Labor Day weekend likely to bring another record tourism year to southern Colorado

On Thursday, KRDO NewsChannel 13 checked with local tourist attractions to learn if the recent trend of record tourism numbers will continue in southern Colorado this year.

Good weather and heavy attendance are expected at Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge and other attractions for the holiday period.

Other events, such as the annual Labor Day Lift Off balloon event in Colorado Springs, will bring even more people to the area.

Tourism has been on a steady increase in the region since 2014, after the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest wildfires.

Early indications are that local attractions will match or exceed visitor totals from last year.

That’s especially noteworthy for Garden of the Gods, which drew nearly 6 million tourists in 2018 and recently hired a park manager for the first time.

“So many people are coming here that we have to put more effort into maintaining the park,” said John Stark, the new manager. “We’ve had an increase in vehicles this year, but we’re offsetting that with a new connecting trail that allows more people to hike in and out of the park. We have a shuttle service and overflow parking outside the main gate.”

Even though school is back in session for many students, people still find reasons to visit local attractions.

The Wilkerson family came from Nebraska because a teenager wanted to celebrate his birthday by seeing Garden of the Gods for the first time.

Nick Bedekovic came from Switzerland after hearing about the local attractions.

“I like it,” he said of Garden of the Gods. “I don’t like all the people and cars. But I’m glad to see the staff is making improvements to keep the park in good condition.”