Colorado turns 150 this weekend — help set world record with coffee and donuts on Pikes Peak

Colorado is turning 150 years old on Saturday, August 1, and the Centennial State — which, yes, is now technically the Sesquicentennial State, but nobody’s updating the nickname — is pulling out all the stops to mark the occasion. The biggest, most gloriously weird way to celebrate? Climbing to the top of Pikes Peak and dunking a donut into coffee. For a Guinness World Record.

This is real life.

What’s happening

Colorado became the 38th state on August 1, 1876, which makes this Saturday the state’s official 150th birthday — celebrated annually as Colorado Day. The milestone is being marked with events across the state, but the crown jewel of the weekend has to be what’s going down at the summit of Pikes Peak, elevation 14,115 feet, in the shadow of the clouds.

Pikes Peak — America’s Mountain — is hosting an official Guinness World Record attempt for the most people simultaneously dunking donuts into coffee. Organizers need at least 250 participants to show up, dunk their summit donuts — already legendary in their own right among Colorado hikers — and make history at exactly 11:00 a.m. at the Summit Visitor Center.

If you’ve ever had one of those famous Pikes Peak summit donuts after hauling yourself up that mountain, you understand why this is, honestly, a perfectly reasonable way to mark 150 years of statehood. Those things are life-changing at altitude.

The details

Date: Saturday, August 1, 2026 — Colorado Day

Time: World record attempt kicks off at 11:00 a.m. at the Summit Visitor Center

Location: The summit of Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs (you know, the top of that big mountain you can see from basically everywhere on the Front Range)

What it costs: Participation in the world record attempt itself is free — though standard admission fees and permits for the mountain still apply, so don’t show up expecting a totally free ride to the top

How to get up 

This isn’t exactly a spontaneous “just show up” situation. The summit of a 14,000-foot mountain never really is.

You’ll need an advance timed-entry permit or shuttle ticket booked through Drive Pikes Peak before you head out. Organizers are recommending an 8:00–9:00 a.m. or 9:00–10:00 a.m. arrival slot at the gateway, which gives you enough buffer time for the roughly one-hour drive from the base to the summit.

Do the math: if the record attempt starts at 11:00 a.m. and it takes an hour to get up the mountain, you do not want to be the person rolling up to the gateway at 10:45. Plan accordingly. The mountain does not care about your schedule.

Keep the party going in Colorado Springs

The celebration doesn’t end when you come back down the mountain. The Colorado Springs area has a full slate of events rolling through the day and into the evening, making it worth sticking around after you’ve completed your historic donut-dunking duties.

Colorado Springs sits at the foot of Pikes Peak and has long leaned into its identity as the gateway to some of Colorado’s most iconic scenery — and for the state’s 150th, the city is embracing that role in full force. Whether you’re looking to explore Garden of the Gods, catch live music downtown, or just grab something stronger than coffee after the altitude gets to you, there’s plenty to fill the rest of your Saturday.

Why this matters

Look, it’s easy to poke fun at a donut-dunking world record. We did. But here’s the thing — Colorado’s 150th birthday is genuinely worth celebrating, and there’s something very Colorado about marking it at the top of one of the most iconic mountains in the American West with a donut and a cup of coffee.

The summit donuts at Pikes Peak have been a rite of passage for generations of Coloradans and tourists alike. Pairing that tradition with a world record attempt, on Colorado Day, at 14,115 feet above sea level, is the kind of absurdly perfect idea that only makes sense once you hear it.

So if you’re anywhere near the Denver or Colorado Springs area this Saturday, it might be worth setting the alarm a little earlier than usual. History — and pastry — wait for no one.