about 45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. Full-day and overnight rafting trips in Bighorn Sheep Canyon, as well as trips in Royal Gorge are available. Mountain biking tours are also an option.

Colorado Springs has plenty of nearby outdoor attractions like Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, but if you're looking for something further afield, you can't go wrong with Royal Gorge.

The first confrontation in the Royal Gorge Railroad War occurred not in the Royal Gorge, but near the top of Raton Pass in ...