Estes Park Aerial Tram

The Estes Park Aerial Tramway was designed and built by Robert Heron, who became involved with tramways during World War II. After the war Mr. Heron traveled to Europe to study tramways and became fascinated with their design and capabilities. Because of the steep terrain, many trams in Europe do not require any towers to support the wire ropes. The entire length is a free span between the bottom and the top stations. The Estes Park Aerial Tramway utilizes this design. A free span is fairly uncommon in the United States and this type of design affords a very smooth ride.

The Estes Park Aerial Tramway opened to the public in July, 1955. Since then it has safely carried more than 3 million people to the summit of Prospect Mountain. Robert Heron managed the tramway until his death in 1999. At that point, John Heron, Robert’s son was able to move to Estes Park and continue in his father’s footsteps. After John’s passing, the Heron family sold controlling interest in the tram (though still maintained significant family ownership) to Gondola Ventures, who re-opened it for business on May 25th, 2024!

Please see their website for more information.