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.
The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, about 6mi (10km) outside the center of Golden, pays tribute to Wild West legend Buffalo Bill Cody. It sheds light on his life and Wild West shows and contains artefacts such as Sitting Bull’s bow and arrows, show outfits and other objects from the Old West. The gravesite and museum sit in Lookout Mountain Park, overlooking the natural beauty of the Great Plains and the Rockies. You may even catch sight of the herd of buffalo and other wildlife that live in the area.
Make your Memorial Day memorable at Craig’s Grand Olde West Days or MountainFilm in Telluride. June, July, August and September are perhaps the hardest hitting when it comes to sheer number of events. Every single weekend you’ll have a handful of fun festivals to choose from. Splash around at FIBArk in June or the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo over Labor Day.
Located in Central Colorado, Bishop Castle has quickly become one of the most popular roadside attractions in the state. In 1959, fifteen-year-old Jim Bishop dropped out of school and purchased a 2.5 acre piece of land for $450. This piece of land was located alongside southern Colorado’s San Isabel National Forest. In order to earn enough money to purchase the land, Bishop worked random side jobs and helped his father, Willard. Although Bishop funded the land purchase, his parent’s legally owned the land since Bishop was only a teenager.
It’s also imported to note that the Bishop Castle does not have any heat or facilities for people to change. Also, there are no services or assistance provided by the Bishop Castle to provide guests with access to the Castle. Lastly, while the Bishop Castle does not charge a fee for wedding ceremonies or any other private events, hosts are encouraged to make a donation to the castle of approximately $350.
In the spring of 1971, Bishop and Willard decided to use a large metal tank to supply the cabin with water. Since the metal cylinder was 40 feet tall, Bishop and Willard continued to build the walls of what was originally a small cabin. Friends and neighbors of the cabin would consistently joke with Bishop and Willard that they were building a castle. Eventually, Bishop decided to turn his original plans of a small cabin to a large castle.
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has been the city’s leading cultural institution for more than 100 years. Here, you can enjoy a variety of exhibits on everything from natural history and the universe to biology and even Colorado history. In City Park, the museum also has an IMAX theater, a planetarium and a host of exciting temporary exhibits annually.
Whether fact or fiction, real or mythical, these events celebrate historic traditions. The West is Colorado’s culture and there’s no better place to soak that up then the Colorado State Fair. It’s an eleven-day extravaganza with rodeos, concerts, crafts, carnivals and livestock. Denver’s National Western Stock Show embodies the spirit of the west over sixteen days.
While its Denver counterpart might be more popular, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is the most interesting Colorado zoo experience you’ll find. It sits about 6,800ft (2,073m) above sea level and features exhibits built into the mountainside. You can also feed the giraffes, ride an open chairlift over the zoo, walk through an aviary of free-flying birds and expect plenty of animal encounters.
