Check your schedules, Coloradans, and save your next free day for a trip to historic Golden. A quick and scenic 30-minute drive from Denver (or as of April 2013, a 40-minute Light Rail ride) will take you to the gem of the foothills, a site rich with state heritage. Its proximity allows you to pack the day full of fun: pick two of these attractions for the family, and afterward you’ll still have time to walk the downtown shopping district, grab dinner or a play, and get back to Denver by bedtime.
Feeling nostalgic about the Wild West? Golden’s the place to go. Don’t miss the Clear Creek History Park, where you can relive the frontier pioneer life by touring a saloon, blacksmith, barn, and old schoolhouse, enjoying the sights and scents of the 1800s and interacting with Wild West reenactors who can tell you their stories.
Check out the Colorado Railroad Museum to browse its gallery of rare photos and artifacts but more importantly its outdoor collection of old locomotives, passenger cars, freight cars, snow plows, and cabooses. Plus, on Saturdays you can ride one of these trains and really relive the frontier life, circling a 1/3 mile loop with unbelievable panoramic views.
And a trip to Golden wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Buffalo Bill’s Grave and Museum, on top of Lookout Mountain where he had requested to be buried. Visit this gorgeous and historic site to pay homage to the man whose cowboy exploits and internationally-renowned Wild West Show painted the most enduring and influential picture of the American West.
If Golden was formerly a cowboy capital, then it’s currently a brewery capital. The town houses the Coors Brewery, the largest single-site brewery in the world. In the two-hour tour, you’ll see the brewery’s massive, state-of-the-art facilities and—with valid I.D.—sample the beers made on site, which include five versions of Coors, four of Keystone, three of George Killian’s, twenty-four of Blue Moon, and others. If you prefer more modest microbreweries, then head to the Golden City Brewery, whose two geologist founders give tours by appointment and serve their food and award-winning German beers to big crowds in their outdoor beer garden.
Depending on your time and interests, choose from any of these other top-notch sites. Museum-lovers should check out the Foothills Art Center, the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. If the weather’s great and you’re looking for spectacular views, do a round at Fossil Trace Golf Club or take a hike at Golden Gate Canyon State Park (and spend the night in one of its cabins, yurts, guest houses, or abundant campgrounds). Stop by the Visitors Center for advice on nearby hiking, biking, picnicking, camping, kayaking, rafting, or fishing.
How to use this Information
As your Colorado car repair shop, Accurate Auto Body Repair wants you to enjoy your state as much as we do. Next time you come in for any Aurora auto body or Denver dent repair needs, you’ll leave with a happy, healthy vehicle, thinking about your next family road adventure. And hopefully Golden is high on your list.
Tell us any great experiences you’ve had in Golden or any sites we forgot to mention!
