One of the last remaining Wild West towns in the lower 48 states, Cañon City (pop. 15,431) is carved out of the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. Over a mile high and surrounded by a ring of 14,000-foot peaks, Cañon City’s short Main Street, a block north of US-50, is lined by work-a-day saddle shops, gun shops, bookshops, and saloons (eight in four blocks!). But the local economy prospers not so much from tourism as from prisons: 14 in all, including Colorado’s newest maximum-security penitentiary, nicknamed “Supermax,” and its oldest, the Territorial Prison (daily in summer, weekends only in winter; $5) at the west end of Main Street, in which 32 cells have been preserved as a somewhat gruesome but compelling museum. The Territorial Prison’s most famous guest was Alferd Packer, a miner and Wild West gunslinger convicted of cannibalism and other crimes; the top-security Supermax prison has held some of the nation’s most notorious inmates, including Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, and actor Woody Harrelson’s alleged hit-man dad, Charles.
Despite the notoriety of its many prisons, Cañon City’s main attraction is the surrounding scenery, particularly the views along Skyline Drive, accessible from just west of town. It’s a three-mile, one-way drive across the top of an 800-foot hill, as close to riding a roller coaster as you’re ever likely to get while inside a passenger car. Royal Gorge to the west (which the city owns and operates; see above) is another major draw, and Cañon City makes a good base for explorations, with a few moderately priced motels like the Pioneer ($45; 719/269-1745), at 201 Main Street next to the old prison. The best place for cheap food and drink is The Owl, 626 Main Street, a combo cigar store, soda fountain, diner, and pool hall at the heart of the lively Main Street business district north of US-50. Also worth a look: the historic St. Cloud Hotel ($70 and up; 719/276-2000), at 631 Main Street, which has a friendly bar and grill on its ground floor.
