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Elitch Gardens Theme Park

Colorado Amusement Parks – Alpine Slides, Theme & Water Parks

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It’s easy to find amusement at Colorado’s many fun parks: theme, water, aerial, adventure parks, as well as alpine coasters and slides. Soar high above the city in downtown Denver at Elitch Gardens, get drenched on hair-raising water rides at Water World or fly down an alpine slide in the Rockies. Read our amusement blog.

Theme and Water Parks in Colorado

These theme parks feature a myriad of rides and attractions for all ages. Zip around the track on roller coasters, enjoy the view from a ferris wheel or splash down at the water park. The Denver metropolitan area is home to a majority of the parks, most of which are seasonal.

Elitch Gardens Theme Park

Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park – Denver

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park – Glenwood Springs

Lakeside Amusement Park

Lakeside Amusement Park – Denver

Loveland Laser Tag Fun Center – Loveland

North Pole Santa's Workshop

North Pole Santa’s Workshop – Cascade

Royal Gorge Bridge Park

Royal Gorge Bridge & Park – Cañon City

Tiny Town Railroad Morrison Colorado

Tiny Town & Railroad – Morrison

Walsenburg Wild Waters, CO

Walsenburg Wild Waters – Walsenburg

Water World

Water World – Federal Heights

Alpine Slides and Coasters in Colorado

Control your speed and destiny at these hair-raising alpine slides and coasters. A couple of them, includingAspen’s Breathtaker Coaster and Steamboat’s Outlaw Coaster, are open year round. The difference between a slide and coaster? You’re locked to the track on a coaster.

Breathtaker Alpine Coaster Aspen Colorado

Breathtaker Alpine Coaster – Snowmass Village

Breckenridge Alpine Slide

Breckenridge Alpine Slide & Coaster – Breckenridge

Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster Vail Resorts

Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster – Vail

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park – Glenwood Springs

Howler Alpine Slide

Howler Alpine Slide – Steamboat Springs

Outlaw Mountain Coaster Steamboat Springs

Outlaw Mountain Coaster – Steamboat Springs

Durango Alpine Slide

Purgatory Alpine Slide – Durango

Rocky Mountain Coaster – Copper Mountain

Winter Park Alpine Slide

Winter Park Alpine Slide – Winter Park

Aerial Parks in Colorado

Aerial parks provide a wide array of off-the-ground challenges. From rope crosses to swinging bridges, aerial courses are designed for all ages and skill levels. In addition to the aerial course each park has a zip line tour, to further the fun.

Arapaho Basin Aerial Adventure Park

Arapahoe Basin Aerial Adventure Park – Dillon

Browns Canyon Adventure Park Buena Vista Colorado

Browns Canyon Adventure Park – Buena Vista

Captain Zipline Salida

Captain Zipline – Salida

Lawson Adventure Park Resort Dumont Colorado

Lawson Adventure Park & Resort – Dumont

Lost Forest – Snowmass Village

Axe Throwing in Colorado

Axe throwing is among Colorado’s most unique activities for keeping things interesting. Both Denver and Colorado Springs boasts axe throwing locations, some of which either have a beer bar inside or allow you to bring your own brews.

Bad Axe Throwing Denver CO 2 Axes

Bad Axe Throwing – Denver

DAGAR Axe Throwing Denver CO

Downtown Art Gallery and Axe Room

Caves and Caverns in Colorado

Explore dark and slightly spooky caves in Colorado year round. Both Manitou Springs and Glenwood Springs offer guided tours of their vast caverns, including a lantern led tour. Rifle Falls is simply a state park with some smaller caves that are open for self-exploration.

Cave Of The Winds

Cave Of The Winds Mountain Park – Manitou Springs

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park – Glenwood Springs

Rifle Falls State Park

Rifle Falls State Park – Rifle

Escape Rooms

Lock yourself in a large room with your friends, family, or coworkers and see if you can escape. Pick up clues and solve riddles to see if you can beat the game and escape before the buzzer. There are escape rooms located around the state, from Denver to Durango. They generally last an hour and are fun and challenging for all ages.

21 Keys Escape Rooms in Colorado Springs

21 Keys Escape Rooms – Colorado Springs

03 Escape, CO

303 Escape – Thornton

ConTRAPtions Escape Rooms in Fort Collins, CO

ConTRAPtions Escape Rooms – Fort Collins

Conundrum Escape Rooms – Arvada & Lakewood

Conundrum Escape Rooms in Durango, CO

Conundrum Escape Rooms – Durango

Crooked Key Live Escape Games in Steamboat Springs, CO

Crooked Key Live Escape Games – Steamboat Springs

Escape Room in Breckenridge, CO

Escape Room Breckenridge – Breckenridge

Escape the Room Denver in Littleton, CO

Escape the Room Denver – Littleton

Escaped in Time in Colorado Springs

Escaped in Time – Colorado Springs

EscapeWorks Denver, CO

EscapeWorks – Denver

Estes Park Escape Rooms in Estes Park, CO

Estes Park Escape Rooms – Estes Park

Fort Collins Escape Room, CO

Fort Collins Escape Room – Fort Collins

Frisco Escape Room, CO

Frisco Escape Room – Frisco

Glenwood Escape Room, CO

Glenwood Escape Room – Glenwood Springs

Golden Puzzle Room, CO

Golden Puzzle Room – Golden & Lakewood

Hellscream Escape in Colorado Springs

Hellscream Escape – Colorado Springs

Mountain Time Escape Rooms, Colorado

Mountain Time Escape Rooms – Breckenridge

Puzzah! Escape Room, CO

Puzzah! – Broomfield

Rabbit Hole Recreation Services Littleton CO

Rabbit Hole Recreation Services – Louisville

Solve It Escape Games in Grand Junction, CO

Solve It Escape Games – Grand Junction

Somewhere Secret Escape Game in Fort Collins, CO

Somewhere Secret Escape Game – Fort Collins

Themescape Broomfield, CO

Themescape – Broomfield

Vail Valley Escape Room in Avon, CO

Vail Valley Escape Room – Avon

Recreation Centers

Most of the bigger towns throughout Colorado will feature a recreation center of sorts. Most are geared towards fitness, with large gyms, swimming pools, sports fields or courts, such as tennis or racquetball, perhaps even a climbing wall. Some feature an area dedicated to children’s play.

Miller Activity Complex – Castle Rock

Guide to Amusement Parks in Colorado

Lakeside Amusement Park Merry-Go-Round Denver
Lakeside Merry-Go-Round. Photo: sfgamchick

Most people’s first thought of something to do in Colorado is not ripping down a roller coaster or getting drenched at a water park. However, thanks to several great theme parks, this is something every visitor and local alike, can enjoy.

Due to Colorado’s climate, the majority of theme parks are only open in the summer, traditionally from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Some have a longer season, including the Royal Gorge Bridge, which welcomes visitors year round on most of its attractions.

In addition to amusement parks, alpine slides, aerial parks and caves, there’s still a boat load to do in Colorado if you’re looking for a thrill. From an exciting day of zip lining or go karts, to a fun day at the miniature golf, there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy here.

Classic Theme Parks

Not surprisingly, the Denver metro is home to the biggest concentration of amusement parks in the state with two water parks and three theme parks to choose from. Ironically, downtown’s Elitch Gardens hosts two of these, featuring both a water park and Colorado’s largest amusement park. Historic Lakeside has operated on Sheridan Boulevard in West Denver since 1908.

East of Denver in the suburb of Federal Heights lies Water World. Open since 1979, it’s on USA Today’s top ten list of American water parks. It was even featured on an episode of South Park, under a different name.

One of the Centennial State’s most unique them parks is hidden under the shadow of Pikes Peak in Cascade. It’s a Christmas-themed park called the North Pole, Home of Santa’s Workshop. It runs annually from mid May to Christmas Eve.

Spelunking in Caves

If caving or spelunking is your thing, then you can definitely partake year round. Thanks to the nature of caves, temperatures stay about the same all year. Colorado Springs has the Cave Of The Winds, which offers a unique lantern guided tour. Glenwood Springs is home to Glenwood Caverns, a theme park and Colorado’s largest show cave.

Summertime at Ski Resorts

When the snow melts off the ski slopes, a number of ski resorts transform into summer adventure parks. Alpine slides are hugely popular at Breckenridge, Durango, Steamboat Springs and Winter Park. Several resorts turn into bike parks as well.

No matter how picky your kids or friends are you’ll find an adventure to suit anyone’s tastes. If developed theme parks aren’t your thing, try biking down a mountain, tubing a river, or zipping through the air.

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