COME TO LIFE / High-Flying Adventure in the Royal Gorge Region HIGH-FLYING ADVENTURE IN THE ROYAL GORGE REGION COLORADO The 10-mile-long Royal Gorge sports the nation’s highest suspension bridge, dangling more than 1,000 feet above the crashing Arkansas River below, but that’s not the only reason to visit Cañon City. SIDETRIPS Just west of Colorado Springs, in the shadow of mighty Pikes Peak, spend a day peeking back into historic Cripple Creek. The drive between the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument — where you’ll find a 35-million-year-old lakebed filled with insects, leaves and even huge redwoods frozen in time by volcanic eruptions — and Cripple Creek along County Road 1 is a short but beautiful segment of the Gold Belt Tour , a National Scenic Byway. Cripple Creek first came to life in the middle and late 1800s when the Gold Rush drove fortune-seekers to the area to mine the riches. Get a hands-on look at the gold-seeking era with a tour of one of the area’s mines. At the Mollie Kathleen Mine , you’ll don a hard hat and descend a thousand feet below ground to learn about historic and modern-day mining techniques, see a vein of gold and ride in a mine cart. Hop on the historic steam loco-motive, the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad (open May–October) through the historic gold mining district. Visits to the Cripple Creek Heritage Center and the Cripple Creek District Museum are also informative forays into the town’s past. Stroll Bennett Ave., where nostalgic street lighting, wide sidewalks, shops, restaurants and more can fill a leisurely evening. And join today’s fortune-seekers at the town’s nu-merous betting tables at more than a dozen casinos. Cut your losses or collect your winnings and then head to the historic Butte Theater for a theatrical treat. 1 With a growing reputation as a home base for epic rock climbing, mountain biking, ziplining, fishing and river rafting, adventure-seekers are increasingly drawn to this area. The new Oil Well Flats trail system provides more than 10 miles of varied singletrack routes for mountain bikers. The Cat’s Pajamas trail takes riders to the edge of a 200-foot rim for views of Cañon City and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. And some of the best fishing in the state can be had on the Arkansas’ Gold Medal trout waters, including the area around Parkdale (just above the Royal Gorge). Towering above the Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge (1) is America’s highest suspension bridge. Navigate the rapids beneath it on a STAY & PLAY OPTIONS Cañon City (page 198), Coaldale (page 199), Cotopaxi (page 200) Cripple Creek (page 201), Florissant , Florence , Penrose (page 211), Texas Creek (page 213) QUICK TIP 174 / The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey is a serene little tasting room and shop set against the Wet Mountains — it’s also a perfect spot for picking up chic Colorado souvenirs. COLORADO.COM FROM LEFT: ROYAL GORGE BRIDGE, KENNAN HARVEY; CRIPPLE CREEK, STUDIO DENVER/ALLEN L. THORNTON; CAÑON CITY, KENNAN HARVEY; ROYAL GORGE ROUTE RAILROAD.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 174
