Guest Tours

SPE is offering many exciting tours for attendees’ guests during ATCE. All tours require a separate ticket purchase; see details below. Purchase tickets to these events.

 

Foothills FandangoFoothills Fandango

1300–1730, Sunday, 30 October
Ticket price: USD 50

Amidst towering cliffs slanting upwards and huge slabs of red sandstone rising hundreds of feet above you, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater will surely be a sight that you will be talking about for a long time.

Celebrate the exploits of the Old West’s most famous character, Buffalo Bill Cody, when your tour bus arrives atop Lookout Mountain. The museum contains antique guns, costumes, posters, and memorabilia from his Wild West show.

Then your tour goes to Molson/Coors Brewery, which has been producing beer for more than 120 years. The visit includes a walking tour through the malting, brewing, and packaging processes; an opportunity to sample Coors beer; and a visit to the gift shop. (Proper identification is required for alcohol sampling.)

 

Rocky Mountain High

0900–1700, Sunday, 30 October
Ticket price: USD 90

This tour of the gorgeous Rocky Mountains promises to be one of the most beautiful scenic tours you have ever taken! The Trail Ridge Road along the Continental Divide is known for its spectacular high-mountain beauty and some of the best views of wildlife in Colorado. During this experience, you will enjoy a gourmet box lunch picnic.

In the city of Estes Park, you will drive by the famous Stanley Hotel, which was built of wood and rock obtained from the nearby mountains. Some of its famous guests have been the Unsinkable Molly Brown, President Theodore Roosevelt, and author Stephen King who wrote about half of his novel, The Shining, in room 217. Estes Park is also known for its many jewelry and curio stores.

 

Rocky Mountain LegendsRocky Mountain Legends

0930–1300, Monday, 31 October
Ticket price: USD 70

Denver is not only one of America’s most beautiful cities, but it is also one of its most haunted. With the city’s long and rich history, many ghosts are said to roam its historic streets and buildings. In this tour, you will visit four location that are sure to give you a chill up your spine!

First at the Brown Palace Hotel, the ghost of a old railroad ticket manager walks directly into a wall, a baby is heard crying in the basement, an ethereal waiter rides the service elevator, and a string quarter has been known to practice their music here. Once the neighborhood of Denver’s wealthiest, Capitol Hill is known for ghosts walking the halls in the old Governor’s Mansion and State Capitol buildings. At the old cemetery, Cheesman Park, hear about how the restless spirits continue to roam. Finally, at the Croke Patterson Mansion, learn how this elegant home (now an office building) became Denver’s most haunted mansion. We will finish the tour at Denver’s old restaurant for lunch.

 

Colorado SpringsColorado Springs: The Pikes Peak Region

0900–1700, Monday, 31 October
Ticket price: USD 95

Get ready to indulge your senses and set your imagination free! Stunning red sandstone formations heighten your interest at the Garden of the Gods. At the visitor center, “How Did Those Red Rocks Get There?” is an enjoyable 12-minute multimedia show.

At the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains, the United States Air Force Academy is Colorado’s most frequently visited man-made attraction. Highlights of your visit will include touring the visitor center, the planetarium, and the beautiful Cadet Chapel. Then your tour takes you to the popular Cave of the Winds, a rare geological formation that is more than 200 million years old. A buffet lunch is included.

 

Phoenix Mine Tour

0930–1530, Tuesday, 1 November
Ticket price: USD 95

Would you like to find gold? It’s possible as you pan for gold after your tour of the Historical Phoenix Gold Mine. On your way up to the mine in Idaho Springs, your tour guide will provide fascinating facts about the area and point out interesting sites like Red Rocks Park. You will see the tunnels and rooms of the Resurrection Vein, historical mining equipment, and buildings. You will also see various minerals still in the earth.

After your tour, you will enter the historic mining town of Idaho Springs, where you will enjoy a lunch, visit Tommyknocker Brewery for a tour and samplings, and finally, visit stores in its historic streets. (Proper identification is required for alcohol sampling.)

 

Balistreri Wine Tasting

1300–1600, Tuesday, 1 November
Ticket price: USD 80

Pamper yourself with an entertaining seminar at the award-winning Balistreri Vineyards. Guests will experience wine tasting and appetizers in a relaxed setting. Expert chefs will provide education on wine/food parings and give interactive demonstrations on creating decorative appetizers that will impress your future dinner party guests.

Locally owned and operated, Balistreri wines are hand-crafted, one barrel at a time, with grapes that are fermented on their own yeast, unaltered by sulfites, unfiltered, and aged in American oak.

 

DenverDenver: A Mile High City

0900–1330, Wednesday, 2 November
Ticket price: USD 65

Denver combines historic, restored buildings from the Old West with a booming metropolis of enormous skyscrapers. The tour begins at the state capitol—built in the 1880s and made entirely of granite. You will then enjoy a guided tour of the Unsinkable Molly Brown’s Gothic Victorian mansion.

Then we visit Millionaires’ Row, where you will see mansions of the gold rush days, along with a historic block where saloons and bordellos once stood. The Brown Palace Hotel, completed in 1892, is a remarkable example of Victorian architecture based on the Italian Renaissance style. Also on the tour is Trinity United Methodist Church, one of the finest examples of Modern Gothic architecture in the United States.