Our Story
America's only mountaintop amusement park!
A mountain is ideal for many things – hiking, skiing, hang gliding, but it’s not the most logical location for a theme park. Yet, situated 7, 100 feet above sea level in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, is America’s only mountaintop theme park. How exactly did Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park end up there?
Well, follow the path of curiosity long enough, as Steve and Jeanne Beckley did and you might find yourself in some interesting and unexpected places. What started out as a spelunking hobby in college became a quest to explore the private and nearly forgotten Fairy Caves, the closed-to-the-public Colorado cave fiercely protected by its then owner, Pete Prebble.
Steve and Jeanne Beckley
Inspired by the natural beauty of the Colorado caves...
Inspired by photos he saw in caving books, Beckley began writing to Prebble in 1982, in the hopes of gaining access to the caves, but almost all of his letters came back unopened, stamped “Return to Sender.” Disappointed but not deterred, Beckley kept up the letter writing campaign. After a decade Prebble relented and in 1992, granted Beckley permission to explore the caves.
As spectacular as the images in the caving books were, nothing could prepare Steve and Jeanne for what they were about to see. After struggling though Jam Crack, a claustrophobically narrow opening only nine inches wide in spots, they emerged into The Barn, a huge chamber with fiery red walls. It was here, that Steve’s dream of sharing the beauty and wonder of the Fairy Caves with the public was born.
The Beckleys acquired the property from Prebble in 1998. On Memorial Day weekend a year later, 500 visitors showed up for a tour of the newly renamed Glenwood Caverns. By 2003, the “little” cave tour operation was accommodating 100,000 visitors a year. To transport the burgeoning number of guests to the mountaintop cave entrance, the Beckleys installed a Poma gondola and dubbed it the Iron Mountain Tramway.
Though interest in the caves was booming, the wait for a tour was breaching three hours. “We started putting in rides to give people something to do while they were waiting for the caves,” said Steve. The idea took off and launched the business in a new and unexpected direction – the planning of a mountaintop theme park with a Western history slant officially got underway. The first rides were installed in 2005, including the Alpine Coaster which is still a visitor favorite. Since then, a slew of thrill rides and attractions have been added to the Colorado theme park.
Accolades
Hard work pays off. Check out a small sampling of accolades the Beckleys and Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park have received over the years!- Named Best Team Building Experience from Colorado Biz Magazine 2023
- Highest Looping Roller Coaster (Defiance) in the US from Travel and Leisure 2023
- Best Family Entertainment location (local’s choice from post independent 2023)
- Best place for a Kids Birthday Party (local’s choice from post independent 2023)
- Named the Best Amusement Park in Colorado from Readers Digest in 2022
- The Alpine Coaster was named one of the 10 Best Roller-coaster Rides of Your Life by USA TODAY and Park World Magazine
- The State of Colorado awarded the Beckleys the 2001 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Community Tourism Initiative
- Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association named them Citizens of the Year for 2002
- The Giant Canyon Swing was named one of the 10 Most Extreme Theme Park Rides in the USA by USA TODAY
- Glenwood Caverns was named one of the 10 Best Caves in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards
- Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park ranked in the top 4 for Best Family Fun in Sunset magazine Travel Awards
Read the whole story in Roaring Fork Lifestyle Magazine’s Movers & Shakers edition
Steve Beckley’s Dream: Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
- This park was a great deal of fun even in winter. The two cave tours were very interesting and had great guides each time with cheesy jokes that made it fun. Altogether the staff was very friendly and helpful and made time spent enjoyable. Greatly encourage a visit!read moreread lessJaron Weese2/29/2024This place was amazing! Both adults and kids loved it. We spent most of the day here – lines got a little longer in afternoon, but nothing terrible. Cave tours were very interesting and neat to see. Highly recommend this place!read moreread lessKathy Chabot2/22/2024Thoroughly enjoyed the Fairy Cave tour, the tour guide made it an enjoyable experience. The Alpine rollercoaster was super fun, much faster if you do it with 2 people! And the park overall was nice, many activities were closed due to winter but our group still had a blast. There were plenty of things to see, the Trolls, the big bear, the breathtaking views. There were no lines for what was open due to it being winter and it being morning. I want to come again in the summer!read moreread lessAline1/30/2024
- Amazing! The caves were breathtaking, unbelievable and unique experience. We had the best tour guide, he made the cave tour so much fun! We went during winter most rides were closed but that’s okay. The pricing and cave tours were so worth it. On top of the gift shop you have an amazing view of the mountains and the city. Breath taking! We want to return for a Sumer experience!read moreread lessCaroline Galvan1/16/2024We loved this park! Some thing for everyone, short lines, some rides operate on a timed basis. Most rides had a height requirement of 48 inches and above. Several rides we could stay on and keep riding as there were hardly any lines. The food was surprisingly good. The weather was great and what views! Appreciate the spirits for adults in the food court. Pack a lunch, bring your water bottle, there are lockers available for rent to store your goods. We will definitely be back, we all had a great time!read moreread lessChoie8211/20/2023We had such a good time! On vacation from Indiana and passed through Glenwood Springs. We decided to stop and stay there on a whim, so glad we did! Caves were awesome, the rides were all thrill rides. Even just riding to the top to look around would be worth the money. It is off season, so some rides were on an alternating schedule but we still made the best of it. Our kids are 7 & 9 and loved it. Would highly recommend! Also had military discounts for tickets.read moreread lessTaylor Stuart11/06/2023
- Braved the roller coasters. Defiance was about a 54-second rush! Loved the Alpine ride! The gondola ride to and from offered breathtaking views!read moreread lessCharla B11/03/2023Always a crowd-pleaser–visited with an extended family group with ages ranging from 2-70. Everyone had a great time with lots of options for the elementary-aged kids, the grandparents, and more challenging attractions for the group in their 20’s. After our gondola ride up, we all enjoyed several trips on the Alpine Coaster–always a thrill! The 20’s -30’s group set off for a previously scheduled “Wild Tour” while the over 60+ group stayed with the kids. We alternated between the 2 caves tours–always informative & engaging as they are led by guides who truly love what they do–and a multitude of age-appropriate attractions for the kids, including laser tag, fossil digging, both smaller roller coasters, a small Ferris wheel and pictures with the trolls after a troll hunt. It was so nice to be able to say “yes” to everything the kids wanted to do with a Fun Day pass. After we reunited with the Wild Tour group, we had plenty of time to explore the Canyon Swing, Defiance, Crystal Tower and the Tree Swings together. The staff is always attentive and friendly and the park is just the right size to explore fully in a day. Even the rest stops in the central plaza were pleasant with live music, convenient restrooms, water bottle refill stations and sunblock. Highly recommended that you spend a day here. You won’t regret it!read moreread lessBrenda Peterson10/06/2023As a rollercoaster freak, I’d been wanting to try Glendwood Caverns Adventure Park for a while. I was not disappointed. The two coaster and, in particular, the Alpine Slide, were thrilling! But the entire place is so lovely and delightful, a very different experience from most amusement parks. You don’t have to be a fan of rides to go. Just a ride up the gondola and a walk around the small park is worth it. And there are “family friendly” rides as well. The staff is incredible… friendly, helpful and everyone seems happy just to be there. The food I had was very good. I can’t wait to go back.read moreread lessTom P9/09/2023