Royal Gorge, Colorado Mountain Activities & Recreation

An area as unique as a fingerprint, you’ll find a cascade of activities here to be found nowhere else in the world.

The Royal Route Gorge, world’s steepest incline railway. Runs beneath the world’s highest suspension bridge, towering above the train and the Arkansas River at 1,053 feet and stretching ¼ mile from one side to the other.  Built in 1879 and still running Dome Cars from the 1950’s, it is the only train that runs through the Gorge. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget.
 
Neither will you soon forget leaping off this bridge in what’s been recently refered to as the Royal Rush Skycoaster, named the “Scariest Skycoaster in the World.” Harnessed riders are released from a 100 foot tower and swing out over the Royal Gorge, hanging out over the 1,200 drop to the Gorge floor for a heart-stopping moment. This is not your mother’s thrill ride.

Hungry for more? Visit Buckskin Joe, a frontier town located outside of Canon City near the Gorge, whose inhabitants still practice shoot-outs at high noon, enjoy their favorite drinks in the local saloon and food at their favorite grub-stop. Or stop by the Mountain Man encampment in nearby and be hurled back in time to experience how the first mountain men and women survived in Colorado, complete with authentic costume and living quarters. History breathes here.

Whitewater rafting is, of course, a staple here as well, as is camping and horseback riding. If you truly want a thrill, take a helicopter tour of the Gorge, or revel in the heart-stopping adventure of skydiving.

If you’re looking for something a little more tame, drop by the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in nearby Canon City, a vineyard started in 1926. Summer or winter, you can kick back and relax with a glass of wine and views of snowdrifts or lush gardens.

The Royal Gorge Park also features over 700 miles of hiking trails in the 1,109,782 acres of San Isabel National Forest. Superior pool and fly fishing reveals itself in a stretch of river rich with Brown Trout before the river drops off into less abundant fishing grounds, waters far more suited for whitewater rafting than casting a fly. Visit the Dinosaur Depot and the Garden Park Fossil Area, where archaeologists still search for fossils, or the 10 acre Wapiti Western Wildlife Park to see elk, bighorn sheep and a white buffalo among other indigenous Colorado wildlife.