elevation. Advanced hikers tackle the challenging Barr Trail, a 13-mile ascent gaining 7,544 feet. Most visitors allow six to eight hours for the hike.
Colorado Springs itself offers hotels ranging from budget options to luxury properties. The Broadmoor, an iconic 1891 resort nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain, provides five-star accommodations. Budget-conscious