Elitch Gardens Is Moving To...🎢 #shorts

Denver's had an interesting relationship with Elitch Gardens for a long time. The park sits on prime real estate in the Platte River corridor, which means developers have been eyeing that land for years and the "Elitch is leaving soon" rumor has been circulating basically since the park moved from its original Berkeley neighborhood location back in the '90s. So when I started seeing chatter about Aurora and the Gaylord Rockies Resort entering the conversation, I figured it was worth digging into what's actually being discussed.

The short version: nothing is decided. What's happening right now is that the City of Aurora, Elitch's ownership group, and the Gaylord Rockies Resort have been in talks about whether relocating the park out east could be viable in the coming years. Aurora has grown fast — over 300,000 new residents in recent decades — and the city is projecting continued growth that could push it close to Denver's current population by around 2070. A major entertainment destination like Elitch Gardens fits the kind of infrastructure Aurora is trying to build out. That part makes sense on paper.

What's Actually Happening at the Park Right Now

Here's the thing that got buried in most of the coverage: Elitch is open, it's investing in the property, and they just reopened Twister III — the park's last wooden roller coaster — after renovations. That's not what a park looks like when it's months away from being bulldozed. The park also locked in a real estate deal in June that creates some breathing room for upgrades and improvements at the current 58-acre site. For the 2025 season, they opened April 19 and are running through select days into early next year.

I went out there earlier this summer on a weekday, which I'd recommend if you haven't been in a while and want to actually walk onto rides without a 45-minute line. The park has the usual mix of coasters, flat rides, and the water park section. Twister III was the main reason I made the trip, and the renovation shows — it runs smoother than it has in years without completely losing the rattling, slightly-sketchy wooden coaster character that makes those rides worth riding. If you gave up on it a few years back because it was beating you up, it's worth another shot.

The park isn't perfect. Parking is what it is — you're paying for it and it takes time to get in and out. Food options inside are standard amusement park territory, which is to say expensive and not particularly interesting. I usually eat before I go. The location at I-25 and Speer means traffic coming in from the south can stack up on weekends, so a weekday visit or arriving before noon on a Saturday is the smarter move.

Should You Go Before It Potentially Moves?

The Aurora conversation is real, but "next few years" in development terms could mean five years, could mean ten, could mean it never happens. These kinds of relocation discussions have a long history of stalling out, changing shape, or getting quietly dropped when the financing math doesn't work. The park itself isn't acting like it's in wind-down mode — the Twister III investment alone signals they're planning to keep operating the current location for a meaningful stretch of time.

If you've got kids or a group that hasn't been in a while, this is a reasonable summer outing. The wooden coaster is in better shape than it's been, the water park section is solid on a hot day, and the weekday crowds are genuinely manageable. Check their site for the current calendar before you go since they run on a select-days schedule as the season gets later. If the Aurora move does happen eventually, the current location on the edge of downtown Denver is a pretty different experience than what an Aurora footprint near the Gaylord would be — so there's a reasonable case for seeing it where it is while that's still an option.

Whether it moves or stays, the 2025 season is worth a visit if you haven't been recently. Twister III alone is a decent reason to show up.