STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Take a bumper car, a bumper boat, mix them together, serve them on ice — and you get bumper cars on ice.
The bumper cars at the Howelsen Ice Arena, located about three hours northwest of Denver in Steamboat Springs, gives people the opportunity to do just that.
That’s where Mike Farny works. He's surrounded by skates and bumper cars on ice, something he said started in Steamboat Springs years ago.
“Steamboat was really the founder of ice bumper cars,” he said.
The cars are a lot like bumper boats outfitted with studded wheels to help get them up to 4 mph, but not enough to keep them from sliding, especially if they get hit by another boat.
“They are cars on the ice and the great thing about the cars on the ice is when you hit each other you slide,” said Farny. "It’s a real fluid activity.”
The cars are wrapped in lights, so part of the fun is turning the lights off and seeing who you might bump into in the dark.
The cars rent for $12 and that gets you a 20-minute session. Farny said children five and older can safely drive them.
“You don’t have to have any skill set. Anyone can drive these cars,” he said.
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