The end of 2017 saw the premiere of several new Colorado Rocky Mountain attractions for the family. We haven’t made it out to check these fun family activities out in person yet. But they are all on our list for early 2018. From new alpine coasters to thrill rides and ice castles, there’s sure to be something on this list for every member of your family. Want to know where we are headed this month in Colorado? Here are our top picks!
Rocky Mountain Coaster at Copper Mountain
Alpine coasters abound at Colorado ski resorts. And the state’s newest alpine coaster debuted at Copper Mountain Resort in November. The new Rocky Mountain Coaster has overall length of 5,800 feet and a vertical drop of 430 feet. The raised alpine coaster track runs along the natural curvature of the mountain with zigs, zags, dips and 360 degree turns for guaranteed thrills all the way down to Copper’s high alpine Center Village. An alpine coaster is basically a roller coaster built on a mountain to that mountain’s natural formation. There many ways to speed down a mountain but this may be the easiest and fastest.
Dillon Ice Castle
While the Ice Castles aren’t new to Colorado, this is their first time in Dillon, Colorado. And, it is the first time it has really captured our family’s attention. Fun and interactive art has become something of an interest for us in the past year. Ice Castles was founded by a father who moved with his family from California to the mountains. He then started building igloos and ice structures in his backyard for his daughter. This year’s display in Frisco takes up a little less than an acre and includes towers, tunnels, a fountain and a slide to crawl through. It is all made of ice in a castle like structure. There’s also a fire show on the weekends. But make sure to get over there soon as the Dillon Ice Castle opened late December and the castles typically last six to eight weeks!
Haunted Mine Drop at Glenwood Adventure Park
The Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is one of our favorite family attractions on Colorado’s Western Slope. It combines the thrill of an adventure park with Colorado’s natural mountain environment. The Park recently upped their game with the new Haunted Mine Drop. The new thrill ride drops riders 110 feet down underground inside Iron Mountain. USA TODAY just voted the Haunted Mine Drop as the Best New Amusement Park Attraction of 2017! The Alpine Coaster and Laser Tag will probably continue to be our kids (ages 5 & 9) favorites for a while but thrill seekers are sure to love this new ride.
Other Colorado Rocky Mountain Attractions?
Did we miss any new attractions in the mountains of Colorado? Please let us know in the comments below.
Colorado is a must for me. I haven’t been out there in ages, but your post has definitely inspired me. We are planning to do some USA exploration so this is being added! Thanks for joining Fly Away Friday! See you this Friday! 🙂
Ooooh! I REALLY want to make it to Colorado this year. When’s the best time to visit? It’ll probably have to be summer or fall. Everyone raves about it and I LOVE all of your Instagram photos so I know it’s a must! Thanks for joining Fly Away Friday, hope to see you again this week! xo