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Mine Drop Review: We’re still shaking

Carla Jean Whitley
cj@postindependent.com
A handful of first riders decide to take the 110-foot drop underground on the new Haunted Mine Drop which is scheduled to open Monday, July 31 at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent |
If you go Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Admission: Tram only $16 adults, $11 children 3-12; tram and cave tour $29 adults, $24 children; tram, cave tour and attractions $54 adults, $49 children. 51000 Two Rivers Plaza Road, Glenwood Springs 970-945-4228 glenwoodcaverns.com

Welcome to Glenwood Mining Corporation. You’re a new recruit, and it’s time to get to work.

That’s the premise of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park’s Haunted Mine Drop. The mining company has just reopened, a century after a terrible mining accident. But don’t worry — see those safety signs everywhere, noting how many days the department has gone without a lost time injury?

Wait — the sign’s blank? Maybe you should be nervous.



Mine Drop visitors queue inside an authentic-looking structure, perched on the edge of Iron Mountain. As they wait for their ride — I mean, first day of work — they pass mining relics and listen to a video orientation. The attention to detail by St. Louis’ Creative Visions creates an immersive atmosphere that draws guests into the story.

Step into the drop room and buckle up; mining is dangerous work, and it’s time to get started. A ghostly apparition appears to explain why the mine has been closed for so long. But there’s plenty of mining yet to do, and you better be ready.



Seriously. Get ready. You know what’s coming — it’s in the ride’s name, after all — but a 110-foot drop into the depths of Iron Mountain is sure to take your breath.

Some of my fellow riders during a sneak peek this week insisted the ride was too fast, too shocking to vocally express their surprise.

“You try to scream but you can’t,” said John Stone, who worked on the ride’s heating, air conditioning and plumbing. “My legs are still shaking if that counts for it.”

My experience was the opposite. Even on my second time through, when I knew what to expect, I couldn’t help but scream the entire way down.

Take time, if you can, to observe the ride’s attention to detail, even after the namesake drop.

“Not only is the building themed like an old mine, the ride drops down a shaft excavated out of solid rock the same way that a real mine shaft would be,” owner Steve Beckley said in a press release. “The temperature drops and the smell of the rock and the earth add authenticity to the experience.”

And if you can’t take all that in on the first time through? Get back in line, if you dare. Five minutes after disembarking, PI photographer Chelsea Self was still recovering from the thrill.

“I’m still shaking,” she said. “I’ve got to get my composure here.”


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