What Most Visitors Never Know About Red Canyon Park
Most people visiting Cañon City come for the Royal Gorge. And for good reason. But a few miles away, tucked into the landscape of Red Canyon Park, there is a story that most visitors never find. It starts millions of years before the first gold rush, before the canyon had a name, and before anyone thought to look down at the rock beneath their feet.
This is where the dinosaurs walked.
A Formation That Shaped the American West
The towering red spires of Red Canyon are made of Fountain Formation sandstone, the same geological layer that gave shape to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. These structures were sculpted over hundreds of millions of years by erosion, pressure, and deep time.
Your guide will make that connection on the way in, usually right around the moment the canyon walls rise on either side of the Jeep and conversation quiets down on its own.
Dinosaur Tracks, the Bone Wars, and One of Colorado’s Most Significant Fossil Sites
The Red Canyon Jeep tour takes you through the Garden Park Fossil Area in Cañon City, one of the most paleontologically significant areas in the state. Complete dinosaur skeletons were excavated here, including a Stegosaurus now displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and a Brontosaurus housed at the Wagner Free Institute of Philadelphia. The site was also at the center of the famous “Bone Wars” of the 1870s, a fierce scientific rivalry that helped shape the field of American paleontology.
Out on the trail, the evidence is still there. Dinosaur tracks pressed into the rock. Petroglyphs carved into canyon walls by people who lived here long before Colorado was a state. Your guide reads every layer of it, era by era, and by the end of the tour the landscape starts to feel less like scenery and more like a record.
What the Red Canyon Half Day Actually Looks Like
The Red Canyon Half Day runs approximately three hours, departing from the Cañon City office at 50905 W US HWY 50. Your guide takes you off pavement quickly, climbing through groves of junipers and cedars via a 4×4 trail that rises from the desert valley floor. The views start building early, and midway through the route they stop you completely: at Overlook Arch, a natural stone arch spanning high above Shaw Park. A short walk on a rocky path, easy for most guests, with a view through the arch that makes every step worth the walk.
Wildlife is part of the landscape here. Mule deer, turkeys, and occasionally bears have been spotted along this route, all from open-air Jeeps with airbag suspension and cushioned seats that keep the ride comfortable between 5,300 and 7,200 feet of elevation.
Who This Tour Is Built For
The Red Canyon tour fits families with curious kids, travelers who want to understand what they are looking at, and anyone who has driven past a canyon before and wondered what the rock was actually made of. No hiking experience is required. The short walk to Overlook Arch is the only physical ask, and it is manageable for most guests.
If your group wants to experience both Red Canyon and the Royal Gorge in a single outing, the Royal Gorge Full Day combines both tours into a 7.5-hour adventure with lunch included.
Ready to see what is written in the rock? Book the Red Canyon Half Day or browse all tours at coloradojeeptours.com. Questions? Call us at 719-275-6339.