See the Royal Gorge -- underneath your feet! Park opens new clear-floor gondolas
Royal Gorge gondolas
CANON CITY, Colo. (KKTV) - You can now see a southern Colorado icon from a whole new perspective!
Over the weekend, the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park unveiled its two newest gondolas -- and these are unlike any other gondola you’ve ridden before.
“They are the first of their kind in the country,” said Denny Dore, the park’s director of marketing and communications. “This is the only chance you’re going to have anywhere in the U.S. to look down beneath your feet as you glide smoothly across the gorge.”
That’s right: These new gondolas come with a glass floor!
“We’re always looking for ways to make experiencing the gorge more fun,” Dore told me. “And this is just the newest way that we’ve found to do that. You know, something to bring you closer than ever to the natural experience here.”
The gondolas take you 2,200 feet across the gorge as you hang 1,200 feet up -- with the entire journey unfolding beneath your feet!
“This view down beneath us is almost as high as some of the tallest skyscrapers in the U.S. We get to look 1,200 feet down at the Arkansas River and these beautiful rock faces here. You can even see our Via Ferrata routes, our climbing routes, down here sometimes. It’s a beautiful view. You can sometimes see the train go beneath us and [white water] rafters.”
No rafters on Saturday, but we did surprise a couple of climbers as we waved at them from the floor of the gondola!
The two new gondolas join the pre-existing fleet of regular gondolas that the park has offered for years. So if you prefer not having a glass floor as you cross the gorge, that option still exists.
I watched one family get in with a baby stroller, and Dore told me the gondolas are wheelchair accessible too.
“We’re very proud that our gondolas are very handicap accessible. You know, we’ve got these nice big open cabins, nice wide doors, automatic doors here. So any guest that comes here will be able to enjoy the gondola.”
And if you’re one who likes bringing your dog along for adventures, they can come along for the ride too!
“I don’t know how the dogs will feel about the clear floor,” Dore laughed, “but hopefully they’ll enjoy it as much as the guests will.”
The gondolas are included in park admission, so there’s no extra charge to ride. They are open 365 days a year, weather permitting.
And as of now, open for guests! Dore said is excited to see how people respond to this new park attraction.
“It always makes me so happy that we can give someone a memory that lasts them, hopefully, the rest of their lives!”
