The Most Unique Things To Do In Colorado At Least Once
Some places impress you once. Colorado keeps doing it over and over, like it has an endless supply of plot twists waiting around the next bend.
One minute you are staring at massive dunes that look wildly out of place, and the next you are standing in front of something so strange and storybook-like it barely feels real. That is the magic here.
The landscape does not stick to one mood, and neither does the adventure. You can go from wide open wonder to forest-hidden surprise without ever feeling like the excitement drops for a second.
Every stop feels like it has earned its reputation the hard way, by leaving people genuinely amazed. Colorado’s best experiences are not just scenic, they are the kind that stick in your brain and show up later in conversations, photos, and daydreams.
Bring solid shoes, plenty of curiosity, and a little extra room in your plans, because in Colorado, unforgettable usually arrives before you expect it.
1. Bishop Castle – Rye, Colorado
Nobody handed Jim Bishop a blueprint or a building permit when he started stacking stones in the Colorado foothills back in 1969. He just started building – and never really stopped.
What stands today at 12705 Highway 165 in Rye is a towering, jaw-dropping, entirely one-man castle that you have to see to believe.
Walking through the gate feels like stepping into a fairy tale written by someone with a serious iron fetish and zero fear of heights. Spiraling staircases lead to open balconies with mountain views that’ll make your knees go soft.
The main tower is genuinely dizzying, and yes, you can climb it.
There’s no admission fee, which somehow makes the whole thing even more remarkable. Bishop himself is often on-site, still working, still talking to visitors, still adding to his life’s work.
It’s open every day from sunup to sundown. This is the rare kind of roadside wonder that earns its reputation honestly – raw, defiant, and completely unlike anything else you’ll ever visit.
2. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve – Mosca, Colorado
Standing at the base of the tallest sand dunes in North America, with a mountain range looming behind them like a stage backdrop, you start to wonder whether Colorado secretly stole a piece of the Sahara and hid it here. Located at 11999 State Highway 150 in Mosca, Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of those places that defies easy explanation.
The dunes rise up to 750 feet, and hiking them is a full-body workout disguised as sightseeing. The sand shifts underfoot in ways that humble even confident hikers.
Medano Creek, which flows at the base seasonally, adds a genuinely surreal touch – sandboarding one minute, wading through a creek the next.
The park is open twenty-four hours a day, year-round, so stargazing here is absolutely worth planning around. The darkness at night is the kind you forget exists until you’re standing in it.
Come prepared with sunscreen, water, and snacks – the dunes are deceptively demanding. This is the kind of experience that earns a permanent spot in your memory the moment your feet hit the sand.
3. The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway – Manitou Springs, Colorado
At 14,115 feet, Pikes Peak doesn’t just offer a view – it offers a perspective shift. The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, departing from 515 Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs, is the most civilized way to get there, and I mean that as a sincere compliment.
The cog railway has been running since 1891, which means generations of people have sat in these cars watching Colorado unfold below them like a slowly revealed secret. The journey takes about an hour each way, climbing through alpine meadows, past timberline, and into the kind of thin air that makes your lungs politely protest.
At the summit, the views stretch across Kansas on a clear day. Katherine Lee Bates reportedly wrote “America the Beautiful” after visiting this peak, and honestly, standing up there, you understand the inspiration immediately.
The railway operates year-round, with departure times posted on its official schedule page. Book ahead – this one fills up fast, and for good reason.
It’s the rare attraction that actually lives up to every superlative thrown at it.
4. Royal Gorge Bridge and Park – Cañon City, Colorado
Suspended 956 feet above the Arkansas River, the Royal Gorge Bridge is not for the faint of heart – but it absolutely is for the curious of spirit. Located at 4218 County Road 3A in Cañon City, this is one of the highest suspension bridges in the world, and crossing it on foot is the kind of thing you’ll describe at dinner parties for years.
The bridge itself sways just enough to remind you of what’s beneath you. Peer over the railing and the river looks like a thin blue thread far, far below.
The surrounding park offers aerial gondolas, a zip line, and a Via Ferrata climbing route for those who want to double down on the adrenaline.
Open daily year-round, weather permitting, the park is well-suited for families, thrill-seekers, and anyone who finds canyon views deeply satisfying. My personal take: skip the crowds of summer if you can and go in early fall, when the canyon walls catch the light in ways that feel almost theatrical.
Budget a full half-day here – there’s more to explore than a single crossing suggests.
5. Meow Wolf Denver, Convergence Station – Denver, Colorado
Meow Wolf doesn’t really fit into any category you already have. It’s part art installation, part immersive story, part fever dream you paid to walk through – and somehow, all of it works.
Convergence Station, located at 1338 First Street in Denver, is the largest of Meow Wolf’s locations and arguably the most ambitious.
You arrive at what appears to be a transit hub for interdimensional travelers. From there, things escalate quickly.
Rooms shift from neon-lit alien environments to domestic spaces with hidden doors to corridors that make no architectural sense and yet feel completely intentional. There’s a narrative threading through it all, though you’re free to ignore it and just wander in delighted confusion.
Hours vary and are posted on the official visit page, so check before you go and book tickets in advance. This is an experience that rewards curiosity – the more you poke, pull, and explore, the more it gives back.
It’s genuinely one of the most original things you can do in Denver, and Denver is not short on original things. Go with someone who’s willing to get pleasantly lost.
6. Casa Bonita – Lakewood, Colorado
Casa Bonita is less a restaurant and more a theatrical production that happens to serve sopapillas. Located at 6715 West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, this Colorado institution has been baffling and delighting visitors since 1974, and its resurrection under the ownership of the South Park creators brought it roaring back to life with upgraded food and all the original spectacle intact.
Inside, you’ll find cliff divers plunging into an indoor waterfall, strolling mariachi bands, puppet shows, and enough pink stucco to redecorate several Mexican villages. The food – once famously underwhelming – has been seriously improved, making the whole experience land much better than its old reputation suggested.
Reservations are required, and hours are posted on the official reservations page. Go for the experience first and the meal second, and you’ll leave happy.
Casa Bonita rewards people who show up ready to be amused rather than impressed in the conventional sense. It’s loud, colorful, slightly chaotic, and completely committed to its own vision of fun.
Bring kids if you have them, but honestly, adults without kids have just as much to enjoy here. It earns its legend.
7. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park – Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Getting to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park already feels like an event before you’ve seen a single stalactite. The gondola ride up Iron Mountain, departing from 51000 Two Rivers Plaza Road in Glenwood Springs, delivers sweeping views of the Colorado River canyon that honestly justify the trip on their own.
Up top, the cave tours reveal underground chambers filled with cave formations that took thousands of years to build and about three minutes to make you feel appropriately small. The Historic Fairy Cave tour is accessible and family-friendly, while the Wild Tour gets muddy and tight in ways that appeal to a different kind of visitor entirely.
Above ground, the park layers on a roller coaster, a giant swing that launches you over the canyon rim, and a 4D theater, making the whole place a full-day proposition. Hours are posted on the official calendar page.
My honest recommendation: go on a weekday if your schedule allows, and do the cave tour first while your energy is fresh. The combination of underground wonder and above-ground views gives this park a range that few attractions in Colorado can genuinely match.
8. Cave of the Winds Mountain Park – Manitou Springs, Colorado
Discovered in 1880 and open to visitors ever since, Cave of the Winds has the kind of origin story that belongs in an adventure novel. Located at 100 Cave of the Winds Road in Manitou Springs, this underground world sits tucked into Williams Canyon and has been quietly astonishing people for well over a century.
The Discovery Tour is the classic starting point – about forty-five minutes winding through chambers filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and formations with names like Canopy of Heaven and the Crystal Palace. Seasonal tour options and attraction hours are posted online, so check before planning your visit.
Outside the cave, the park has added attractions that lean toward the adrenaline-seeking crowd: a terror-duction experience, a wind walker tightrope course over the canyon, and a laser tag course carved into the cliffsides. The contrast between serene underground geology and action-packed surface activities makes this place unusually good at entertaining mixed-age groups.
Manitou Springs itself is worth exploring before or after – it’s a quirky, artsy mountain town with good food and strong coffee. Pairing the two makes for a near-perfect Colorado day trip.
9. Paint Mines Interpretive Park – Calhan, Colorado
Most people drive right past the eastern Colorado plains without stopping, which is exactly why Paint Mines feels like a secret. Located at 29950 Paint Mines Road in Calhan, this free, open-air park reveals a landscape of sculpted clay spires and columns in shades of pink, white, lavender, and deep orange that look almost too vivid to be real.
The formations are the result of millions of years of erosion working on ancient volcanic ash deposits. Native peoples used the colorful clay here for pottery and pigments, which gives the site a human history as layered as its geology.
The main trail loop is about four miles and remains manageable for most fitness levels.
Open year-round from dawn to dusk with no admission fee, this is the kind of place that rewards early arrivals. Morning light hits the clay columns at an angle that photographers absolutely lose their minds over, and the crowds are thin enough that you can hear the wind.
Bring water, wear sturdy shoes, and stay on designated trails to protect the formations. Paint Mines is one of those genuinely underrated Colorado gems that earns a loyalty following among everyone who finds it.
10. Colorado Gators Reptile Park – Mosca, Colorado
Yes, there are alligators in Colorado. No, this is not a mistake.
Colorado Gators Reptile Park, located at 9162 Lane 9 North in Mosca, started as a tilapia fish farm in the 1980s and took a sharp left turn when the owners discovered that alligators thrived in the warm geothermal water used for the fish operation.
Today the park is home to hundreds of alligators along with an impressive collection of snakes, lizards, and other reptiles from around the world. What sets it apart from a standard zoo experience is the level of hands-on access available – brave visitors can hold baby gators, and the staff are genuinely knowledgeable and enthusiastic in ways that make the whole visit feel educational without feeling like a field trip.
Open daily with seasonal hours posted on the official site, this is one of those only-in-Colorado experiences that earns its reputation through pure eccentricity. It sits just a short drive from Great Sand Dunes National Park, making the two an unexpectedly brilliant pairing for a full day out.
Few places in America can offer you towering sand dunes and alligator encounters in the same afternoon – Colorado manages it without breaking a sweat.