Here’s the crazy thing: Along our caravan journey we stopped to see a friend who lives in Durango, and upon telling her our next stop was Canon City, Colorado (pronounced Canyon), she asked, “Why are you going there? There’s nothing to do there!” Yikes! OK, so I guess we’ll just hang and make our own fun!
Lesson learned: Be your own judge. Canon City was a BLAST! I can only surmise that my friend didn’t invest the time to discover Canon City, its charm and host of attractions.
We rode a heritage railroad through the majestic Royal Gorge while enjoying a 3-course gourmet lunch and local wines, http://www.royalgorgeroute.com; we raced along class 4 and 5 rapids whitewater rafting the Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River; we stopped into the Canon City Elks Lodge #610, originally instituted in 1900, and enjoyed a private tour of the impressive historic building thanks to Lanny, a former Exalted Ruler of the Lodge.
We attended the town’s White Water River Festival with live music and rafting competitions; drove Skyline Drive, a crazy narrow scenic roadway built by inmate labor in 1908. It climbs, winds, falls like a rollercoaster, climbs some more, and follows a razorback ridge… finally revealing sprawling views of Canon City to the east, the valley and mountains to the west.
A must-see one hour from Canon City is Bishop Castle http://www.bishopcastle.org, not unlike the Winchester House in San Jose, California in terms of the unique mind behind the design. The Castle is free to explore. Castle Builder Jim Bishop is usually there on weekends, continuing the build.
We camped at the Royal View Campground, conveniently located on Highway 50. The campground is set back a generous distance from the highway and has fun amenities including miniature golf, Frisbee golf, horseshoes, a swimming pool, and 2 fenced dog parks. It is clean, the staff pleasant and accommodating.
I would absolutely return to and highly recommend a visit to Canyon City and Royal View, http://royalviewcampground.com.
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