Last year, when Chris and I finally decided to ride the Estes Tram after driving by the entrance every time we drove to RMNP, we discovered that it was closed. Bummer!
The tram was built by Robert Heron in 1955.
…Mr. Heron traveled to Europe to study the tramways and became more fascinated with their design and capabilities. Because of the steep terrain, many trams in Europe do not require any towers to support the wire ropes. The entire length is a free span between the bottom and the top stations. The Estes Park Aerial Tramway utilizes this design. A free span is fairly uncommon in the United States and this type of design affords a very smooth ride. ~ Estes Park Aerial TramwayThe tram was purchased by Gondola Adventures and began running once again in May 2024.
I wanted to create a post on my website about the tram and suggested to Chris that this would be one of our last opportunities this season to ride it... and who knows how often we will get back to Estes Park once we move to Monument.
The weather in Estes Park was perfect. We had figured that it would be windy at the top of the mountain, but it wasn't at all. We watched kids feed the chipmunks, enjoyed the scenery, and walked a short distance to the peak. You can buy a bag of peanuts for $3 in the Hungry Chipmunk Cafe at the top of the mountain to feed the chipmunks.
Since I had blisters on my heels and was wearing flip flops, Chris and I opted not to climb all the way to the top of Prospect Peak. Besides, we had already hiked almost 10 miles!
Is the tram expensive? Yes. It was $73 for the two of us.
But the views were outstanding, the weather was perfect, and the company was ideal.