Bishop Castle

One man, one castle, fifty years

Jim Bishop bought a mountain lot at 15 with lawn-mowing savings, and in 1969 started stacking rocks for a modest cottage. When people said it looked like a castle, he decided to build them one — and kept going, alone, for the next half-century. The result is a soaring stone fortress in the Wet Mountains at 9,000 feet: over 50,000 tons of rock, concrete, and steel, with a 16-story tower, wrought-iron bridges, stained glass, a grand ballroom, and a dragon’s head (made from stainless-steel hospital trays) that breathes fire.

Bishop worked it as an ongoing protest and a gift to “the people,” refusing to call it his own. He died in 2024; his son Dan now caretakes it.

Visiting

• Free (donations welcome), on CO-165 in the San Isabel National Forest near Rye.
• The upper towers and bridges are steep, high, and unrailed in spots — climb at your own risk; not for the faint of heart or small kids.
• Remote mountain drive; check seasonal road and weather conditions.