Royal Gorge Bridge

— After spending a week in the high mountains in Colorado (running away from excruciating high summer temperatures), we headed back home. During the return trip, we did a very brief stop to check out the views at the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park located in Cañon City, Colorado. Was that park crowded! We were barely able to find a parking space there.

Since the construction of the Royal Gorge Bridge in 1929, the park has received over 26 million visitors according to the park’s website. In the first photo here you can see the bridge, which is 956 feet (291 meters) above the Arkansas River (seen in subsequent photos). The bridge is 1,260 feet (384 meters) long with a width of 18 feet (5.5 meters). The main span covers 880 feet (268 meters), and the bridge has a total capacity of holding over two million pounds (907,000 kg) of weight.

Besides a visitor’s center, the park also has a zipline, an aerial gondola, a theater, a playground, and much more. Regular admission only includes access to the bridge, gondola, theater, and playland. Everything else is sold separately and booked with different vendors.

At the bottom of the gorge, the Arkansas River runs between 1,000-foot (305-meter) high canyon walls. As a separate attraction, a visitor can take advantage of class III to V rapids. There are a variety of trips available, from half-day to full-day trips. You can get more information at this website. Here is a view of the river as seen from the overlook area near the visitor center (click on the image for its full size). Another outfitter also provides similar trips as well as 2-3 day rafting trips. Yet a third outfitter also offers similar trips that can be combined with ziplining experiences. No matter what outfitter you pick, it seems like there are plenty of adventures for all levels and skills.

Also, a separate attraction from a visit to the park is the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. You can wine and dine or just have tea during your ride. Since 1945, there have been glass dome cars to allow for a more scenic ride. The train has four daily departures: breakfast, lunch, afternoon, and dinner time. Normally the train runs 1.5-2.0 hours round trip for morning and afternoon rides. The evening departures go for 2.5-3-hours round trip. Here are some photos of the train as seen from the top of a lookout area. Click on the photos for their full size, as always.