Hidden · Rye, Colorado, United States
Bishop Castle
A castle that began as a water tower covered in rocks and grew, over decades, into a one-man fantasy on a mountain highway in southern Colorado.
A stone castle in the Wet Mountains, built by one man.
Bishop Castle sits in the Wet Mountains of south-central Colorado, inside the San Isabel National Forest, on State Highway 165 southwest of Pueblo. Described as an elaborate and intricate one-man project, it is named after its builder, Jim Bishop, and has become a roadside attraction in the middle of the state.
The castle is mostly made of stone, which helped it come through a 2018 fire without damage to the main structure. It grew stage by stage from a family cottage project into a one-man construction in stone, and it became a tourist attraction along the way.
From a cottage plan to a castle, and a long fight over rocks.
Jim Bishop was born in Honolulu in 1944 and moved to Colorado, where he raised a family. Work began in 1969 on what was meant to be a family cottage. When he acquired a water tower, he decided to cover it with rocks. Neighbors said it looked like a castle, and Bishop saw that it looked like a turret. He took the hint and kept building.
For most of the roughly forty years he worked on it, he argued with federal officials over the rocks, which came from the surrounding National Forest; that dispute was eventually settled. In 1996, local and state authorities challenged the unofficial road signs that pointed to the site, and the matter ended with official signs. In 2018 a fire destroyed the gift shop and a guest house but not the castle, and the attraction reopened the same week with donations and volunteer labor. Bishop died in 2024.
The castle from the outside.
Practical notes.
Before you go.
Who built Bishop Castle?
Jim Bishop, who began in 1969 and worked on it for decades. It is described as an elaborate, intricate one-man project that is named after him.
Where is Bishop Castle?
In the Wet Mountains of south-central Colorado, on State Highway 165 inside the San Isabel National Forest, southwest of Pueblo. The nearest town is Rye.
What is the castle made of?
Mostly stone, taken from the surrounding National Forest. That is one reason a 2018 fire destroyed the gift shop and a guest house but left the castle itself undamaged.
Can you visit Bishop Castle?
It is a roadside attraction open to visitors, and it reopened quickly after the 2018 fire. Check the official website for current details.
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