Royal Gorge Bridge and Park has been on our kinda-see list for 10+ years, but we thought there just wasn’t enough here to justify a big detour to check it off.
We were right, while it’s cool to see once, we’re happy to have it checked off and happier still that we didn’t make a big detour to see it.
Royal Gorge is owned by Canon City, and it’s pretty much a tourist trap.
Tall bridge? Check.
Zipline? Check.
Tarzan Swing? Check.
Lame Via Ferrata? Check.
$32 entry fee just to walk across the bridge? Check.
If we weren’t already here, the CFO would have shut that down right away. But since we’re here and we intend to never come back, we ponied up the dough to sneak past the gates.
The bridge IS an amazing piece of architecture, and the ticket DOES include unlimited back-and-forth rides on the gondola that traverses the gorge.
Almost a thousand feet above the Arkansas River below, the bridge was built in 1929 and was the highest bridge in the world until 2001.
A massive fire in 2013 destroyed 48 of the 52 structures around the bridge, but left the bridge mainly unscathed and it reopened just over a year later.
It’s pretty cool to see the whitewater rafters far below on the river, maybe one day we’ll see the bridge from the bottom side!
Welcome to Royal Gorge
In case you forgot where you were…
Far Far Away
Rafters floating down the Arkansas River almost 1,000 feet below us.
The Royal Gorge Bridge
The mandatory bridge tourist shot.
Claim Jumpers Mill
They do a great job with the kid’s play area at the park.
Tarzan Swing
No, that’s not Colette on the Tarzan Swing
Royal Gorge Gondola
If you don’t want to walk across the bridge, there’s a gondola that will take you both directions.
All Jumbled Up
The gorge and the bridge make a jumbled mess of lines and shapes. Hurts my eyes.
This Way
In case you think any of the fun stuff is behind you in the parking lot.
499
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad locomotive number 499 sits on display outside the entrance to Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.
