This hectic cross-country trip to Colorado healed my soul

I moved to Colorado in 2013. Shortly afterwards I heard about an interesting attraction called Bishop Castle. It was in Rye, a small town off the beaten path about three hours south of Denver. A very good friend of mine from New York saw something about it in a Colorado travel guide, and it seemed interesting to us. He made me promise to ‘save it’ and wait until he came over to look at it. I agreed.

Although that friend has visited me in Colorado many times over the past decade, we never made it to Rye; we were always busy with other things when he came to town. So last month, in September 2024, I decided I had put off my Bishop Castle adventure long enough and took a detour to visit with another friend on the way back to Denver from Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

I’m so glad I did! I hope to take my friend from New York to see it on his next visit to Colorado, because now I realize that this free, gigantic, impressive and unusual attraction is absolutely worth the drive and effort to get to it. It far exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to go back again.

What exactly is Bishop Castle? Why is there a castle in rural Colorado? The answers to these questions all lead back to a man named Jim Bishop. Bishop Castle, a three-storey building with large windows, spiral staircases and two towers – one of which is 50 meters high – was built entirely by him over a period of sixty years.

That’s right. Brick by brick, Jim Bishop built an entire castle – alone and alone. And today you can visit it for free and explore it, overwhelmed with wonder.

When Jim Bishop was 15 years old, he purchased the land on which Bishop Castle stands for $450, and soon began building a small house using found materials from the surrounding land. As he began stacking stones to create the walls, locals jokingly asked if he was building a castle.

This was all the inspiration Jim Bishop needed. From then on he continued to build until he could build no more. Over the next 60 years, the castle that stands on the site emerged – and it is an incredibly impressive sight to see.

Bishop Castle is made almost entirely of stone that Jim Bishop scavenged from the adjacent national forest area. There is also a vast amount of wrought iron which was used to make supports, balustrades, stairs and walkways. The windows are of course made of glass and the floor is made of wood. Jim Bishop created the entire castle without blueprints or any real plan; he simply put it together piece by piece, adding new and interesting features as they came into his mind.

Today, Bishop Castle is open to the public and free to visit. Donations are welcome, and there is also a gift shop selling Bishop Castle merchandise. Jim Bishop is still alive, but his building days are long gone. On some days he is on site and available for questions and conversations about his masterpiece.

I reached the top and immediately my safety concerns were put aside in favor of wonder. I couldn’t believe the size and beauty of the large, central room I first entered. It was like walking into a church. Three huge windows with lots of glazing and a glass ceiling let in natural light and offered views of the surrounding forest and mountains. The interior space was empty, but certainly large enough for a group of well over 100 people to comfortably gather for a party or event. Open archways on both sides of the room led to stairs.

Now that I was inside, I felt a lot more confident about my safety. It was clear that this castle was very solid and there was no way it was going to crumble or fall apart anytime soon. In fact, even if left unmaintained, I truly believe Bishop Castle would stand alone for centuries to come. Jim Bishop built his castle for the long haul.

My companion and I then decided to climb one of the towers. I picked one at random and began my ascent. Subconsciously I chose the shorter of the two towers, but it was still quite tall. The stairs seemed to go up forever until I finally reached the top.

Under normal circumstances I’m not afraid of heights, but when I saw how high we were and felt the strong breeze at the top, I got a little nervous. I held on tight and looked at the beautiful views all around. We took a few pictures and soon headed back to the main room.

I was quite tired after this part of the adventure, but my companion decided to climb the stairs to the second, higher tower – and next time I go, I will definitely do that too. He said this one was even scarier, despite the structure being clearly very solid, but he’s glad he made it to the top. In the meantime, I went down the stairs to the area below the main room and checked. Stone arches offered a real castle feel, and the stained glass windows were a really nice touch too.

After we got back together, we stayed a little longer and took lots of pictures. It was great that we had the place to ourselves. It was like we were in a giant playhouse built for adults, and we felt like we were king and queen of this castle. Together we marveled at this incredible work of art and kept pointing out various details to each other. We were absolutely amazed by this castle and filled with wonder. Regardless, it’s truly incredible, but when you take a moment to remember and acknowledge that it was built by one man – a man with no architectural or construction training and no help from anyone else – it becomes almost unbelievable.

Bishop Castle It far exceeded my expectations and I’m so glad I finally made it to Rye to see it for myself. I’ll definitely be coming back to it again and again for years to come, and I’m excited to spread the word to you, dear reader, and to anyone who will listen. Hooray for Jim Bishop and hurray for Bishop Castle. There is probably nothing else in the entire world that looks like this castle, and we are so lucky to have it here in Colorado.