bishop castle

Bishop Castle is a Colorado must see for all ages. Surrounded by a breathtaking view, Bishop Castle was created by 1 man with a dream. Each stone... each section... handcrafted. Everytime you visit - something new will be added to enjoy. The admission is free... but you assume all liability for walking on the property. Tons of political signs on the property... I always walk past them without a second look. Bring your hiking shoes... maybe a flash light for certain parts. It's worth the climb, but keep in mind most areas do not have railings... and parts seem unsafe. Definitely worth seeing - at least once!

This "castle" has been built over many years. Personally I view it as a bit dangerous to traverse any higher than one level, but the majority of visitors do. Jim Bishop, sadly has not been to the castle since December due to chemotherapy for an aggressive skin cancer....but he's a fighter. You won't be disappointed if you visit...parking is on both sides of the highway, so take precautions....most importantly, lock anything of value in your trunk or take it with you....the reason is a thief has been breaking Windows in cars and taking iPad s, purses, cameras etc. He/she has yet to be caught.

I've been to Bishop's Castle three times, and was lucky enough to be there once when the creator was there. He is awesome, loved hearing his story. The castle itself is beautiful, it's always going to be a work in progress, but it is so amazing what one man has built all by himself. Exploring the castle is awesome, you start to feel like a kid in a theme park! We climbed to the top of the tallest tower, which I would not recommend for the faint of heart, the altitude gets to you, as well as the trillion steps but the views are so so worth it!! There's no charge, but I always bring a donation. The gift shop is open seasonally, but the bathrooms (outhouses) are open year-round.

This place is one of the best places to go and not only see the beautiful castle he has worked so very hard on, but the view of Colorado from the towers are breath taking. I will always come back to see the new changes he has done stone by stone. He is AMAZING and I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting him and talking all about his upcoming plans for the castle!!!

This place is amazing...if you have a fear of heights/bad eyes (depth problems) you cannot truly enjoy this place. everything is welded together- hodge-podge comes to mind. Grates that you can see through till the ground- you can get vertigo but one you get up the spires and look out..it is really incredible. I was really sad the owner was not there- i hear so much about his personality- i would have enjoyed talking with him or at the minimum- hearing him speak out. Careful with children- virtually no railings- lots of holes in the flooring and lots of places to hide

Mr Bishop has created a very impressive structure all to spite the government. Stone by Stone, year after year he continues to add to the castle. I don't expect it will ever be done, or of much use. But it is an eye full to behold. Please note, safety is not a big consideration here with narrow walks steep drops and lots of potential for accidents. Be careful with the kids!!!

This incredibly odd place appeared in "A Travelers' Guide to the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway"--a loop which we were following. No climbing for us--but we were glad we at least stopped to look.

What an interesting and impressive work of art. This castle was built by hand stone by stone by Mr. Bishop. In fact, at times Mr. Bishop makes are appearance himself while you are visiting. It is a beautiful peace of art but if you are faint of heart there are sections that you might not enjoy as much. There are lost of winding staircases and open drop offs from the turrets. For those who like to test their love of heights this is for you.

this is truly an amazing creation of one man who piled tons and tons of rocks and iron to make a huge monument. The whole time you are there, you wonder "why did he do this"? and then even more perplexing is "how did he do this"? Definitely out of the way and that is just how he likes it. If you engage in a one-way conversation with him, you can leave with your head swimming. This is a great place to test your fear of heights and climb unique stairs to the alien space landing platform on top. I kid you not.

We went to Bishop Castle on a weekday in September. It was not very crowded which was fine. The castle is amazing, especially considering that the entire structure was done by one man. The enormous ballroom and the room with stained glass windows were both a surprise. Both of these rooms are lovely. The ironwork is beautiful and seems to be well constructed. If there is a load limit, it is not posted anywhere. As others have said, there are steep stairs and open areas with no guard rails. Coming here with children could be pretty scary. I found all the political signs quite funny. Jim Bishop is definitely opinionated and his views are posted all over the property on hand painted signs. The porta-potties are thoroughly disgusting. I guess they are emptied occasionally but not on a regular basis. There is no way I would consider buying anything from the food truck parked near the porta-potties. I am not sorry we went to Bishop Castle. It is a very unique attraction that you sure won't find duplicated anyplace else. I wish that Jim Bishop took pleasure in the delight he brings to the people who visit his creation but he just looks angry.

While visiting my daughter in Colorado we decided to take a drive to the Bishop Castle. Wow- is it ever different! First of all it is free- a donation is requested at any amount you are comfortable with. When you see the castle on the side of the road you just pull over onto the shoulder, get out, and walk in. The only person there who seemed to be running the place was Jim Bishop (self described castle builder) who happened to be manning a food truck. The structure is amazing and you can climb it to your hearts content. I would not recommend this for children (unless they are okay with only looking-not climbing) in that you would be hard pressed to hold on to little ones and climb at the same time. To add to your experience Google the castle and Jim Bishop to learn more about his one man project. A great experience. We ended up with wonderful pictures and sore legs from all that climbing.

You just can't believe this place. Jim Bishop had a dream, he built it and they come. Free admission and Jim Bishop promises that will always stand. He keeps adding things, they say, but I've only been here once so I don't know about the new items. I climbed up the spiral, scary staircases but if you have a heights problem, you won't want to do this. Somebody blew it by putting the outhouses right in the front yard so snapping just the perfect picture is a challenge.Put this on your bucket list. It's weird and cool.

One man (who is a character if you get to speak to him) built this out of the way, and extremely interesting castle. I have been told the dragon, which is perched on a high parapet, spews fire. If you don't like heights, this is NOT the place for you to do any climbing, the walkways are see through. You have got to climb to the top of the castle to ring a bell to exclaim your accomplishment because it is quite a climb. The moat in the front is still in progress, but I like to visit it every year just to see what he's done now. As I said, don't miss it.

This is a lifelong project for mr. Bishop, a sort of monument to freedom! It's a huge gothic, fairy tale castle in the wet mountains of Colorado, he's currently building the dungeon of the castle by the entrance. There are are selection of walkways and staircases to climb and traverse and if you have the nerves, the view from the very top by the dragon head I'd amazing. The whole place is a work in progress and has a lot of places small kids could get hurt, they need to be supervised very carefully! It's a construction site! There was a small gift shop when I was there as well, the whole place is free to visit too. There is a donation box to fund future additions as well, well worth the drive!

It is a beautiful ride to get there and amazing once you actually take in the sight. It is the story of a man and his dream....and how, unfortunately, America has declined to the point where 'government' obstructs the dream. Not this guy though....he's marching on. A great place.