As for roller coasters in Colorado, the biggest is Elitch Gardens, the 130-year-old amusement park in Denver. Another Colorado-specific option is the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, where they hang you out over the edge of the canyon every chance they get. Mountain Coasters are huge here in the Rocky Mountains, and you can find them at several big ski resorts year-round.
If I were to plan a road trip for all the roller coasters in Colorado, I would definitely base myself in Denver and visit Elitch, Lakeside, and the Mile High Flea Market first and then make day trips out each of the mountain coasters. Then I’d head south to Colorado Springs, drive through Pueblo, and end up in Durango. (I figure if I’m going to do that many mountain coasters, I might as well do them all!)
Note that all the links on roller coaster names are links to videos. Ride all the roller coasters in Colorado from your sofa!
Elitch Gardens
Historic Elitch Gardens in Denver is the biggest amusement park in Colorado, with 6 roller coasters! The Twister II is a classic wooden coaster (named after Mr. Twister from the original park’s location.) The Sidewinder is a looping shuttle coaster. Mind Eraser has 5 inversions on an inverted track. Boomerang is a shuttle coaster with 3 inversions. And Half Pipe is a spinning ride on a u-shaped track. The Blazin’ Buckaroo is a kiddie mine train. Other rides include several spinners, a drop tower, a star flyer, swings, a Ferris wheel, an antique carousel, and a dark ride themed by Meow Wolf from Santa Fe! (I went to Elich Gardens and I wasn’t impressed.)
Tickets regularly cost $70, but you can score one now for $50. Parking is an extra $25-30 (card vs. cash – cash is more!) Admission includes the adjacent water park, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Lakeside Amusement Park
The pretty Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver has 3 roller coasters, one of which is the 80-year-old Cyclone wooden coaster. Then there’s a wild mouse called the Wild Chipmunk and a Kiddie Coaster. Other rides include a Merry-Go-Round, a fun art-deco train, some real antiques, and plenty of kid’s rides. I visited once and was really charmed by its stuck-in-time air of disrepair.
Parking is free and just to walk around is $5. To ride anything takes a wristband or individual ride tickets. Tickets are 50 cents each with each ride costing 1-6 tickets. When I was there, the Cyclone cost 6 tickets, and the Wild Chipmunk (which wasn’t open) is 4. For an all-rides wristband, it costs $15-20 on weekdays and $25-30 on weekends.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park features 4 roller coasters. The Cliffhanger steel coaster takes you right up to the canyon’s edge, while the newest, Defiance, takes you right over! Then there’s the Wild West Express for kids & families. The Alpine Coaster is a mountain coaster, but this time, you get to do the fast part first and the long lift hill back to the top afterward.
Other rides that hang you out over the canyon include the gondola you take to get up to the park, a giant swing, a spinning swings ride, and a seated zip line, plus laser tag and a 4D theater. All this sits adjacent to a cave system, so there are two different tours – a short trip into a huge cave and formation, and a 40-minute walk through tunnels and even out the side of the mountain.
Ticket prices vary according to the season. Right now, for just the gondola and to walk around costs $25. The gondola plus the caves is $45. And in the spring, a FUNDAY pass including all the rides that are open (which does not include any of the coasters except for the Alpine Coaster) costs $52. It cost me $61 in the summer of 2021, so I bet it’s closer to $65 now.
Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort
Colorado has a lot of mountain coasters, as a summer activity at all the ski slopes. My favorite is the Breathtaker at the Aspen Snowmass Resort with over a mile of coaster track! The cheapest ticket option is $58 for three rides. $69 includes unlimited use of the gondola, a chair lift up to a 11,000-foot summit, and a day of snow tubing. In the summer, the extra offerings are a little different.
Copper Mountain
My least favorite is the Rocky Mountain Coaster at Copper Mountain. One ride costs $35, or you can buy a day pass for $79 that includes one coaster ride, unlimited chair lift rides, paddleboats, and climbing wall, one ride on the go-kart, and two rides on the zip line.
Vail Adventure Ridge
Vail’s Forest Flyer mountain coaster is in the “Eagles Nest” area. This one is unique in that you ride the coaster part down first, then ride the long lift hill back last. You’ll have to purchase a gondola ticket in addition to your coaster ticket. In 2021, I paid $75 for both. But your gondola works at the Lionshead gondola, where the coaster is, the Vail Village gondola, and the Beaver Creek gondola down the road a bit. I enjoyed walking around the tourist shops and riding the three gondolas as well as the coaster. Plus, parking is free in the summer.
Mustang Mountain Coaster
The newest mountain coaster in Colorado is the Mustang Mountain Coaster in Estes Park. It’s a bit shorter, but they have a decent offer on 3 rides, which I highly recommend. The views of the Rocky Mountains from the top are amazing! One ride is $20 and three rides are $35. You can save $5 by buying your passes in town instead of at the coaster itself.
Breckenridge Ski Resort
The Breckenridge Ski Resort has the Gold Runner Mountain Coaster, old-style alpine slides, and a scenic chairlift. Tickets for the coaster costs around $30. Be prepared to pay for a full day’s parking (~$20) even if you’re only there for 30 minutes, though I think there is free parking and a city bus.
Purgatory Resort
At the Purgatory Ski Resort way down in Durango, you can find the Inferno Mountain Coaster in a park with two ye-olde alpine slides and a mountain biking park. A single ride costs $20 and a half-day pass for all the summer attractions costs $54.
Mile High Flea Market
At the Mile High Flea Market near Denver, you can find the family-friendly Dragon Roller Coaster. Other rides include a Ferris wheel, scrambler, Himalaya, and lots of kiddie rides, like bumper boats and inflatables. The Flea Market is open Friday-Sunday year-round, and the amusement rides are open on Saturday & Sunday. You pay admission to enter the market – $2 on Friday, $3 on Saturdays & Sundays, or $5 for the weekend. Then each ride is a little extra. I can’t find how much tickets are, but the Dragon takes two tickets.
North Pole/Santa’s Workshop
In Cascade, at the base of Pike’s Peak near Colorado Springs, there is a summertime Christmas playland called The North Pole. The park has over two dozen rides, mostly aimed at children, including the Candy Cane Coaster. But there’s also a train, a carousel, an antique whip ride, and a sky ride in the offerings. Admission and parking is free and you can greet Santa, send mail from the North Pole, or shop. To ride anything costs $32 for a wristband, though they used to have a cheaper band just for Train, Skyride, Giant Wheel, Scrambler, and Carousel (aka, the adult rides.) The train in particular offers a nice history on the park, even if it doesn’t particularly go anywhere. And the most thrilling ride of the park is arguably the Giant Wheel, which offers amazing views.
Pueblo City Park
In the town of Pueblo, there is a sizeable city park with some kid’s rides in it, including a kiddie coaster. There’s a train and an antique carousel that cost 50 cents each for adults or $5 for an unlimited wristband. It’s adjacent to the Pueblo Zoo and a nice playground, and it overall sounds like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or special event (like a birthday) with your kids.
Water Parks in Colorado
There are more than a few water parks in Colorado too! Almost all of these are in and around the outskirts of Denver, except for the last one.
- Hands-down, the best water park in Colorado is Water World near Denver, featuring 27 slides, including two water coasters, the Mile High Flyer and new Roaring Forks, plus some actual dark rides! This massive waterpark has just about everything you could want, from seven kid’s attractions to two huge wave pools – there’s even a gondola to get you from one side of the park to the other! $34 and under if you buy online. Parking is free.
- Elitch Gardens has a water park attached with 11 slides, a lazy river, wave pool, and kid’s areas. Included in park admission, $50-70, plus $25 parking.
- There’s a Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs with 4 slides, 3 kids’ areas, a wave pool, and activity pool. Day passes cost $50-100, depending on the day and how far you buy in advance. Half-day passes are $40-80.
- Pirate’s Cove Water Park below Denver is a smaller park with three slides, an activity pool, a competition pool, plus a sandy play area. $19 and under.
- The Broomfield Bay Aquatic Park above Denver has 3 slides, kid’s areas, and a zero-entry pool. $9 and under.
- The Brighton Oasis has 2 slides and a lazy river with a wave machine, plus a climbing wall and tot pool. $9.75 and under.
- At Splash Aquatic Park in Golden, west of Denver, there are 2 slides, a kid’s splash tower, and a competition pool. Daily passes are $12.50 and under.
- The Parker H2O’Brien Pool southeast of Denver features 2 slides, a splash tower, and a lap pool. Daily passes are $10 and under.
- Walsenburg Wild Waters is a small water park down in the south of Colorado, featuring 2 slides, 3 pools, a lazy river, and a splash tower. I sounds like it’s been closed since Covid, so we’ll see if it ever opens back up.
Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this summer? Let me know in the comments below!
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