The Royal Gorge – “Grand Canyon of the Arkansas”

The Royal Gorge is a dramatic, narrow canyon carved by the Arkansas River in south-central Colorado, near the town of Cañon City. The centerpiece is the Royal Gorge Bridge, a suspension pedestrian bridge that spans 1,260 feet across the Royal Gorge and stands about 956 feet above the Arkansas River. The bridge, built in 1929, once held the title of the world’s highest bridge, and still holds the distinction of being the highest suspension bridge in the U.S. Today, the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park is a huge tourist attraction with a zipline, gondola, bungie ride and more. The park was completely rebuilt after a fire in 2013 destroyed almost everything but spared the bridge.

Although the Gorge was our primary pull to the area, we knew there was more to explore in the overall region, so we scheduled eleven days and stayed at the very nice, and conveniently located, Mountain View RV Resort. The 10-mile gorge and park are owned by Cañon City, with the park operations run by a private entity. Although the park has an entry admission, recreation in the gorge outside of the park, such as hiking and river access, is free.

I was hesitant to pay the $30 (discounted) fee just to walk across a bridge but bit the bullet and I’m glad I did. The first thing you do when you enter the park is take the gondola across the gorge to the other side. This was a surprising inclusion with my entry fee and provided some amazing views. The park claims it is “one of the longest single-span gondolas in America”.

Once at the other side I enjoyed standing right under the zip-line and watching the riders flying over me into the canyon. There are also several viewing spots to get different perspectives of the gorge. At one point, the gorge makes a turn and the view from there makes it feel like you’re standing in the middle of the gorge, suspended in air.

The zip line, sky coaster (bungie), and Via Ferrata course are all an additional cost but a kids play area and theater are also included in the admission. I watched the informative film on the gorge before walking across the bridge.

The bridge is an architectural masterpiece, spanning 1,260 feet high above the Arkansas River. What I didn’t know was that the walking surface is a series of 1,257 wood planks. Wood planks that you can see through the gaps of down 956 feet below to the river! Even on a moderate wind day, you can really feel the sway of the bridge when you’re standing in the middle. It seems remarkable that only a series of cables hold it up.

If your fear of heights or reluctance to pay the admission fee keeps you from the park, you can still enjoy the gorge and views of the bridge in other ways such as from several hiking trails. Just before the entrance gate to the park is a trailhead for the Royal Gorge Overlook Loop (1.6-mile easy trail) and the Royal Gorge Canyon Rim Trail (3.9-mile moderate trail). Both trails have fantastic views of the gorge, river below and some sneak peaks of the bridge in the distance. The Rim trail has the bonus of an amazing vista point at the end on top of some rocks. Bring a snack and enjoy the views! As an alternative to the Overlook trail, you can take the adjacent gravel road to the end and then just a short walk is needed to the viewpoints.

For a longer, and bit more strenuous hike, the 5-mile Fremont Peak Summit Loop is a good option. We took this trail to just beyond where the communication towers are, about 0.6 miles from the summit. We didn’t quite have our mojo that day so didn’t complete the trail, but the views were pretty good from what we did do.

Another really fun hike is the Tunnel Drive Trail. This trailhead is accessed just on the edge of town and traverses along a lower ridge of the gorge just above the river. There are several tunnels along the way as you meander through the canyon and if your timing is right, you get to see the Royal Gorge train go by. We were lucky enough to see it three times on our hikes. Check out royalgorgeroute.com for information about train excursions through the gorge.

Possibly the favorite part of our visit was our day trip to Cripple Creek (♫). The little mining town is adorable but the drive there was even better. The journey traverses the Gold Belt Tour and starts from Cañon City where you take Shelf Road north. Shelf Road is an old stagecoach route that starts out paved but then quickly becomes a narrow-maintained gravel road carved into the canyon walls. The views along the entire way are gorgeous! Other than being narrow and difficult to pass oncoming traffic in parts, there is nothing particularly difficult about the road so 4WD is not necessary (weather dependent).

After spending some time in the town of Cripple Creek and eating lunch we headed back via Phantom Canyon Road after a quick drive through the ghost town of Victor. Phantom Canyon Road is an old mining road which is a similarly maintained gravel road as Shelf Road. After starting through a beautiful aspen forest, the road goes back into the canyon with more amazing scenery and some tunnels as well. Again, 4WD isn’t necessary on these roads, so if you are wanting an off-road experience and don’t have an off-road vehicle, this could be a unique opportunity.

Speaking of unique driving experiences, don’t miss Skyline Road. This 2.6-mile road overlooking Cañon City is a paved one-way road that traverses along a very narrow ridge. The road is shared by cyclist and hikers and can be taken as an alternate route from Highway 50 into Cañon City. The road was completed in 1905 with labor from local inmates.

The town of Cañon City has all of the needed amenities and a nice historic main street district with local shops and restaurants. For a casual dinner and beverage, we enjoyed Pizza Madness. Once we realized Standard Oil Coffee Company was not a service station, it became our local hangout for a cup of Joe on their patio. And don’t miss Sally’s Bakery just a block off the main drag. You’ll thank me later! a Little east of Cañon City in the town of Penrose is an amazing place called Coyote’s Coffee Den, serving up casual breakfast and lunch. We went back for seconds on our way out of town thanks to their big gravel parking lot out back.

We also enjoyed our wine tasting at The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey. The winery sits on the grounds of the Holy Cross Abbey, a former monastery. We certainly added this to our list of unique drinking establishments and came home with a couple bottles of their very tasty wines.

There’s a small OHV area called BLM Seep Springs just north of town with some nice trails that we explored. As we continued through this area on Road F24 we discovered Red Rock Park, a beautiful city run park with hiking trails among the natural red rock formations. This is a spot we would like to explore further on a return trip.

The Royal Gorge region was our last stop of our 100-day Colorado Rockies journey. It certainly lived up to what we have come to expect from our six previous stops in the Rockies during the summer and autumn of 2025. From Pueblo cliff dwellings to high mountain vistas, and from hot springs to some of the best off-road trails in the country, the Colorado Rockies have so much to offer outside of winter skiing.

Check out the rest of our pictures from the Royal Gorge region.