Our Top 10 Tips for a Top-Notch Time

Little things can spoil an otherwise perfect day; these tips will keep the good times rolling all day long at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.

  1. Plan for the crowds. Peak season for Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is from mid-June through mid-August. If avoiding crowds is important to you, plan your visit to fall outside the busiest time of year.
  2. Arrive early at the tram base. In the summer months park hours begin at 9 a.m. If you arrive ahead of that time at the Iron Mountain Tramway you can be among the first to board rides at the mountaintop theme park.
  3. Choose a cave tour upon arrival. Make your first stop the General Store gift shop where you can check the guided cave tour Tours fill up fast and tend to be in higher demand later in the day, so show up a few minutes before the tour is scheduled to begin.
  4. Eat. Avoid hunger pangs and the grumpiness that comes with it. Mountain-top dining choices include the Lookout Grille, the Snack Shack and the Popcorn Wagon. High noon is everyone’s favorite time to eat, so for quicker service grab a bite before or after that time.
  5. Come later in the day. Most days the Park is open until 9 p.m. Consider visiting in the late afternoon. Crowds tend to dissipate by this time of day and temperatures cool off. You might even be able to catch an instagrammable sunset overlooking the Roaring Fork Valley from the viewing deck.
  6. Be ready for summer weather. Inclement weather, especially afternoon thunderstorms are common in Colorado. When storms are in the area, the Park may have to temporarily shut down rides. Fortunately, they typically blow through quickly and don’t last long. We advise waiting it out. Grab a snack or drink, play laser tag or head to the 4D Theater for a short movie. It’s usually not long before the sun is shining again.
  7. Wear sunscreen. Glenwood Caverns Park is located at 7,100 feet in elevation. Even on cloudy days the sun’s rays can burn and damage skin. Don’t panic if you forget your sunscreen, the Park has plenty for guests to use, and it’s free! Other ways to prepare for a day at the park include wearing comfortable shoes, light colored clothing, a hat and bringing along a rain jacket just in case.
  8. Stay hydrated. Dehydration can lead to irritability, headaches, dizziness, nausea and worse, none of which you want to experience on your vacation. Glenwood Caverns has water-bottle-friendly fountains where you can replenish, or you can purchase a drink with a refillable cup at the Lookout Grille and refill it for just $1.
  9. Plan ahead. Our goal is to put a smile on the face of every guest. We never want you to be disappointed if a ride is closed for maintenance or if you wait in line for a ride only to find out that your child doesn’t meet the height or weight requirements. If we have a temporary ride closure we’ll post it on our website, along with the physical requirements for all of rides. We want the only surprises you encounter to be happy ones.
  10. Buy tickets online. Save time by purchasing Park admission tickets online. Funday passes are our best value and include the tram, 2 cave tours, and unlimited access to rides and attractions.
Take a cave tour at Glenwood Caverns for National Caves and Karst Day!
4D Motion Theater at Glenwood Caverns

Take it from us, these 10 simple tips will help ensure your next visit to America’s only mountaintop theme park is an over-the-top experience for everyone in your family or group. Learn more at glenwoodcavdev.wpengine.com.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park: Who Does That?

Ever wonder who works the various jobs at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park or what it’s like to be employed at America’s only mountaintop theme park?

As Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park prepares for a hiring spree for the upcoming summer season, three employees share their insights and experiences. To learn more about summer employment, check out the video above. Our mission is to make people smile; if it’s yours as well, we invite you to apply for an opportunity to join our team.

RYAN MOREAU

What’s your job at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park (GCAP)?

Tram base supervisor. I pretty much take care of operations at the base and that includes running the tram, manning the register and supervising the day-to-day operations at the tram base.

How long have you been at GCAP?

About nine months.

What keeps you at GCAP?

I love it! I’ve worked lots of retail jobs; the people at those other jobs were never happy—neither my fellow employees nor the customers. My naturally happy personality didn’t fit in there. Nancy, who is the general manager at the Park, noticed me at my old job and scouted me out.  She liked my work ethic and said she was going to hire me one day. She did! Thank you Nancy!

What’s the best part of your job?

I get to sell smiles for a living and it’s fantastic! GCAP is a very unique workplace. I have never experienced anything like it. I am part of an awesome company that feels more like a family than a job. GCAP is a company that’s going nowhere but up, and I want to be on board with them for the ride so to speak.

Do you have a memorable customer story?

I love the guests. There are a lot of neat people who visit the caverns. There are so many great stories, but one of my favorites is of a guest who was afraid of heights. She was very nervous about riding the tram. She wanted to see our amazing caves so bad though that she was able to tackle her fear of heights, get on top of that 7,100 foot mountain, and have fun. It was awesome!

DAN CHANEY

What’s your job at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park (GCAP)?

I’m a cave tour guide. I do all the tours — walking and crawling.

How long have you been at GCAP?

I just wrapped up two years.

What keeps you at GCAP?

This job suits me to a T! I’ve been an earth sciences nerd for ages. I’m an amateur geologist, fossil hunter and prospector, so to say I’m at home in a cave is an understatement! Glenwood Caverns has a great product and outstanding management; it’s a testament to who Steve and Jeanne Beckley (the owners) are as people that working here it feels like a family.

What’s the best part of your job?

I love that I get to share what I know with the public. I’m one of those people who can remember details for 30 years—I’m a top-notch Trivial Pursuit player—I’ve been called the Bill Nye of Caves!

Do you have a memorable customer story?

You mean have I had a personal moment with a customer? Yes! Every day! One that stands out is when I had a geophysicist on one of my tours. This is a scholarly guy who really knows his stuff. Well, after the tour he let me know that he learned a few things he hadn’t known before. I took that as quite a compliment. Another time involved a grandfather and his grandson. After learning something new about cave science, I remember the boy saying with such enthusiasm, “Wow grandpa! That’s so neat!” It’s rewarding to engage with all kinds of guests, from all backgrounds, from all over the world.

DONNA WALKER aka “MAMA DONNA”

What’s your job at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park (GCAP)?

I’m a grill cashier at the Lookout Grille.

How long have you been at GCAP?

I’ve been in Colorado for eight years — transplanted from Georgia — and worked at the Caverns for five years.

How did you get your nickname?

(Laughs) A bunch of guys in the kitchen started calling me that and it sort of stuck. I like to take care of people and make them smile.

What keeps you at GCAP?

It’s a great place to work! I love the location on top of a mountain and riding the gondola to work every day.  I love the customers, especially the kids. I’ve been able to see some of the kids of our regular customers grow up over the years and that’s a lot of fun. I also like the fact that GCAP offers military discounts. My son Dusty Walker is a bomb specialist in the US Army, and I’m proud of him and of all our veterans. When veterans visit, I like to go out of my way to thank them for their service.

What’s the best part of your job?

I’m a people person. If I can make someone’s day better I will. If I see a mom is struggling with her kid for example, I’ll make a whip cream face on a plate with chocolate eyes and a smile. That pretty much turns the kid’s day and the mom’s day around right away.

Do you have a memorable customer story?

This one time a gentleman gave me a great compliment. He said I should be on the Dr. Phil show to show other people how customer service is done. I just like to work with the public. It makes me happy to make other people happy.

If you’re on a mission to make people smile, consider joining the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park team this summer. Visit glenwoodjobs.com for more information.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park: What Our Visitors Say

Alpine Coaster at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Few accolades could mean more than this recent headline by Jamie Swartzendruber on her WineGlasSlipper blog, also published in Denverkids.com: “Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park: It doesn’t get more Colorado than this!”

“Voted one of USA Today’s 10 Best Caves, Glenwood Caverns is a must for your family summer fun list,” Jamie wrote. “Three cave tours offer varying levels of difficulty to suit the whole family! I have a little dare devil, so this year, we opted for the Wild Cave Tour (10-year age requirement AND we finally made the cut). What is it? Only the most extreme caving expedition a kiddo is permitted on, an adventure for the true thrill seeker.”

Our Giant Canyon Swing was more thrill than she bargained for, Jamie said. “With a scratchy voice and trembling hands, I exited the swing of terror, a theme park walk of shame, through the line of sweet little girls waiting to get on,” she wrote.  Wide eyed, they kindly asked if I was going to be alright. I may still have the occasional nightmare, but hey, check that one off my list…. Though I struggled with the Giant Canyon Swing, the kids LOVED it! They rode several times, throwing their hands in the air or striking nonchalant poses. I may have felt theme park envy. The Alpine Coaster was another top-pick. Scary enough to cling to the breaks but enjoyable enough for mom to survive. I’m sure the views are fantastic, but I’ll admit, my eyes were steady on the tracks and my heart was still jumpy.”

Summer fun on the Giant Canyon Swing

We get that a lot. People love the mountaintop experience here – exploring inside the caverns, taking in the view from the summit, screaming over the edge. Here’s a sampling of our online reviews from visitors who have come from across Colorado and the country.

From Iowa, on TripAdvisor, where we have a Certificate of Excellence: “The Alpine Coaster was a lot of fun. It was extremely fast if you want it to be, and you can control (the speed of) the actual sled you are riding on. I had never been on one before and it was my favorite thing to do at the Adventure Park. I rode it numerous times. You don’t have to worry, at the end a lift takes your sled back to the start of the ride and that is cool.”

Take a cave tour at Glenwood Caverns for National Caves and Karst Day!

From Longmont, on TripAdvisor: “By far the easiest way to go caving. Both the original Fairy Caves and King’s Row are easily accessible. The guides are experienced cavers and are a lot of fun. There’s nothing like these caves anywhere else in the US. The tram makes it easy to get to from town.”

From Florida, on TripAdvisor: “This place was fun! We come from the land of Disney and Busch Gardens, but this place dared you! We had a blast riding the Alpine Coaster and the zip line shot! I wish I could say I tried the swing, but I chickened out. I loved the caverns tour and caves. All this was on top of a mountain that you reach by taking a gondola. That was an adventure by itself!”

From Littleton, on Yelp: “A fun day of adventure for the kids and adults alike. We did the combo pass with Iron Mountain Hot Springs. Glad we came here on a sunny day. Tram ride is a great way to go and very scenic. Alpine Coaster was worth going on again and again.”

From our own Facebook page: “We loved everything: the gondola ride up, the incredible views, the rides and cave tours! Everyone was really nice! The Caverns tour guide was SO excited to tell us about the caves! He had lots of fun scientific and historical information! Just a really fun place to spend the day with the family! We also got some amazing pictures.”

Come see for yourself. And thanks, Jamie (We’re proud that it doesn’t get any more Colorado than this.)

Wild adventures in Glenwood Springs

Are you ready to explore a few heart pumping adventures in Glenwood Springs. Shawna Henderson, the Colorado Escapist, begins her journey underground on the Wild Tour at the Glenwood Caverns and Adventure Park. Get dirty! Crawl through tight spaces and discover some of the most incredible rock and water features.

Next stop is the Iron Mountain Hot Springs where we relax and unwind in a few of the 16 pools nestled next to the Colorado river. Lastly, Shawna joins Charlie MacArthur for some whitewater fun on Stand Up Paddle boards going down the Colorado River.

Goin’ Wild on a Wild Tour at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Ready to get down and dirty? The Wild Tour at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park takes you deep inside Glenwood Caverns in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for an on-your-belly caving adventure. Guide Lorie Sheader shows you what the Wild Tour is all about as she takes students and a teacher from the Denver Academy underground. Call 800-530-1635, ext. 0, for information and reservations.

The King’s Row Cave Tour

Take a peek inside Glenwood Caverns as guide Kathy Miller gives you a preview of the King’s Row Cave Tour. King’s Row is the most highly decorated cave room in Colorado. The staged light show highlights the cave’s magnificent formations.

Glenwood Caverns and the Historic Fairy Caves are part of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Located on top of Iron Mountain at an elevation of 7,100 feet, the park offers walking and wild cave tours, thrill rides, mountaintop dining, scenic gondola rides and lots of kid-friendly attractions.