We did the sunset 4Hr ride on July 16th. The ride was a blast lots of wildlife and amazing views…read more The guide, Justin, was awesome and super knowledgeable, he made the ride a lot of fun. If you do the sunset BRING INSULATED JACKETS!!! We made the mistake of only bringing a pullover and it got very cold, thankfully Justin had blankets for us! 100% recommend!!

Went on an awesome ATV ride in the Creede area yesterday with Mountain Skillz. I would highly…read morerecommend Matt as your guide! They are the only company in this area with permits to ride through national forests. They provided everything we needed to have a great ride and Matt is a knowledgeable guide, good with kids, and very experienced. We saw wildlife, including a bull moose, elk, and mule deer. We traversed some awesome trails that could not be accessed by anything less than an ATV. After this experience we will be hiring Matt every year we that we come this way. Can't wait to try snow mobiling with him.

We spent 3 days up here volunteering with some of my high school age girl scouts…read more Our experience far exceeded anything that we could have ever imagined. M:W just experienced some flooding so they were in a bit of stress and chaos when we were there. some of the fencing and structures came down and got tore up. As a volunteer camping, we needed to be there between 9 and noon. We arrived around 1030. The road to get there is a little rough. We did it in my honda pilot AWD and my coleader had her highlander. Some pot holes, ruts and jutting rocks so just be prepared. If it has been rainy the road will be even rougher to get up and down as will be slick. Cows around there dont have fences so be sure to take it easy when driving so you dont accidentally hit any animals. We were greeted upon arrival, and assigned a long term volunteer who they call staff to give us a tour. Iyla did a great job with giving us information and showing us around. Kent was doing an education talk right after that and we were all so glad that we attended. It was so informative and interesting! We did get to go meet a couple of the wolves after which was beyond anything we had imagined. After the talk, we went down to our camp area to set up. And when we were done we came back up the road and they set us up with some tasks. We worked until around 830 pm and headed back to our site. The next 2 days we did more volunteering. Also got to watch the wolves feed. And do a little more interaction with them. Everyones volunteer experience may be different but ours was absolutely amazing! It was something we had to set up in advance with them as they have limited space. You are supposed to bring your own tent, sleeping bags, etc when staying on site. We all had an amazing time and will be back next year to volunteer again! The organization really takes care of their animals and has a lot of heart and soul.

The staff was very respectful of the wolves and spent a great deal of time educating us. I was one…read moreof the lucky ones a wolf greeted. My only concern is that admission is free. With increasing cost of food, vet care and maintaining the massive grounds, even a small entrance fee would help. Please be careful not to confuse Mission Wolf with Wolf Mission which has had some negative reviews.

Kyle showed us an awesome time around the park and the preserve! He was super helpful when…read morecommunicating and planning our trip to make sure everything was what we wanted. During the excursion, he and Adrian set a casual but comfortable vibe with attention to detail! The tour started with donuts and coffee from the back of the jeep while adjusting the jeep to make my mom's spot more smooth of a ride. Kyle was very knowledgeable about the area and kept us entertained with his facts and stories our whole tour. Highly recommend booking with them--they're a great, local company!

WOW!! This tour was so much fun and a great way to learn the history of Cripple Creek and Victor…read more The tour is 90 minutes long and covers Cripple Creek, Victor and the gold mine overlook. Along the tour local historical characters, in period dress, jump on and off the trolly giving a brief and often humorous short talk. This was a great deal for only $10. They also gave us free water LOL.

What a wonderful way to learn about Cripple Creek and Victor. So much fun. Local characters…read morejoining us along the way made it very exciting. Two hours packed with information provided by our tour guides. Very reasonable and so much fun. Highly recommend you take advantage of this wonderful tour.

It is the longest, highest narrow gauge railroad. Rail tracks were put down in 1880, it went from…read moreDenver to the Rio Grand. Toltec pass was over 10,015. Riding on the train and looking at at how narrow the tracks were and the mountains sides where they were cut out to make the rail line. We sat in the parlor car ( last car on the train) you could go out back on the train and take pictures. When we enter our car our hostess ( I forgot her name) w met us with a friendly smile. Where each person sat there was a fresh donut, water bottle, and a small insulated bag. The in side of the car was beautiful redone. We passed old telegraph poles, and the tiny little office where the telegraph person worked. We had a truck followed us with fire equipment on it in case the train caused sparks to start a fire. Then a little fire car followed us when the truck could not. Thought that was interesting. We passed so much beautiful green fields, mountains and a lot of Aspens. I bet it is beautiful in the fall. We arrived at a restaurant train stop for a delicious lunch of either chicken or meatloaf. Best meatloaf I have had in a long time. Served by a bunch of cowboys from Texas. The trip back was relaxing and we decided to have a Bloody Mary, delicious. Saw a lot of Elk on the way up and back. Well worth the trip. So many decanted volunteers that have work so hard to keep trains like this running.

Terrible! DO NOT book the parlor car! We did today, and got on the correct car with our tickets. No…read moreone acknowledged us and we were alone in the car. Finally a docent came over saying, "Sorry, but you can't be in here." We said we had tickets and showed her. 5-10 minutes later she apologized and said she could take care of us, but we weren't on the manifest (even with our tickets) so she'd be in the other car, moving back and forth. We would've missed all the fun information and tour, which had already been given to the other cars, should we have stayed. Or it was offered that we move to the other car, which was 200.00 cheaper, with no mention of a credit or refund. So we got off, and asked for a refund. No apologies were given. It was an awful walk of shame past an otherwise full train as we heard the workers on the radio talking about us disembarking! They were not prepared for us, and it was a 600.00 waste.

Had to wait for the shuttle ( Karen ) on numerous occasions for my disabled mom. They have 1 person…read moredriving the entire guest back and forth. Apparently no one wants to help her get people around.

As a California native who recently moved to Colorado, I enjoyed the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park!…read moreIt's a huge canyon that makes you feel small and I would argue that it's an iconic landmark of Colorado. My family and I opted to take the gondola from the office / main dining hall across the gorge and then zipline back. The line seems to move slow, but it's mainly for the gondolas with the clear floors. The other line moves a lot faster. Because we were doing the zipline back, we didn't feel the need to do the gondola with the clear floor. The views are majestic! It really makes you feel small and awestruck. The zipline was super fun and an awesome experience. I feel like it's little pricey, but the experience was still breathtaking! Plus, you'll the option to purchase your zipline photos and videos. The bridge itself is very cool. Nicknamed "America's bridge," it has the flags of all the states posted up throughout the bridge so it's fun to see people find their home states and take pics with the flags. There's also a playground area for kids and a theatre showroom. The BBQ restaurant by the theatre seemed delicious, at least it was busy when I walked by. The main dining hall has some decent standard options. They also have beer and some cocktails available for purchase, which is a plus for such a family friendly park. Would definitely recommend, especially to out of state visitors

I had a solid 4-star experience renting from this place! We stopped by here to pick up some wooden…read moresandboards before heading into the national park for a day of sandboarding on the dunes. The service we received was very nice, welcoming, and friendly, which made for a great start to the day. On top of that, the entire process was an easy transaction, and it was super convenient that they take credit cards for payment. The rental prices were also somewhat reasonable for a quick day activity. The only downside was that the boards themselves were not particularly great quality; they were kind of hard and thick, which made navigating the sand a little bit clunky. However, since these are rental boards and I am sure people beat them up constantly out on the dunes, we were totally okay with that. Overall, it's a super convenient stop right by the park entrance, and it definitely gets the job done for a fun day on the sand!

There's not a ton of businesses right near Great Sand Dunes National Park and this one is perfectly…read morepositioned as you are about to enter so that you can rent gear like sleds or snow boards to slide down the dunes. Unfortunately for us the day we visited it was drizzling all day and had rained earlier so the dunes were wet. Something I really appreciated was that the folks working were super transparent with us and said they weren't sure we'd have much fun trying to sled down when the sand was packed like that with water. Because of that we passed on renting gear, even though that was our initial reason for stopping here. While there we did some shopping, instead picked up some sand toys for the kids, and purchased a sticker. All in all it was a nice little shop and I can't say how much I appreciate them for their kindness and honesty - they could have just taken our money but they gave us good feedback and we will for sure rent from them if and when we make it back this way. Also it's worth noting that they were right. There were folks that had rented sleds and were sledding but it was a slow process for them. With two kids in tow and wet sand to deal with we were happy to not have to lug sleds that we wouldn't have used on our hike.

A Magical, Mind-Opening Night Under the Stars…read more We arrived not quite sure what to expect--just a hunch that Crestone would be the ideal setting for some UFO-gazing. What we experienced with The Sky Experience was so much more than we imagined! From the very beginning, Nate was an exceptional host and guide--warm, knowledgeable, and deeply tuned in. He made sure we were completely comfortable, even relocating us to a better spot to avoid the seasonal mosquito swarm (a thoughtful touch that didn't go unnoticed!). What really set this experience apart was Nate's storytelling and insights. They were grounded and accessible, yet filled with a sense of curiosity and awe that made us feel both humbled and inspired. As we looked up into the vast sky, surrounded by the natural magic of Crestone, it felt like we were tapping into something bigger than ourselves. We saw so much activity in the night sky--it's hard to even describe--but Nate's guidance helped us interpret and truly appreciate it all. I'll absolutely be returning the next time I'm in the area. If you're even remotely curious about the cosmos, consciousness, or just want to do something unique and unforgettable, don't miss this experience.

This was an amazing experience! Nate was so helpful and knowledgable AND... we saw many UFOs! We…read morecame to Crestone primarily to have this sky experience and he delivered! We will be back.

I wrote a review for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Chama, NM…read more The same railroad has a depot in Antonito, CO, so here goes a similar review... My daughters, significant other, and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip aboard the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. We were in Antonito, CO by 8AM to checkin as I was notified to be so we could ride about one hour to Chama, NM, via charter bus. We took this route since my SO lives near Antonito. As soon as we arrived at the train station, we had enough time for a restroom break which had a super long line of older women - just being truthful - LOL, then it was all aboard engine #484. Keep in mind, there are restrooms on the train. Our first docent in deluxe car B was awesome! She was funny. Pointed out features and historical facts in a timely manner. She had breakfast pastries out for us before we sat down. The docent we had after lunch at the halfway point was terrible. I spent most of my time standing with the breeze in my hair in the gondola car. The precipitation the landscape received as of June 27, 2024, made the ride much more enjoyable. It was gorgeous. The buffet lunch at Osier was surprisingly delicious. It was prepared by a women's group. Two adult and two child tickets for the whole ordeal was not cheap: $711.90 which included historical preservation fees in addition to other fees. I only wish the chairs were more comfortable and adult beverages could be bought and drank in the deluxe cars. We arrived back in Antonito at about 4:30PM. I probably won't do it again for a long time if ever again, but I have amazing photos of my daughters and memories I hope I'll not soon forget. Highly recommend.

Some argue more scenic than the Durango train. I would disagree but this is definitely scenic. My…read moretrip in mid October traveled through the high mesa country along the New Mexico -Colorado border area with trees in bright yellows. I started at Antonito CO then traveled to Osier for lunch before continuing into Chama NM and riding the bus back. The narrow gauge allowed for sharper turns and numerous picture opportunities of the engine in action. The train twists its way up the side of a mesa before heading high above a second valley floor. Occasional rock cuts plus a few tunnels add to the journey. But for most it's the chugging of the locomotive, the swaying of the car and the lack of cell phone coverage that makes this trip relaxing. At Osier the train pulls onto a siding where it is greeted by the eastbound out of Chama. Here passengers are treated to a lunch of pulled pork, roasted chicken, salads, beans, potatoes and dessert. Once full you board either the continuation of your original train or head back to where you came. The trip lasts approximately 6.5 hours including the hour four lunch and travels about 65 miles. Elevations range from the bottom at 7500 feet to Cumbres Pass at just above 10,000 feet. There is an open air car, snack car and people are free to stand on the end platforms of each car. The bus option take 1:05 to get from one depot to the other. Mine was after the trip but one could get it done early in the morning as well. I suggest doing the whole run and use the bus. It's an all-around great trip. Grumpy old man note: young kids will love this trip for about an hour. Then they are going between cars and trying to overcome boredom. If traveling with kids too young to just sit and watch for hours then I recommend the shortest trip option available.