Visitor Information

Hours & Days

The Gateway Automobile Museum opened to the public on May 1st, 2006. You can easily “Spend an hour!” or “Spend a day!”. The Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum is captivating on so many levels.

You can pass through quickly in an hour just seeing all the vehicles in the Hendricks Collection or you can “enjoy the ride” while spending hours reading everything, studying the storyboards, participating in the inter-actives and watching the video clips on everything from the acquisition and history of the F-88 Oldsmobile concept car to the building of the Orange County Chopper commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Discovery Channel.

The Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum is OPEN 7 days a week* from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Last tickets are sold at 5 p.m. If a guest arrives and purchases a ticket at 5 p.m. – the guest may stay until nearly 7pm – although last purchases in the Museum Store need to be made by 6:30 p.m.

We recommend that you have at least two hours to spend with us!

* The Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum is closed on Christmas Day 2006 and may be closed on some widely observed holidays. Please call in advance if your plan is to view the Museum on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas to be certain that we will be open.

Museum Requests

We want you to truly enjoy this experience and ask only that you bring friends and family to share it with and that you take a ton of pictures to share with those who could not join you. Keep in mind that there is a lot of ground to cover (a hundred year timeline that takes nearly 30,000 square feet to represent) and we want you to be comfortable and get the very most out of your visit. For this reason you will want to be certain to bring your reading glasses (if you wear them), wear comfortable shoes and bring your own supply of “wet-naps” for drool control.

Museum Rules

Please:

• Do not touch the vehicles in the collection and do not step over the barriers
• Be careful as you lean close to the cars – so that your camera, keys, buttons or other dangling items do not come into contact with the vehicles
• Do not bring food or drink into the Museum (Though we will be glad to hold those items for you at the ticket counter – at your own risk. We have a hungry crew.)
• Make certain that your children follow the above rules as well. You can be held responsible for damage incurred at the hands of a child who may not know better or intend harm.

Security

We are frequently asked questions about how we protect such a pristine, one-of-a-kind collection. We are fortunate to possess a state-of-the-art security system which has 38 internal cameras and 10 external cameras.

Some cameras are static focused and some pan, tilt, zoom and enable us to see and record in detail the movement of guests throughout the Museum. All cameras are monitored behind a security desk with 6 monitors that capture the views of 4 and 16 cameras per monitor. All cameras are recorded 24 hours a day and are monitored during open hours.

Parking

The Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum has an abundance of parking surrounding the Museum and additional parking lots adjacent to the Museum – and parking is always free. If you are part of an Auto Club making the trip to Gateway you can also call ahead and reserve a section of lot so you can show your cars off as a group!

Additional Services

We want to take great care of you and make certain that your visit to the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum and surrounding Resort culminates in a one-of-a-kind quality experience. Some of the ways the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum would like to assist you in making your visit even better include making dining reservations for you while you are here, stamping your admission ticket so that you can return later on in the day after your meal (same day only), complimentary wheelchairs for our less mobile patrons, and a Museum Store stocked with gifts for you and others.

We also have a bright, knowledgeable staff that are excited about having you here and can answer many of your questions about the collection. We encourage you to stump the staff – it motivates us to make certain that it does not happen again on the same question!

Location

We are nestled in the canyons of Western Colorado in Gateway - one of the most amazing and little-known locations in the country. Red rocks, impossibly blue skies – truly the scenic experience of a lifetime. Storms occasionally tussle through leaving behind double rainbows and the earthy smell of rain on the wind. It is a soulful experience. Gateway, Colorado is a one hour southwesterly drive from Grand Junction on Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway 141.

Maps and driving directions »