The plunging Royal Gorge is cool in its very own proper. But what’s even extra particular is that you could enjoy it in special ways — from above, from beneath, from midway down the rock face.
Whether you’re a journey junkie, a leisurely sightseer, or something in among, here are eight methods to experience one in all Colorado’s maximum iconic herbal features.
From the bridge
Walk across the very best suspension bridge in North America. Completed in 1929, the bridge is 956 feet above the Arkansas River and gives sweeping perspectives of the gorge on each aspect. Be certain to take a photo with your own home nation’s flag — each nation is represented on the bridge. When the wind begins blowing, you might feel a bit squeamish being up so excessive, but the bridge was strengthened and refurbished in the Nineteen Eighties (and checked out by way of engineers after the 2013 fire) and is strong.
Once you’ve walked across the ancient bridge, take a first-rate speedy manner back: the zip line. You’ll be strapped into a harness in a seated role, then pushed off a platform to go flying across the gorge 1,2 hundred toes above the Arkansas River. You don’t even need to keep on!
From the path
Lace-up your trekking boots and hit the Canyon Rim Trail, a mellow 1.7-mile route that you can connect with other trails within the park for an extended adventure.
From the through Ferrata
One of the most up-to-date methods to peer the Royal Gorge is by using climbing its partitions. Even if you’re no longer a skilled climber, you may nevertheless feel the heart-pumping thrill of being perched on a rock wall high above the roaring river thanks to the brand new through Ferrata within the park. Wearing a harness, you’ll clip onto a steel cable as you climb iron rungs up the side of the gorge. There are routes of varying issue and length, consisting of a complete-day trip.
From the sky coaster
It’s the type of like a bungee bounce, and kind of like a giant swing set. You’ll strap in with up to two pals, then unfastened fall and swing out over the gorge like a pendulum at 50 mph.
From a raft
Once you’ve regarded down on the Arkansas River, it’s time to hit the rapids and appearance up on the bridge. Echo Canyon River Expeditions, as an example, gives 1/2-day and complete-day rafting trips (entire with a riverside steak lunch) thru the Royal Gorge and alongside different mellower stretches of Arkansas. You may sense frightened about the rapids (with names like “Boat Eater” and “Sledgehammer,” who wouldn’t be?), but never worry. The team of experienced river courses will place you right at ease — they can even factor out interesting historic websites and local flora and fauna even as you navigate the water.
From the teach
A less-severe manner of viewing the bridge from under is by taking a journey on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. You can select from an array of instructions of the carrier, including an experience next to an engineer inside the cab of a locomotive. Order foods and drinks on board, or e-book a price ticket that consists of three-course lunch or dinner. If you adore a terrific drama, you’ll be glad to recognize the tracks you’re driving along have been as soon as a part of the acute “railroad wars” of the 1870s, whilst railroad businesses competed to build tracks via the Royal Gorge.
