Almost three hours west of Denver is Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Glenwood is much different than the city parks of Elitch Gardens and Lakeside in that it sits at 7,100 feet on a mountain above Glenwood Springs!
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
This park is also unique in that there are two cave tours included in the park’s experiences. In fact, Glenwood started solely as a cave tour in 1999. When lines became too long, the cave’s owners decided to add some rides for folks while they waited. Now, the park boasts three, soon four, roller coasters, plus nine more attractions ranging from a power swing over the canyon’s edge to an indoor 4D theater. And that’s not even including the gondola ride to the top or the two cave tours.
Parking, Gondola, & Central Village
There is a small free parking lot at the base of the Glenwood Caverns gondola, but it adjoins a hotel parking lot, so there’s not as much space as there seems. But there is additional parking across Two Rivers Plaza Road and even a little more across Highway 6. Even so, if you’re staying locally, you might want to walk over or take the bus. If you’re parking, make sure to get there early to make sure you have a spot!
The base of the gondola is where you can buy your tickets, and I think there’s a small one-room bathroom and maybe a small gift shop – I may be confusing the station with all the mountain coasters I’ve ridden. But the gist is, there’s not much at the base. You must ride the gondola to visit the park.
After a 5-minute ride to the top, you emerge next to a large general store building and into a western-style plaza of shops and restaurants. In the courtyard is a gem-mining sluice, straight ahead a counter-service smokehouse, and next to it, a fort with covered seating. Depending on the season, there might be things like a music stage or a large Christmas tree set up here.
Ride Lineup
Let’s work our way clockwise around the attractions at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.
Alpine Coaster
None of the roller coasters at Glenwood Caverns are going to knock your socks off. But the Alpine Coaster at Glenwood Caverns is apparently the first Mountain Coaster in North America. You can find the Alpine Coaster to your left as you emerge from the gondola. My advice is to ride this first thing in the morning when the crowds are low. It’s one of the most popular rides in the park and is pretty much the first that people see when they arrive at the top.
For some reason, I waited until later and my ride was slowed down by people ahead of me, which is no fun. It is nice to ride down the mountain first, with the long lift hill after.
Soaring Eagle Zip Ride
Another ride to hit before the crowds arrive is the Soaring Eagle Zip Ride, next to the Alpine Coaster. Again, it’s partly that it’s at the front of the park that it gets so mobbed. In this ride, two riders at a time are strapped into seats then hoisted up to the end of a zip line before zooming back down to the load platform. Two zip lines operated side-by-side, though they didn’t open the second one until the line got very long.
Note that the ride backward is just as fast as the ride forward! And it’s a little jolty at the top, which is arguably the scariest part. There’s not much to hold on to, just a tiny handhold on the side of your seat, which feels more frightening than the flight through the air, in my opinion.
Wild West Express
The Wild West Express is a kid’s roller coaster set into the side of the hill. It’s cute and goes around the oval track four times.
Halvor Flowstone
Climbing an incline behind the central village, you’ll find “Halvor Flowstone,” a 14-foot tall friendly troll statue that your kids can climb on and is good for photo ops. I think he even glows a little at night. I’ve seen a similar troll at Anakeesta in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
At the base of the inclined path are a rock shop and a shooting arcade, and some bathrooms. There also used to be a climbing wall here, but it’s not on the website or the map, so maybe they took it out.
Mine Wheel
A little farther along is the Mine Wheel, a kid’s Ferris wheel ride. There arguably might be a good view from the top! Adults can fit in it too.
Cliffhanger Roller Coaster
Up another inclined path is the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster. True to its name, it’s the highest ride in the park and clings right to the end of the canyon rim. In fact, it’s the “highest elevation full-sized roller coaster in North America.” It’s a pretty jolty ride, however. My impression was that it’s very…collapsible. And don’t put your hands up! There are several low-clearance areas and you will lose a hand if you put them over your head!
Glenwood Canyon Flyer
The Canyon Flyer is a simple swings ride but perching it on the canyon’s edge makes it into a real thrill ride! Unlike some of the other rides, you get to gaze straight down into the canyon below you for longer. And there’s no edge to the loading platform, just some netting, so don’t fall off! Canyon Flyer is my favorite ride for the view alone.
Giant Canyon Swing
For a more thrilling way to look straight down into the canyon, try out the Giant Canyon Swing. This power swing sends four riders at a time right out over the edge – two looking straight up and two looking straight down! It’s a short ride, though, and I quickly rode both sides. I’d recommend riding this right after the Alpine Coaster and the Soaring Eagles Zip Line.
Haunted Mine Drop
Now, I am not sure if this attraction will ever reopen again after the horrific events of last fall. In fact, it happened the day after I was there! Any mention of the ride has been erased from the official website and the park’s map.
Aside from that event, it probably was the scariest ride at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park anyway. You enter a mining operation and are double strapped into a 6-person ride vehicle. The lights go out, and pow! you drop right away 110 feet down into an actual cave. There’s a little bit of a “haunted” show at the bottom, then you’re lifted back to the top. Again, one of the scariest things about it is that there is nothing to hold on to! I’m glad I got to ride it before the accident. I’m not sure I could now.
COMING SUMMER 2022: Defiance Roller Coaster
In better news, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is opening up a new roller coaster this summer called Defiance. It will send eight riders at a time up and over a beyond-90 degree drop down the side of the mountain and into a series of swoops, including two inversions. Perched on the mountainside, it looks like it will be very exciting!
Giddy Up & Speleobox
Two attractions for little kids are next to the two-story general store. The Giddy Up is a kid’s frog hopper, and the Speleobox is a cave-like wooden climbing box for tiny explorers.
Indoors: 4D Theater & Laser Tag
Also aimed at kids is a 4D theater in the bottom of the general store building that you enter from the side. There’s a new show every 10 minutes. I had some time to kill and managed to watch them all! I liked Monkey Madness the most – it’s a bonkers cartoon, has the most seat action, and you’ll get the wettest from the effects. Winter Wipeout is a lot of fun, following a snowman sledding down a hill. Happy Family is a fun idea but with poor animation and not enough movement in the seat. And a Loony Tunes cartoon is arguably the best animated, but it was just like watching TV – there was hardly any movement from the seats at all.
Upstairs is a laser tag arena if you feel like shooting at your family and friends.
On all rides, you can keep any loose articles either with you or leave them on the ride platform.
Cave Tours
Arguably more exciting than any of the rides are the two cave tours at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. These were originally one extensive tour, but they split them up to better handle crowds. The smaller tour is King’s Row, where you enter a massive cavern and walk down several steps to the King’s Row, a room full of formations. It’s set up almost like a stage, and they do a little show, where they turn off the lights, and the formations glow a little. If it’s a very busy day, they let folks self-tour and may not do the show.
The longer tour is a 40-minute fully-guided Fairy Caves tour. Knowledgeable guides share the history of the caves, point out formations, and at one point, you pop out at an old patio area on the side of the mountain. They’ll turn off the lights so you can see how dark it really is, and at one point, we even sang! I thoroughly enjoyed our tour, our tour guide, and the other people in the group. It was a fantastic experience.
There also used to be 2-hour wild cave tours for groups of 2-8 but they haven’t done them during Covid. You’re issued coveralls, knee and elbow pads, helmets, and gloves and must be able to squeeze through spaces as small as 18 inches square and crawl for extended lengths. This tour is “individually priced” and not included in a regular Funday pass. It might depend on how many folks are on the tour. When they start up again, reservations are required.
Food & Shopping
The general store in the center is the main shopping destination at Glenwood Caverns, though there is a rock shop down the way a little. In the back of the shop is a large sit-down restaurant that overlooks the canyon from a wraparound deck. I had a great burger here, though the fries were too salty.
Across from the general store is the Smokehouse, a counter service restaurant. You can take your food and eat in the fort or anywhere else you can grab a seat. I ended up with a peanut butter and chocolate mudpie dessert here, in celebration of the “mudslide festival” that was going on. It was frozen solid and pretty hard to eat, even after letting it thaw.
Events & Hours
Speaking of the Mudslide Festival, there are several events throughout the year. You can find music during Friday Night Club, and Music on the Mountains features local bands. Octoberfest is held on weekends in early October, and pretty Winter on the Mountain lights up the mountain with string lights and holiday entertainment.
Hours vary significantly during the year, and it’s not as simple as being open during the week in the summer and on weekends otherwise. There are holiday weeks where it’s open all week and random weeks that are closed. But you can generally bet it will be open Friday – Sunday and open at 10 am. The park closes anytime between 5-9 pm, depending on the season. Basically, make sure you check the calendar before you visit!
All rides aren’t open all year, either. During the January-March winter period, the gondola and caves are open, as well as the Alpine Coaster, and the indoor 4D theater and Laser Tag. Starting March 11, add in the Giant Canyon Swing and the Soaring Eagle Zip Line when the temperature is above 40 degrees. Then sometime in May, all rides are open through the fall.
Tickets
Ticket costs vary during the year and according to how much is open. At all times, just to ride the gondola and walk around costs $21 per person. The gondola plus the caves cost $34. From January-March, adding in the Alpine Coaster and indoor attractions takes the price up to $39. With more open in the Spring (starting March 11), a “Funday” pass costs $49. When I visited in early fall with all the rides open, my total price was $61. You can buy online ahead of time or buy at the ticket counter at the bottom of the gondola.
Conclusion
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was both not what I expected and more than I expected. I thought the clifftop roller coaster and the Giant Canyon Swing would be really exciting when it was the caves and the Canyon Flyer that I enjoyed even more. It’s a small park by amusement park standards, but I wouldn’t miss it just for the caves, especially if you’re in the Glenwood Springs area.
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