Red Rocks Gets First Deep Clean in 119 Years From Group That Scrubbed Mount Rushmore

For the first time in its 119-year history, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre has had a thorough deep cleaning.

The historic and world-famous red sandstone performance venue just east of Denver has hosted concerts by John Denver, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and The Beatles (for the only concert on their American tour that didn’t sell out). U2 was vaulted into superstardom off its “Live Under a Blood Red Sky” concert there.

The annual summer lineup at Red Rocks draws from around the region.

Its 9,525 seats are almost always sold out, as concertgoers sit surrounded by a stunning 300-million-year-old rockscape with near-perfect acoustics.

That much history, musicality and foot traffic have left an impact over the decades. That’s why Karcher North America partnered with Aramark, the facilities manager at Red Rocks, for a substantial and sustainable cleanup of the historic venue.

“With nearly 2 million visitors and over 200 events a year occurring at the venue, the upkeep and preservation of Red Rocks is always top of mind,” said Brian Kitts, director of marketing for Denver Arts and Venues. “We're pleased to have Karcher’s experience and expertise on hand for this spring-cleaning initiative ahead of our 84th concert season.”

It’s not the company’s first rodeo cleaning an important national venue or landmark. It also worked with the National Park Service to give the presidents on Mount Rushmore a good cleaning in 2005.

Working In Paradise

Valarie Rose Johnson, public relations consultant for Karcher North America, was at Red Rocks during the clean-up. The most poignant thing she saw was a family enjoying a moment in the freshly cleaned amphitheater.

“They were sitting with their food spread across the recently cleaned surface,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “There were no qualms about eating there because it was clean and safe. It’s been restored as close to its original state as possible. It’s spring cleaning on a level it hasn’t had in 119 years.

“I'm a Colorado native, and I love going to Red Rocks for concerts and yoga,” she said. “It’s the first time Karcher cleaned here, and it’s something the company can give to the community.”

Mindful Steam Cleaning

Johnson said Karcher’s pressure washers and steam cleaners use the latest technology to ensure the best results with the least impact. That was a tall order, given how much grime has accumulated over the last century.

Then there’s the pressure of not messing up or damaging those red sandstone slabs.

“Red Rocks has over 200 shows per year, and that doesn't include sightseers, hikers, bikers, tourists, and others who go there to write, draw, read, and meditate,” she said. “Billboard said there were over two million visitors at Red Rocks in 2024, so this is a spring-cleaning project in anticipation of at least another two million visitors in 2025.”

Johnson described the equipment and methods used to clean Red Rocks as “mindful steam cleaning.”

Just as they did at Mount Rushmore, the philosophy is to do a thorough job without causing damage.

“We’re not blasting anything with a pressure washing cleaning solution,” she said. “We are using a gentle steam solution with hot water to remove these ‘gross elements,’ for lack of a better word, without scratching, eroding, or damaging the surfaces in any way.”

The seats, stairs and floors of Red Rocks were cleaned by Karcher’s machines and four towers in the amphitheater. Cleaning the towers required rappelling, another service provided at no charge.

Decades of accumulated filth were cleaned off the manmade surfaces of Red Rocks, leaving the stunning natural rock formations untouched. Johnson said more than 50 pounds of old chewing gum was removed from the amphitheater’s seats.

“One of the big problems they had were the wads of gum stuck beneath the seats,” Johnson said. “They used our gum removal machines to scrape it all off.”

Support And Sustainability

Karcher’s Cultural Sponsorship goes beyond the superficial clean-up of iconic places. All the equipment used to clean Red Rocks was donated to Red Rocks for continued cleaning.

Furthermore, over 50 Aramark employees were trained to use the equipment so they could incorporate it into their cleaning regimes. Johnson said it’s Karcher’s way of ensuring an ongoing impact.

“The cleaning is a philanthropic effort, but Karcher also provides training, education, and ongoing support,” she said. “Aramark does an incredible job of rinsing down post-concert, but there’s two million people there per year. There's a need for a deeper level of cleaning, and Aramark has embraced adding a new level of technology and innovation and training their staff on how to continue using it.”

Johnson said she noticed the pride people experienced as they watched Aramark’s employees use Karcher’s cleaning tools to clean Red Rocks. The “before and after” was evident to everyone watching and revitalized people’s perspectives as much as the amphitheater's aesthetics.

“People were so appreciative when we were up there,” she said. “They were excited about it. The word ‘pride’ keeps coming to my mind because there was so much pride in the fact that Red Rocks was cleaned in such a mindful way, taking history, the natural aspect, and the people into consideration.”

The goal is that Red Rocks will stay nearly as clean as it’s become, and Karcher won’t have to return in another 119 years for another deep clean. However, if that’s ever necessary, having the company’s North American headquarters nearby doesn't hurt.

“With the partnership we’ve developed, there’s an invitation for Karcher to come back if they want or need us to,” Johnson said. “We’re always going to have each other's backs.”

Wyoming Wanted

Karcher’s North American headquarters is looking for more iconic landmarks that could use some deep cleaning. Finding a project close to home would be ideal, so they’re eyeing Colorado’s northern neighbor.

“I was speaking with Elliot Younessian, the CEO of Karcher North America, last week, and he asked me if I knew of any nearby projects that would be good for the Cultural Sponsorship program,” Johnson said. “We’re looking for opportunities not only to help communities but so we can learn and develop better concepts and technology. And I thought, ‘What’s going on in Wyoming?’”

Johnson believes a worthwhile Wyoming project would get on Karcher’s radar. Johnson encouraged Wyomingites to think dirty and contact the company with their cleaning candidates.

“It’d be incredible to do a Wyoming project,” she said. “We’re like two neighbors that can come together to help each other. We'd be happy to start developing conversations about what Karcher could do in Wyoming.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.