(There it is, the handsome grey back of your destination!)
Reaching Greyback Peak trailhead -This is one of the most difficult trailheads to find that I have done yet. You must be very wiley in your direction seeking, in the spirit of my hiking pal. : ) I think the main problem is, following the Atlas, it seems Emerald Valley Ranch might no longer exist. My guess is maybe Broadmoor changed/sold and bought the Stables which is a bit before you reach where Emerald Valley Ranch was supposed to be.
Anyway, these updated directions, which might be available somewhere else on the internet, should be helpful and you should do just fine. So, from downtown, take Nevada all the way South until you get to Lake Drive (these directions are approximate, use Google maps for better precision). Take Lake Drive until you reach the circle right in front of the Broadmoor, then exit the circle left. Take this road to the end. It goes around a golf course. At the end, turn right, heading into the hills. You will reach an intersection and Old Stage Road is there, basically straight through the intersection.
Stay on Old Stage Road for a longish time. The pavement will turn to dirt at a hairpin with a sign for Bear Trap Ranch, and then you go through a gate. (This gate has been where Old Stage Road was closed since I've been here -last year). There are not many landmarks on Old Stage Road so keep the faith, worst case scenario you will reach the next landmark and realize you passed wherever you were going. You will pass something like "The Stables at Broadmoor" -there is a sign for that. There is also a sign for some sort of rest stop -beer, etc. -yet to be investigated. You will pass a sign about the land regulations.
The best way to landmark the turn off for the Greyback Peak trailhead is that you will pass a sign for Road 379 just a little bit before it. Look carefully for it. Then, it is the next turnoff on the left (that is not a private, gated road).
Once you tyrn onto this road, follow what the Atlas directions say: "within 1/4 mile, at the tip of the hikk, the Grey Back Peak Trail strikes off to the left." I put the trip calculator on on my car and it was almost exactly .25 miles. It is right at the top of the hill, so if you start to go down, you've gone too far. The "parking spaces" will have your car parked relatively steeply. There is no official marker for the trailhead, we couldn't even see the sign that says something about horses from the road and saw it once we got on the trail. You can see the trail from the road though.
Stats/trail -This is 3.5 miles roundtrip -not bad. However, some steepness is involved. My friends and I were suffering from a beer fest the day before (Springs style -in an abandoned supermarket, complete with lots of flourescent lighting) and so this was a bit rough but ended up curing most of us. Its a bit steep in the beginning. The saddle mentioned on the Atlas is most of the hike and goes up and down a couple of false summits that had me tricked. The final ascent up Greyback Peak is a bit steep. It still had some snow on it so this was hard for my friends in sneakers, I had light hiking boots and was fine. Took us a couple of hours total. Don't forget about a half hour each way up Old Stage Road though.
Updates from Pikes Peak Atlas -the signage/Emerald Valley Ranch changes mentioned above. Don't think the Atlas makes it clear that this trail is a bit hard to find.
Notes -very pretty trail, great piney smells, great views. We thought you could see Pikes Peak from the top!
View from the top -facing inwards. Can you see the little bit of what we think is Pikes Peak peeking out from the almost middle (right of middle) behind that ridge? There was also some sort of lake/community viewable from up there -maybe the ellusive Emerald Valley Ranch?
Hiking buddies made it in sneakers.
View from the top -facing outwards. We could see 115 leading to Canyon City and a beautiful view of the plains south of the Springs (Springs not visible from this point).
Always better to hike with friends -and future guest bloggers? : )