We are planning a trip to the Colorado Springs area next month. The wife is wondering if Royal Gorge Bridge Park is worth paying the admission fee to get into the park, or can you enjoy the gorge without entering the park?Doug

If you can, take the train ride through the gorge. Ride in the open car if you can, you have to stand the entire way, but the views are well worth it. It's a beautiful trip along the river at the bottom of the gorge and I think the best way to see it.If you just walk across the bridge, you don't get to see much, mostly due to all the people. You catch the train in Canon City. It's been several years since I took the train ride, but I think I just paid for the train and not the park admission.

ddndoug wrote:We are planning a trip to the Colorado Springs area next month. The wife is wondering if Royal Gorge Bridge Park is worth paying the admission fee to get into the park, or can you enjoy the gorge without entering the park?DougNot to bad mouth the Springs but if you just drive on out RT 24 to Buena Vista and the Collegiates you will see what I would consider the Real Colorado, not the Touristy part - Independence Pass - 14'ers - Aspen - Lakes - Streams - Beaver Dams..............Just so much to see, might as well go to the Big, Beautiful and Wild side.JMHO,

I found the park to be very interesting. The inclined railroad to the bottom of the gorge was great. The bridge does a great job of inducing vertigo. The history and information regarding how it was constructed was fascinating. The best way to go through the gorge is on a raft. Beats the train trip by a factor of 100. Class three and four rapids which means they are the biggest waters a novice should be running (ability to swim strongly is required, however). You will get wet, cold and maybe dump trucked at Sunshine rapids or smashed into the gorge wall at Wallslammer, make it this far and then hope that Boateater isn't hungry. Worth the price of admission.

In answer to your question, you must pay to get into the park, which then will allow you to see the gorge from above. You can then take the tram, the bridge, or the cable car/gondola type thing over the gorge. You also will access to the touristy stuff for the kids plus concessions.

ddndoug wrote:We are planning a trip to the Colorado Springs area next month. The wife is wondering if Royal Gorge Bridge Park is worth paying the admission fee to get into the park, or can you enjoy the gorge without entering the park?DougWorth is always subjective. What may be a worthwhile expense for one person, may not be so for another. That said, as the others have detailed, there are a variety of options of things to see and do, and the alternatives mentioned give a completely different perspective on not just the bridge but the canyon. For photo ops, it would be hard to resist getting a picture of the bridge from afar, a picture on the bridge, a picture on the incline going down, a picture from the train, or a picture from a raft on the river. Also keep in mind that a lot of the area immediately surrounding the bridge and in the park was destroyed in a fire several years back (the bridge itself did not sustain fire damage), so it would be very interesting to see what they have done to rebuild. I personally have not been back since the fire, but it's definitely on my to-do list.

Royal Gorge Colorado | Good Sam Community

tatest
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2017
For me, it was worth what I paid. I was there in October, first thing in the morning, and it was not crowded. I've also paid to see Lookout Mountain. I paid to ride through the gorge late in the afternoon before, and a camping fee to be around to see the gorge from the top in the morning.

But it depends on your interests, and how you value your money. Most of these attractions cost less than a decent bottle of wine or a six pack of good beer. To some folks that is a lot of money, to others it is trivial. It tend to rather value these attractions not vs the entry fees but rather the time I spent there, and Royal Gorge for me was worth the time spent. Consider that I am a geologist, and have particular interests you may not share. For me, Legoland or Six Flags Anywhere is a waste of time and money, a special geological feature is not.
Lauren
Explorer
Apr 23, 2017
When we lived in CO we called it the Royal Gouge. High priced for what it was worth. Busskipper makes a good point. Don't miss Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
fanrgs
Explorer
Apr 24, 2017
tatest wrote:
Consider that I am a geologist, and have particular interests you may not share. For me, Legoland or Six Flags Anywhere is a waste of time and money, a special geological feature is not.
I am a geologist too and have lived in Colorado for 54 years. That's why I recommended Black Canyon over the Royal Gorge and Garden of the Gods and Florissant Fossil Beds over the privately-owned "Santa's Workshop"-type tourist traps in the Colorado Springs area.

We have too many incredibly scenic natural wonders in our state--geologic or otherwise--to recommend that out-of-state tourists waste precious vacation time on most of the widely advertised "attractions" of the Springs. In fact, I generally recommend that visitors bypass both Colorado Springs and Denver if they only have a week or two to spend in Colorado. Go directly to Rocky Mountain NP, Great Sand Dunes NP, Meas Verde NP, and the San Juans--Ouray, Silverton, Telluride, Durango--if you want to see the real reasons that so many people want to move to Colorado.
ddndoug
Explorer
Apr 25, 2017
fanrgs wrote:
... In fact, I generally recommend that visitors bypass both Colorado Springs and Denver if they only have a week or two to spend in Colorado.

My son is stationed in Colorado Springs which is the biggest draw for heading to CS.

Doug

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