If you only do one thing outside the resort during your stay, most of our concierge team will point you toward the narrow-gauge railroad. It's a short walk from Bennett Avenue, it runs on a section of the original 1890s rail grade, and it takes almost no planning to fit into a weekend.

What the Ride Covers

The train follows a loop through the old mining district, past collapsed headframes, tailings piles, and a handful of restored mine structures that once anchored working claims. A narrator on board points out what you're looking at along the way — which mine produced what, which family ran it, and how the district's geology made this particular stretch of mountain so productive.

The full loop runs a little under an hour, which makes it easy to treat as a mid-morning outing without eating into an entire day of your trip.

Timing It Around a Stay

• Departures run several times a day during the main season, less frequently in winter — check current times before you plan around it.
• A 10:00 AM departure leaves plenty of room for lunch at Summit Deck Cafe afterward and a full afternoon at the spa or pool deck.
• Dress warmer than you think you need to. Open-air cars mean the ride is noticeably colder than Bennett Avenue at street level, even in summer.

Guests who've ridden the district's older mining routes before sometimes ask how this one compares. The honest answer: shorter, but with a narrator who actually knows this specific district's history rather than a general script.

Getting Tickets

Tickets are sold at the depot itself, a five-minute walk from the resort. Our concierge desk can also arrange them in advance for groups, which is worth doing on busy summer weekends when same-day tickets can sell out by late morning.

What to Pair It With

Most guests build a loose morning-to-afternoon plan around the ride:

• Breakfast at Summit Deck Cafe before the train departs.
• The railroad loop itself, roughly 45 minutes to an hour.
• A walk back through the historic district, stopping at the Cripple Creek District Museum if history is your thing.
• Lunch back at the resort, then the pool deck or spa for the afternoon.

It's a full but unhurried half-day, and it's the piece of a Cripple Creek trip most guests remember longest — a reminder of exactly what the district looked like before any of the current casino floors existed.