Kids will enjoy the carousel and trips in airplanes and trains that entertain without being frightening. Island Kingdom Water Park is a huge wet playground within Elitch Gardens with a whole assortment of water slides, including ones with enormous drops, and others that hurtle you at high speed. For families and children there are a lazy river, a wave pool, and slides geared to small tykes.
They also have ornamental displays of perennial favorites: daylilies, roses, and irises. The Mordecai Children’s Garden encourages hands-on exploration of soil and water and has stroller parking, picnic tables, and year-round programing. There are many gardens dedicated to the serenity of Japanese strolling gardens and bonsai, a South African garden with hardy plants from their steppe region, and a greenhouse overflowing with tropical and subtropical flowers.
Still haven’t packed enough into your Colorado vacation? Make time to see some of the great Colorado mountain attractions — tour a ghost town near Aspen, sail above the mountains in a balloon over Breckenridge, rock out at a music festival in Telluride, check out the nightlife scene in Vail and try your luck at a casino in Black Hawk, Central City or Cripple Creek.