This summer presents a rare opportunity to enjoy a rarely-visited side of Pikes Peak.

South Slope Recreation Area opened for the summer on May 29 — welcoming back permit-holding sightseers, hikers and anglers who come for the remote, trout-teeming fisheries reached at the end of a rugged drive outside Victor.

The experience will be different this season.

Mason Reservoir, the middle in the chain of high-elevation waters, is expected to be drained this summer. Colorado Springs Utilities recently announced the need to repair a pipe at the bottom of the reservoir.

“The issue was discovered in November 2024,” according to a news release, “but snow and ice cover required waiting until warmer weather to fully assess the issue.”

The city’s South Slope Recreation Area webpage indicates $20 permits will drop to $15 on July 17, “coinciding with the closure of Mason Reservoir.” Fish will be salvaged ahead of the drain, some of them moved to the lower fishery beside the parking lot: McReynolds Reservoir.

The price for permits will drop while days to visit will expand. Along with Thursday, Friday and Saturday, recreation-managing Pikes Peak-America’s Mountain is adding Sunday.

“The extra day will now allow guests to enjoy the stunning beauty and unique recreational opportunities the South Slope has to offer,” Pikes Peak-America’s Mountain Manager Skyler Rorabaugh said in the release.

Advocates have pushed for the extra day. That includes Becky Leinweber, executive director of Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, whose family owns the Angler’s Covey fly shop.

The fourth day was welcome, but Mason Reservoir’s closure was “disappointing,” Leinweber said. “Understandable of course,” she said of the repairs. “But it’s challenging when North Slope is also having its own repairs.”

Dam construction at South Catamount Reservoir is limiting access to fisheries at North Slope Recreation Area off Pikes Peak Highway.

“It impacts all the other places,” Leinweber said. “Rampart Reservoir I expect is getting a lot busier.”

That’s while South Slope Recreation Area will maintain its silence.

Up to 20 vehicles carrying up to eight people are permitted each day to the area. A gate remained closed for over a century before Colorado Springs Utilities granted limited access in 2014.

For permitted drivers, the gate opens at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. Hikers mind the time, especially those eyeing the uppermost Boehmer Reservoir, near 11,300 feet. The out-and-back trip on Mason Trail is about 9.5 miles. The upper part opens after July 15, at the end of bighorn sheep lambing.

A shorter trail loops around McReynolds Reservoir, what will be South Slope Recreation Area’s sole available fishery after Mason’s closure. McReynolds is catch-and-release only, with no motorized boats allowed.

South Slope Recreation Area typically closes toward the end of September. More information at coloradosprings.gov/southslope