There’s something about fall in Glenwood Springs that calls for a Teutonic-inspired party like no other on the Western Slope of Colorado. Add in oompah music, a frosty pint, some hearty German food, lederhosen and dirndls, and you’ve got Octoberfest at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.
This year, the mountaintop celebration returns for four consecutive Saturdays—Sept. 19, Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and Oct. 10.
Octoberfest brings together some of our favorite fall things in Glenwood Springs: crisp mountain air, leaf-peeping views, German-inspired food, ice-cold beer, and lots of live music and games. All in all, plenty of reasons to raise a glass and shout “Prost!”
And because this is Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park—it’s Octoberfest on adrenaline—complete with cave tours that take you hundreds of feet below the surface, thrill rides that literally swing you up in the air, and scenic views that give you the fall feels. It’s all part of the fun and the fest!
Alpine Echo Brings the Oompah
Octoberfest just wouldn’t be Octoberfest at Glenwood Caverns without the Alpine Echo Band, famed throughout the Western Slope for their oompah classics.
A longtime favorite at the Park’s fall celebration, Alpine Echo brings authentic Bavarian-style entertainment to the mountaintop complete with accordion, traditional tunes, polkas and waltzes—and the crowd favorite—The Chicken Dance. They even have an alpenhorn. It doesn’t get more authentic than that!
Alpine Echo takes the Main Stage from noon to 5 p.m. each Saturday.
Don’t expect to sit quietly on the sidelines.
Before long, toes will start tapping, hands begin clapping, and soon you’ll be whirling and twirling your partner around the park plaza! Lederhosen and dirndls aren’t required, but are highly encouraged. If there was ever an occasion to break out the short leather pants and aprons, this is it.
Come Hungry
Octoberfest is also a celebration that centers around food and is best enjoyed with a hearty appetite.
Throughout the event, guests can dig into German-inspired festival favorites including giant pretzels, beer cheeseburgers and giant sausages. The Beer Garden in the Plaza is open from noon to 5 p.m., with brews, souvenir mugs and seasonal drink specials.
“Prost,” by the way, is the German word you’ll want to know. It means “cheers,” and you’re likely to hear it quite a bit during Octoberfest.
There’s a community connection behind those beer pours, too. Each Saturday, a different local organization will lend a hand: Sunlight Mountain Resort on Sept. 19, Advocate Safehouse Project on Sept. 26, Roaring Fork Roller Derby on Oct. 3 and Grizzly Hockey on Oct. 10.
Now that’s something worth raising a mug to. Prost!
Think You Can Hold Your Stein?
Drinking from a stein is easy. Holding one straight out in front of you while gravity tugs on your arm is another matter entirely.
The stein-holding competition is one of the Park’s most entertaining Octoberfest traditions for competitors and spectators alike. The premise sounds simple: hold a full stein at arm’s length for as long as possible.
Easy, right? Give it a minute.
Stein holding tests strength, endurance and determination, and it usually comes with plenty of encouragement from the crowd. Whether you enter the competition or cheer from the sidelines, it’s a classic Octoberfest experience you won’t want to miss. The competition gets underway at 3 p.m.
And that’s hardly the end of the friendly competition. Try your hand at Hammerschlag, the traditional nail-driving game, at the Gazebo from noon to 5 p.m., or give axe throwing a go throughout the day.
The festivities also include a ceremonial keg tapping at noon on the Main Stage, plus the beer puppeteer, face painting, and more throughout the day. Stop by the Plaza between noon and 4 p.m. to have a caricature artist capture your Octoberfest look.
Make a Full Day of It
Between polkas and pints, take time to explore the rest of the mountaintop Park.
Tour the caves or crank up the adrenaline aboard some of Glenwood Caverns’ signature thrill rides. Take on Defiance, the Park’s beyond-vertical roller coaster; soar out over Glenwood Canyon on the Giant Canyon Swing; or race down the mountain aboard the Alpine Coaster.
Families, too, can mix Octoberfest with kid-friendly fun. Face painting takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Plaza near the Gift Shop, while the Pumpkin Patch at Little Feet Playland is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Little Feet Playland and the Park’s gentler family-friendly rides give younger adventurers plenty to do, while thrill rides, cave tours and the scenic gondola keep the mountain adventures going throughout the day.
Eye-Popping Color Views
When it comes to taking a breather, sometimes the best activity is simply finding a scenic spot, slowing down and taking in the view.
Colorado’s fall color season never lasts quite long enough, which makes September and October an especially memorable time to visit Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.
The scenic ride on the gondola provides a bird’s-eye view of the changing landscape in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys. From the mountaintop, the views are majestic and colorful in nearly every direction. Golden cottonwoods line the waterways below, while splashes of yellow, orange and red brighten the mountainsides, and if you look closely, you might even spot the first layer of snow on the peak of Mt. Sopris.
Bring your camera. Better yet, wear your dirndl or lederhosen and make those fall photos unforgettable. Some great spots for a fall photo shoot include the Viewing Deck, the Big Mountain Chair and, of course, posing with our friendly trolls Halvor and Chantico.
Celebrate Octoberfest at Glenwood Caverns
Four Saturdays. One mountaintop. Plenty of oompah.
Celebrate fall 7,100 feet above the ordinary at America’s only mountaintop theme park, with German-inspired food, live music, family fun, mountain adventures and spectacular views.
Prost to Octoberfest at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park! See you on the mountain. Purchase tickets online today.
