For a fun family adventure, consider zip lining with Top of the Rockies. It’s hard to miss as you drive north on highway CO-91 towards I-70. Top of the Rockies is only 8 miles from the Silver Rose of Leadville.
The first thing you are greeted with is the super friendly staff, who are very accommodating and put any nervous first-timers at ease. After getting your gear, you are escorted into the back of a troop transport truck that takes you straight up towards the first platform through gorgeous scenery.
Top of the Line is situated on a 1,900-acre plot of land formerly used for mining in the late 1800s. The original owner of the property was named Cecil. He worked for the local mining company and was involved in an accident that resulted in the loss of his arm. His reparation was the property. When Cecil passed away, the land was auctioned off, which is when the current owner purchased it. The owner grew up locally and wanted to create a place where other families could make lifetime memories in the heart of the Rockies.
The tour starts with a safety demonstration. It was reassuring that Top of the Rockies uses double cable lines for safety. If one cable goes out, there is another to guarantee you won’t fall to the ground. That is not likely to ever happen, but it just helps to know you are covered.
For the next two hours, we screamed through the trees on six different zip lines. Each line was fun, especially the last one, which was the longest and most exciting (in my opinion).
A pleasant surprise if your timing is dialed in is that you can zip over the train tracks while the historic Leadville train is chugging by. Typically, the best luck for ziplining over the train happens during the 3-o clock tour. If you miss the train, you can always take a ride on it before or after your zip line tour if you book the Rails & Zip Line combo tour.
We had a blast and highly recommend Top of the Rockies as a fun activity while you are visiting the town of Leadville. The company also does snowmobile tours in the winter.