Glenwood Caverns honored with four Locals’ Choice Awards

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was honored with four Post Independent Locals’ Choice Awards, announced on June 17 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, at Strawberry Days! We’re thrilled to be recognized as a favorite destination among the members of the community. The awards received were:

Best Local Attraction  (Gold)

Best Place for Family Fun (Gold)
Best Place to View the Sunset (Gold)
Best Live Music Venue (Bronze)

“I continue to be honored by the recognition that our park gets from our locals!” says Nancy Heard, General Manager at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  “I realize that our cave and location atop the mountain helps position us for Best Attraction and Best Place to View a Sunset, but I’m so proud of our staff who take the guest service experience to a higher level and make us the Best Place for Family Fun.”

“I walked through the park yesterday and saw so many busy people readying the park for the day. Once our guests arrived, they greeted them with a warm welcome and a genuine ‘how can I help?’ I was very proud,” Heard says.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and Iron Mountain Hot Springs staff receive 2016 Post Independent Locals’ Choice Awards

In addition to the Locals’ Choice Awards, the park’s cave was honored last spring with a 10Best Award from USA TODAY. Nominees were chosen by a panel of cave experts, and then the public voted online for their favorites. The 10Best Award highlighted the “crown jewel” of the park, the cave tours. Although the thrill rides have received a lot of attention, the cave is still the top attraction and the reason that Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park exists. This was the third time the park has been recognized by USA TODAY. Previously, the cave was named one of the Top 10 Places to Go Underground and the Alpine Coaster was chosen as one of the 10Best Roller-coaster Rides of Your Life.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park also received a 2016 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor gives a Certificate of Excellence to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers. It it the fourth year in a row that the park has received the TripAdvisor honor.

“Our Mission Statement is to ‘Make People Smile.’ This mission was created by our owners, Steve and Jeanne Beckley. It couldn’t be any simpler and certainly couldn’t be more genuine. The mission has passed the test of time and continues to be embraced by our management and staff, which is the reason we continue to get recognized,” says Heard.

Thank you to all who make Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park what it is; from the hard-working employees to the guests exploring the caves and screaming along the thrill rides to the community who recognizes the park’s mission! Come visit us and see why we’re the place to be for family fun, amazing views and awesome adventure!

We want to make you smile in 2021

Beatles music & fire performances kick off Music on the Mountain

It’s that time of the year again in Glenwood Springs, Colorado: live music season! Music on the Mountain, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park’s free mountaintop music series, returns this weekend for its 8th year. We can’t wait for another season of great music, mountaintop dancing and summertime enjoyment.

It all kicks off this Friday, May 27, with Doctor Robert. It’s become a tradition to start Music on the Mountain with this Crested Butte-based Beatles tribute band. Doctor Robert has well over 100 (and counting) Beatles tunes in its catalog. The four-member group celebrates the Fab Four in style with high energy, retro dress and a true love for playing the music. You will certainly have a great time bopping along and you can be sure that they sound amazing wherever they perform. That may be down to the Graham Slee HiFi equipment they use. The fun they have on-stage is always infectious!

Doctor Robert kicks off Music on the Mountain’s 8th season

To add to the celebration this year, Maciej Mrotek will perform the Dance of the Sacred Fire at 8:20 and 9 p.m. Mrotek and his team manipulate fire to create innovative, mesmerizing shows. Dance of the Sacred Fire has been performed on national and international stages, and we can’t wait to see it for ourselves. This magical performance is not to be missed!

Every year, Music on the Mountain, through the Can for a Tram program, raises thousands of cans of food for the Lift-Up community food pantry. This grassroots non-profit is committed to making sure no one in our Valley goes hungry. They truly “lift up” those in need, and Glenwood Caverns has been able to collect more than 53,700 food items for them since Music on the Mountain began in 2009.

The park is buzzing with activity, summer rides are open and the Summer Funday Pass is back. Come for the day to soar through the air on our Giant Canyon Swing or zoom across the cliff on the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster. Stay for an evening of music, fire, drink specials and merriment!

Bring at least one can of food to donate to Lift-Up for a free tram ride to the top. For more information, please visit Music on the Mountain. Hope to see you there!

Poser: Not just your average band/synchronized swimming team

Roaring Fork Valley-based band Poser will play at Music on the Mountain this Saturday, June 7th.

Poser is made up of Matt Harrington (lead vocals and rhythm guitar),  Mark Pearson (bass guitar and background vocals), Michael Miller (keyboards and background vocals), Paul Buechler (lead guitar), and Mike Luciano (drums). It’s the band’s first time playing Music on the Mountain, so to get to know them a little better we asked the lead singer, Matt Harrington, for some details about the band.

NJ: How did Poser come into existence?
MH: I formed the band in the late 1980’s when I lived in Aspen. My former wife was working at a flower shop, and the husband of a gal she was working with also played guitar. His name was Steve. We got together with the intentions of learning every Beatles song written and became the best of friends. A band slowly developed over the years and had Steve not passed away 10 years ago, we would have been playing together for over 25 years.

NJ: What does Poser do in their spare time?
MH: When Poser is not performing the hits of rock ‘n’ roll legends, we all participate in a men’s synchronized swimming team. We compete around the world at public swimming pools and have won several competitions.  In honor of Ester Williams, the queen of synchronized swimming, my favorite formation is a Daisy. Mark, Paul, Michael and I form the daisy petals, while my drummer, Mike Luciano, takes the position of the center where he spurts water from his mouth. It truly is an incredible sight to witness.

NJ: Can you describe the band’s style (onstage, not in the pool)?
MH: We’re strictly a rock and roll cover band. To be honest, I couldn’t write a song if my life depended on it and I greatly admire those who can. I love playing the Beatles, probably due to the fact that it’s where it all began with my friend Steve. Although we only do covers, we pride ourselves on playing them our way, and making it ours.

NJ: What type of music do you like to play?
MH: The thing about Poser is our diverse selection of music that everyone is familiar with. From Bruce Springsteen to Hank Williams, if it’s a song we like, we do it. As a younger musician, I focused on songs that I thought people wanted to hear. As time progressed, I learned that if it was a song that I liked, I would play it well for the simple reason that I liked it. The advice I give to up and coming bands is: “Do what you like to do and, if you play what you believe, you will play it well!

NJ: Can you share a funny or memorable moment that has happened to Poser?
MH: We played our first gig around 1986, at the Red Onion in Aspen.  The owner was not at all interested in having live music, but I managed to bully my way in.  He agreed to pay us $200, which was great. The problem was, we invited all of our friends, bought drinks for them all night, and by the end of the evening our bar tab was about $11.00 more than what we were getting paid. A scene right out of the Blues Brothers!

Poser takes the Music on the Mountain stage Saturday, June 7th at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

I have been blessed over the past 30 years of playing with my best friends, and the “Stories from the Road” would make a good book and an even better movie!

NJ: Who are your musical influences?
MH: I grew up in New Jersey, in a musical family. At the age of 8, I played in my Uncle Billy’s country band.  There I was introduced to songs by Hank Williams, Chet Atkins, Roger Miller and the like. I have always been receptive to all music, but my main musical influences are Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and of course, the Beatles.

NJ: What is your favorite venue in the Roaring Fork Valley so far?
MH: We play for a group of sculptors from all over the world that camp in the woods for a week while they’re learning to sculpt marble. Great people, a magical setting, and after living in a tent for a week, these artists are starved for entertainment to the point where they start dancing while we’re tuning our guitars!

NJ: So are you looking forward to your show this weekend at the Caverns?
MH: We’re very excited to play at Glenwood Caverns. I was hooked last year when I saw the Beatles tribute band Doctor Robert play. Great stage, great food, great fun, and cold beer at a reasonable price: doesn’t get much better!

The music starts at 6pm, and Can for a Tram starts at 4pm. Bring at least one can of food for a free tram ride to the top. The Lookout Grille and Snack Shack will be open for dinner, snacks and refreshments, including drink specials on select wine, beer and well drinks. Rides and attractions will be open until dusk. See you on Saturday!

Night Plane lands at Music on the Mountain on Saturday

Night Plane will take the stage for a third year this Saturday at Music on the Mountain, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park’s ongoing free concert series. Singer-songwriters Jimmy Dykann and Haden Gregg are longtime Roaring Fork Valley locals and, together with John Zajicek, the acoustic trio have become area favorites.

Night Plane has been in existence since 1979. Throughout the decades, the band has played alongside John Denver, Jimmy Buffett, and many other noted musicians who came through the Roaring Fork Valley. Night Plane plays rock and blues classics, but they also write and perform a lot of original material.

The band recorded two albums together. In 2013 Night Plane re-released their debut album, Night Plane, on vinyl. The album includes four new original songs, which concert-goers will hopefully hear them play at the concert on Saturday.

The Park will be open with rides and attractions, including the new Glenwood Canyon Flyer. The Lookout Grille and Snack Shack will be open for dinner, snacks and refreshments, including drink specials on select wine, beer and well drinks. We hope to see you there!

Night Plane performs a free concert this Saturday at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Music on the Mountain kick-off party: good times, new thrills

The Canyon Flyer is a ride that swings riders over Glenwood Canyon

On Friday, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park kicked off its summer concert series with Doctor Robert. The energetic band performed a wide selection of Beatles tunes for the crowd, some of whom were dressed up as characters from Beatles songs!

Friday park-goers were able to be some of the first people to ride the Glenwood Canyon Flyer, a thrill ride that swings you up and around the edge of Glenwood Canyon, high above the Colorado River. A lot of people commented that it felt like they were flying, so the name of the ride is perfect! Check out the video to see what the Flyer is all about.

It was fun for a good cause. Can for a Tram collected a good supply of canned goods and other non-perishable foods to donate to Lift-Up. People who brought at least one can of food got a free tram ride to the top. Guess how many cans were donated and you could win a pair of Funday Passes! Go to the Glenwood Caverns Facebook page and look for the “Tuesday Trivia Contest” to post your guess.

If you were at the kick-off party, share in the comments below your favorite part of the day! For a schedule of the concert series and more information, visit Music on the Mountain.

The Canyon Flyer is a ride that swings riders over Glenwood Canyon

The NEW Glenwood Canyon Flyer

Music on the Mountain returns Friday, May 23 with Doctor Robert

The popular Music on the Mountain series returns this Friday, May 23 to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park!

The Beatles tribute band Doctor Robert will play the kick-off concert for a second year; their performance last year was a huge hit with audience members of all ages.

The band is based out of Crested Butte and frequently tours around Colorado. “We’ve had a fantastic year since playing the Glenwood Caverns,” says band member Kevin Reinert. “We’ve been invited to play a lot of high profile shows, including summer music concerts in Basalt, Winter Park, Redstone, and Arvada. We’re also headlining the evening entertainment for the Fourth of July in Aspen.

“We’re playing a lot of new venues around the state, such as Dickens Opera House in Longmont, I Bar Ranch in Gunnison, and The Red Room in Manitou Springs.”

Doctor Robert has a huge selection of Beatles songs in their repertoire. “We’re up to 112 Beatles songs in our live catalog. Every song we learn becomes our new favorite, so look for more songs to be added to our live rotation,” says Reinert.  The large selection means the band can tailor every song to the crowd’s mood. Get ready to kick up your heels, as this band got the partiers dancing last year!

“We’ve had nothing but positive feedback since we started this project in 2010, and every year brings new and exciting opportunities. We’re looking forward to kicking off another summer of outdoor music at Glenwood Caverns this weekend!” exclaims Reinert.

Doctor Robert plays free concert at Glenwood Caverns this Friday, May 23

The free show starts at 6pm, and Can for a Tram starts at 4pm. Bring a can (or more) of food to donate to Lift-Up and get a free tram ride.

Rides and attractions will be open, and drink specials are available. Hope to see you there!

Help name our new ride and you could win!

There’s a new attraction coming to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park this spring that will swing you up, up, up, around and around, and out over Glenwood Canyon. We need your help in coming up with a name for it, so we’re holding a contest on our Facebook page.

The grand prize, valued at almost $500, includes eight Funday Passes, each of which offers unlimited turns on all of the park’s rides, plus four souvenir cups and four t-shirts. The passes can be used one or two at a time, for two days at the park for a family of four, or for one party of eight. To enter the contest, post your entries at Facebook.com/GlenwoodCaverns by midnight on Friday, Feb. 14.

“The Giant Canyon Swing and Cliffhanger Roller Coaster have been so popular with our guests, we want to offer them another way to experience the thrill of our location overlooking Glenwood Canyon,” said Steve Beckley, who owns Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park with his wife Jeanne. “The new ride does just that, and because our guests and fans have been so supportive over the years, we’d like their help in coming up with a name for it. Our hope is to find a name that reflects the excitement of soaring out over the canyon.”

Located on the edge of Glenwood Canyon between the Giant Canyon Swing and the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster, the ride will swing riders out approximately 1,400 feet above the Colorado River. The swing, which is under construction in Venice, Italy, will resemble a large tree with a brown trunk and green foliage at the top. Upon completion in early April, it will travel by ship to the U.S. for installation and will be open to the public in May.

Contest entries may also be emailed to cavegirl (at) glenwoodcaverns (dot) com or submitted via Twitter tagged with @GlenwoodCaverns by midnight on Feb. 14. After the names are collected, the park’s management team will select 10 finalists. Those 10 will be posted on Facebook so that fans can vote for their favorites through Feb. 26. The winner will be selected by the park and announced on or about Mar. 5. Individuals may submit more than one entry. In the event that the winning name is submitted by more than one person, the first person to submit it will be deemed the winner.

Time to get those thinking caps on!

Top Ten Reasons Glenwood Caverns should be…

Top Ten Reasons Glenwood Caverns should be the Eighth Wonder of the World

Recently, the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association entered Glenwood Caverns and the Historic Fairy Caves into VirtualTourist.com’s contest to crown “The Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Tourism boards, chambers of commerce and visitor bureaus around the world are sending in nominations to the website, which is a leading travel research website and community. The public is being asked to vote for their favorites out of the more than 200 submissions, and the “Wonder” with the most votes will be crowned the winner and will be featured in a national broadcast TV segment.

The Original Seven Wonders of the World is a list, compiled in the second century B.C., of man-made structures built during the classical era.

The Seven Wonders are:

  • Great Pyramid of Giza
  • Hanging Gardens of Babylon
  • Statue of Zeus at Olympia
  • Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
  • Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
  • Colossus of Rhodes
  • Lighthouse of Alexandria

We think Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park should be named the Eighth Wonder of the World! While the caves were formed naturally, it definitely took a lot of manpower to get them ready for the public viewing. Charles Darrow and his team first opened the Historic Fairy Caves to visitors in 1895, and the work continues today, with the recent completion of the Historic Fairy Cave Tour, showcasing even more natural beauty and amazing formations.

In the spirit of the Late Show with David Letterman, we’d like to offer our own Top Ten Reasons Glenwood Caverns should be the Eighth Wonder of the World:

10) The original owners of Glenwood Caverns claimed it first, in 1897, well before most of the other contestants even existed.

9) Glenwood Springs is a lot easier to find than Ephesus and Halicarnassus!

8) Seeing any of the Seven Wonders means being prepared for sweltering heat: the average summer high in Giza is 96° and in Olympia it is 97°! The Historic Fairy Caves, on the other hand, are a cool 52° year round–perfect for a hot summer day.

7) Most major attractions only invite you to take pictures, but if you take the Wild Tour you’ll be invited to get dirty, crawl on your belly and go deep into rarely visited areas of the caves!

6) We’re not sure, but we don’t think any of the current Seven Wonders offer drink specials and live music (Music on the Mountain at Glenwood Caverns does, though!)

5) The best things in life involve bacon
(cave bacon, that is!)

4) Glenwood Caverns and the Historic Fairy Caves were explored/excavated by enthusiastic cavers, not Greek slaves.

3) You’ve got to go diving underwater to see what’s left of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, but it’s only a short tram ride up Iron Mountain in Glenwood Springs to see the Historic Fairy Caves and King’s Row in the most highly-decorated show cave in Colorado.

2) There are no scary, hollow-eyed, naked Roman statues at Glenwood Caverns, only carved happy Wooden Bears.

1) Many of the Seven Wonders are known for their impressive height—but perched on the edge of the canyon 1300 feet above the Colorado River, Glenwood Caverns stands WAY above them all!

Do you think Glenwood Caverns should be the Eighth Wonder of the World? Cast your vote! Visit www.virtualtourist.com to vote for Glenwood Caverns and the Historic Fairy Caves. Voting is open until Sept. 30.

Free Funday Passes to Royal Gorge Bridge

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Offers Free Funday Passes to Royal Gorge Bridge and Park Annual Passholders

In a show of solidarity for the Colorado amusement industry, loyal fans of the iconic Royal Gorge Bridge and Park have another option this summer, and it’s free. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, based in Glenwood Springs, is offering a one-day pass at no cost to all current Royal Gorge annual passholders.

The owners of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park know how important loyal fans are to the success of any business and they’re big fans of Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. Following the tragic fire that closed this Colorado landmark, the Adventure Park is offering current Royal Gorge Bridge and Park annual passholders a free one-day pass anytime during 2013. It’s going to be a big event, with pop up tents and activities for the family to celebrate this wonderful bridge. The mountaintop park that’s home to Glenwood Caverns and the Historic Fairy Caves, thrill rides and family activities is based in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

“Our hearts went out to everyone at Royal Gorge Bridge and Park last week,” said Steve Beckley, who owns Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park with his wife Jeanne. “Each year we take our whole management team to visit another theme park that’s known for its excellent customer service. We visited Royal Gorge in 2011, and everyone had a lot of fun. We were all impressed with their operation and are hopeful that they can rebuild and reopen very soon.”

In the meantime, Royal Gorge passholders can enjoy a day at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park on the house. The Funday Pass includes a ride on the Iron Mountain Tramway and park admission, two walking cave tours and unlimited access to the Alpine Coaster, Giant Canyon Swing, Cliffhanger Roller Coaster, Soaring Eagle Zip Ride, Wild West Express family coaster, Mine Wheel, GiddyUp, Fort WhereAmI giant maze, 4D Motion Theater, climbing wall and laser tag arena.

To claim the free one-day pass, Royal Gorge Bridge and Park annual passholders can bring a valid annual pass and a photo ID to the ticket office at the base of the Iron Mountain Tramway at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. The offer is limited to one Funday Pass per passholder; for family passes, the offer is good for the same number of family members covered by the Royal Gorge pass. Anyone with questions about the pass is encouraged to call 800-530-1635, ext. 0.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. this summer, with the last tram ride up at 8:30 p.m. For more information, including fall and winter hours of operation, visit https://www.glenwoodcaverns.com or call 800-530-1635 or 970-945-4228, ext. 0.

Night Plane Re-Release Offers Vintage Tracks and New Live Recordings

Today’s music scene can be disheartening. It’s often populated by electronica, DJs, and overproduced pop. If you’ve ever felt nostalgic for the good ol’ days of rock ‘n’ roll, when bands played self-written songs with real instruments, Night Plane’s recent re-release of their 1982 album (Night Plane) is just the cure (as is their upcoming show Saturday, June 8th, as part of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Parks’ Music on the Mountain concert series).

The album included a whopping ten musicians, and the resulting tunes are robust, diverse, and plain old fun. The title track, “Night Plane” is straight up rock, with Haden Gregg and Jim Dykann’s powerful vocals and bittersweet lyrics  (“At the station, feeling all alone/this is the time for another home”) complemented by vibrant electric guitar and piano.

Night Plane explores other genres too, with the reggae-inspired track “Tried Too Hard” and the bluesy tune “Line of Fire”(highlighting Bryan Savage’s saxaphone).

Where the album really shines, though, is in the last four bonus tracks, recordings from live performances. Mainly acoustic, the master guitar work on songs like “She’s a Runaway” is beautiful. Gregg and Dykann’s voices have aged well; they sound grittier and more soulful than in the earlier recordings. Their live performances showcase the band in their element–and the results are well worth a listen.

Be sure to catch Night Plane this Saturday at Music on the Mountain!