Royal Gorge Railroad
 

Hello! Just wondering if the RGR is worth the money. It will be close to $120 for our family by the time we pay for 5. I do think that for our 4 yr. old son just the thrill of a train ride will be worth it, but would like to hear comments anyway. We'll be there in mid March, I understand it's only open on weekends then.

Thanks!

I haven't been there in quite a while, but I have heard a number of people comment that tickets to get into the park are really expensive for what you get. Apparently it has turned into kind of an amusement park. If you've never been to RG, it is interesting, and if you have a little one who likes trains, it would be exciting for him.

If you decide to go, be sure to let us know what it's like!

I went to Royal Gorge in 1987, it was a really great place then. I have stories about my trip then. I went again last year, and let me tell you, it was the biggest dissapointment of my travelling life. It's really a HUGE ripoff. It's a third rate amusement park. It's not worth the gasoline to drive there from Colorado Springs, from where I started.

THanks for your replies thus far. I'm not interested in actually visiting the "park" or the suspension bridge and all the touristy stuff, just simply taking the train ride. Do we have to enter the park and pay just to access the RailRoad?

It's been a while since I went in the summer of 2001.

At that time they'd just started a route with the Royal Gorge Bridge. You boarded the train in Cañon City to ride to the park. After visiting the park there was a mini-bus to take you back to Cañon City. Many people stayed on the train and rode back to Cañon City.

It was a spectacular ride. The part I liked the most was the open top rail car. I stood there most of the trip looking up at the incredible rock formations and down at the river.
If the whitewater rafters weren't busy paddling they'd wave back. If you sat in the regular rail cars you couldn't twist your neck enough to get much of a view of the towering rocks.

I'm not sure about a 4 year old since I have little experience in that area. A round trip is about 2 hours. Would the train keep his attention for that long?