As the Mighty Argo Cable Car nears completion, its 22, 10-person cabins are ready to transport you high above Idaho Springs
Update: The Mighty Argo Cable Car is set to open to the public on Saturday, April 25.
A “Buy Tickets” button has been added to the company’s website, and the first day available for purchase is Saturday, May 9.
The price for the Cable Car Experience only for an adult ages 18-64 is $49.95, for kids ages 6-17 is $29.95, for seniors aged 65+ is $39.95, for active/veteran military with ID is $39.95 and for Idaho Springs residents and kids under 5 the cost is free. This ticket is good for a single ride up and back.
If you wish to ride the MACC plus mountain bike the trails at Virginia Canyon Mountain Park the price for a single 3-hour session with unlimited cable car rides for an adult ages 18-64 is $64.95, for kids ages 6-17 is $49.95, for seniors aged 65+ is $64.95, for active/veteran military with ID is $64.95 and for Idaho Springs residents is $64.95. Kids under 5 are free but must be accompanied with a paying adult.
The two time slots currently posted are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.
Tickets are currently available for purchase for the dates of May 9-11 and 15-18.
Paid onsite parking is $14.95 for up to 4 hours. Lot closes one hour after last cable car ride up.
Exciting news is coming out of Idaho Springs about the highly anticipated Mighty Argo Cable Car (MACC) that stretches above the Virginia Canyon Mountain Park just north of town.
The MACC gondola project is nearly complete and officials think a “soft” opening date is possible within just a few weeks time.
Unfortunately a specific date hasn’t been officially finalized, but according to MACC co-founder and “Keeper of the Karma” Mary Jane Loevlie, the gondola system could be online and running by the end of next month.
“We are ‘planning’ to be open the end of April,” Loevlie said about the MACC from the lower terminal on a recent update tour of the gondola. “Within another six weeks, we will be allowing paid passengers onto this Mighty Argo Cable Car.”
Whether the MACC opens at the end of April or sometime in early May, the project is close to complete, and people planning on checking out the MACC now have a better time frame for when the big red bull wheels will start turning.
Ground was initially broken in July 2024 at the site, and after nearly two years of construction, the MACC and all of it accoutrements, including the crown jewel at the top of the gondola, Miner’s Point, is looking like a world-class attraction in the mining town 30 minutes west of Denver.
“It’s just been a crazy, Lego-like transformation. The Doppelmayr crews have been amazing constructing this giant piece of equipment,” Loevlie said. “There was nothing there, and suddenly you see this gigantic gondola going up, and it’s just a huge transformation that’s happening.”
The 10 minute ride to the top – one that Loevlie said can be quickened to three minutes if need be – rises 1.2 miles and 1,250 vertical feet above Idaho Springs.
Loevlie said visitors to the newest attraction can anticipate paying about a $39 walk-up price (official price not released currently) to ride in one of the 22 golden-colored cabins, four of which are glass bottomed and hold eight people.
The MACC anticipates guest visits of between 500,000 to 800,000/per year are possible, however, those numbers are currently just estimates.
Visitor numbers from Memorial Day to Labor Day are estimated to be up to 2,000/day, but MACC said it will monitor daily visitor numbers for the first few weeks to gauge how it is all flowing, then implement reservations and/or ‘tee times’ for visitors to the gondola if and when needed; it’ll evolve as people visit the gondola.
What to expect upon arrival
Once passengers reach the top, they are greeted to some rather beautiful views of Colorado’s Front Range mountains.
“Up at the top at Miner’s Point is what something we call the outlook, which will have amazing views of the Continental Divide, four fourteeners, amazing elevated Colorado cuisine, very on brand for the mining esthetic that we want, that we’re going for,” Loevlie said.
Miner’s Point will feature two bars, Gold Bar on the upper level and Sun and Moon Saloon on the lower level. The Sun and Moon Saloon is named after the Sun and Moon mining claim, which is a mining claim to the west of the MACC.
The upper level of Miner’s Point will have a Victorian Era esthetic, honoring Idaho Springs and the Argo Mills’ mining roots.
Other features at Miner’s Point will be the Idahoe Steps Amphitheater, a 250-person outdoor amphitheater, as well ass the Trestle overlook and a kids’ play area called Jackson’s Diggings.
For the mountain bikers accessing VCMP using the MACC, the gondola line has five, first-in-North-America bike carrying cabins, which hold up to eight mountain bikes for transport to the top to access the 15 miles of downhill mountain bike trails in Virginia Canyon Mountain Park.
The Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA) has been feverishly working on the mountain bike trails over the last four years dating back to spring 2022. COMBA and the MACC have worked closely together over the course of the construction, with COMBA looking to expand the amount of trail miles to around 30 into 2027.
COMBA announced March 20 that the lower trails of VCMP remain closed while construction of the MACC continues, however, mountain bikers can access the upper trails via the Morning Star trail off Virginia Canyon Road through April 12.
COMBA said VCMP will be fully closed starting April 13 as final projects wrap up in anticipation of the cable car opening.
“We’re just excited to bring back the energy to this site that was the economic engine at the turn of the 20th century with the Argo Mill, and having the outdoor recreation and the history on the same site,” Loevlie said.
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