October 26, 2022

ROYAL GORGE BRIDGE & PARK

4218 Co Rd 3A, Cañon City, CO 81212

“The Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, a 360-acre amusement park located along the edge of the Royal Gorge around both ends of the bridge.” - Wikipedia

My family visited the Royal Gorge Bridge on a vacation somewhere around the time I was in the sixth grade.  I remember this cool bridge over this very deep gorge.  I seem to remember an incline train that went down to the bottom of the gorge, of course we didn’t take it.  When I started planning my visit to Colorado, I knew this had to be one of my stops.

I’m guessing the only structure remaining from my last visit is the bridge itself.  A fairly new visitor’s center greets you as you pull into the parking lot.  The nice lady at the ticket gate directed me to begin by taking the gondola ride across to the other side of the gorge.  The gondola ride is included with the admission.  The ride gave me a great view of the bridge and gorge below. 

Once on the other side I followed the path, stopping at several lookout points, and taking me past the three add-on adventures.  I stopped at the Plaza Theater and watched a short film about the history and construction of the bridge and park, before starting my trek across the 1260 ft bridge.  The views from the bridge were fantastic.  Luckily, there wasn’t much of a breeze to speak of, as I’m sure a windy day would make the crossing a little more challenging.  A park ranger in a golf cart crossed the bridge while I was on it and the bridge bounced a little. I can’t imagine what it must have been like when it was open to vehicular traffic years ago. 

After crossing the bridge and taking pictures from almost any angle imaginable, I decided I needed to take some pictures with a telephoto lens, so I went to my truck and switched out the lenses.  The little break allowed me to catch my breath, as the short steep inclines around the bridge had me (and others) huffing and puffing.  Once back in the park I followed the same path I took earlier, starting with the gondola ride.

I mentioned the add-on adventures earlier.  These include a zip line ride across the gorge, a “skycoaster” that swings people out over the gorge and back, and a rock-climbing system that guests can use to hike and clime the granite walls of the Royal Gorge.  I didn’t participate in any of these, but a few people did.  I’m guess these attractions are much more popular during the summer months when the park has larger crowds.

I’m glad I returned to this site that was etched in my memory from childhood.  I would recommend it to anyone visiting Colorado.