Elitch Gardens in Denver is a family-friendly amusement park with lots of water rides, mini-golf, and a few thrill rides.
The park is nicely landscaped with flowers and has a good look to it. The place is huge and can be easily explored in one day. Although the rides are not very high-tech or fast, they still provide enough excitement for kids and adults alike.
Elitch Gardens is located at 2000 Elitch Circle, Denver, Colorado 80204. You can ask for directions to the park from any cab driver or you can use Google maps on your smartphone if you have internet access. The entrance fee was $30 when we went which included unlimited ride passes all day except on special event days like New Years Day, July 4th, etc. If you don’t want unlimited rides you can pay $16 for admission and buy individual tickets at the gate.
I will tell you that it is well worth it to buy the unlimited ride passes for yourself, a friend, and your children because you get unlimited hours of fun with all the rides included in the tickets. If you have never been to Elitch Gardens before then I highly recommend coming on a weekday (Monday is usually when they are open) so there will be less crowding even though this time of year should not be too bad as long as it’s not rainy out.
The park has dozens of rides for people of all ages. My kids liked going on roller coasters like Sidewinder, Wildcat, and Gold Rusher. However, my husband and I liked more sedate rides like the Alpine Bobsleds, Troika, and Hay Ride.
Cliffhanger is a fun ride that I think all kids will enjoy. You’re in an open car that can go really fast as it races down its track. The drop at the end of the track is thrilling but not too high so it’s suitable for smaller children.
Wildlife Carousel has beautifully carved horses on it which my little ones loved to look at while they slowly rotated around with their backs facing us. It was quiet and relaxing instead of being dizzying like other carousels where you sit side-by-side or face forward on your horse.
The Wave Pool was large enough for many people to play in at once. It was not too cold or hot and there were plenty of chairs around it to sit on.
The Water Flume Ride was another favorite for our family. You must ride with an adult in order to go on the ride but my boys loved going down this water-slide into a pool of water at the bottom that is filled with rocks and sand as well as some air pumps under the slide. This makes you feel like you are flying when you plunge down the slide into the pool below.
Another fun thing we did was walk over to Shotgun Willie’s Saloon. We did not drink alcohol or gamble but my kids had fun playing electronic games while they waited for me to finish taking photos of Elitch Gardens, which is right across the street from Shotgun Willie’s.
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