Colorado’s cable cars that are more than just fancy ski lifts

By The Thirst Team

Scenic gondolas (also known as cable cars and trams) are a sleek, all-weather way to get up and down a mountain, across a ravine or even around a town. They feel safer and are more comfortable than chairlifts, and they offer more room for bikes and other gear while also providing unmatched views.

While Aspen, Breckenridge, Keystone, Snowmass, Vail, Winter Park and other ski resorts have skier gondolas that also offer summer rides, we focused on a few that are targeted at warm-weather fun (and added one flatland pipe dream).

Commuting in Telluride

The gondola rising out of Telluride is more than a tourist conveyance. It offers free public transit between the towns of Mountain Village and Telluride. The wind-powered electric gondola also stops in between at Station San Sophia, where hiking and biking trails are accessible.

While the gondola moves some skiers in the winter, it becomes a necessity during Telluride’s legendary summer music festivals. With extremely limited parking in Telluride, the best option is typically to park in Mountain Village and ride down to the festival grounds.

Euro-style summer fun in Estes Park

Since 1955, The Estes Park Aerial Tramway has carried more than 3 million people to the summit of Prospect Mountain. It uses a free-span design without support towers between the top and bottom stations. The system is fairly common in Europe, but rare in the United States.

Robert Heron designed and built the tramway, and his family operated the attraction for 67 years. After the cable car sat idle in 2023, Gondola Ventures re-opened the tramway last summer. They will keep it open through Nov. 2 this year. Tickets cost $37.95 for adults, with “early bird” and “night owl” discounts.

Sightseeing near Salida

Monarch Mountain, “the biggest little mountain in Colorado,” runs several chairlifts all winter. Since 2023, the resort also has operated a scenic summer tramway. The line runs to a peak at 12,000 feet in elevation, with 360-degree views of five mountain ranges and easy access to the Colorado Trail and other hiking (note that bikes and other recreation equipment are not allowed on the tramway).

Tickets cost $18 for adults, with half-off for Monarch ski season passholders.

Swing over the Royal Gorge

There isn’t much elevation change during the 2,200-foot gondola ride across the Royal Gorge. It’s the 1,200-foot drop to the bottom of the canyon that provides the thrill (or the terror, depending on your perspective). This is another ride that is available year-round, but the peak season is from May to September. Unlimited rides are included with the admission price of $30 for adults.

Photo courtesy of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Thrill riding in Glenwood Springs

The Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park brags about being the nation’s only mountaintop theme park. It may also be the only theme park that must be reached by gondola.

The gondola offers a five-minute ride to the roller coasters, family attractions, cave tours and more at the top of the mountain. The cable car runs all year, but many rides are closed in the winter and spring. Summer is definitely the best time for the gondola. Online tickets are $32.

Getting loopy in Denver?

Finally, a proposed gondola system could help tourists and residents travel around central Denver.

A group called New Downtown Denver has applied for grant money to fund a futuristic vision that includes three intersecting gondola loops — along 16th Street, around Civic Center Park, and from Union Station to Empower Field, the Auraria campus and the LoHi Neighborhood.

The plan also imagines airport-style moving sidewalks with canopies, and a new indoor/outdoor amphitheater. With a projected price tag of up to $543 million, the project seems unlikely. Let’s finish rebuilding the 16th Street Mall and Colfax Avenue first.