Golden (Colorado)

By plane

• Buffalo Bill's Museum and Grave

  phone: +1 303 526-0744
  address: 987 Lookout Mountain Rd

• Astor House Museum

  phone: +1 303 278-3557
  address: 822 12th St

• Clear Creek History Mueseum

  phone: +1 303 278-3557
  address: 822 12th St

• Colorado School of Mines campus

  address: Elm St. south of 19th St
  Each building on the compact Mines campus was considered modern architectural design when built, giving the campus as a whole a wide range of styles tied together by the use of the same sandy-colored stone for most façades.

• Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

  phone: +1 303 277-0377
  address: 200 Violet St

• Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum

• St. Joseph Catholic Church

  address: Ulyses St

Footwarrior

• Coors Brewery

  phone: +1 303 277-BEER
  address: 13th & Ford Streets
  Tours operate M-Sa 10AM-4PM; guests over 21 y.o. offered limited free samples, guests under 18 y.o. must be accompanied by an adult. The main tourist draw for the city, the Coors Brewery in Golden is also the largest beer brewing plant in the world on a single site. It is easily recognized for its sheer size and space consumption, and in particular, its plain grey walls and large, red "Coors" sign mural. If you visit Golden, you will undoubtedly notice the distinct fragrance of grains, hops, and alcohol wafting through the air at any point in town, any time of the year. The brewery is a popular attraction mainly because of the free guided tours it offers. These tours last about 45 minutes, and guests over the age of 21 are treated to a free sample of the brewery's confectionery.

• Colorado Railroad Museum

  phone: +1 303-279-4591
  address: 17155 W. 44th Ave
  Open every day, excluding holidays, 9AM-5PM. Created in 1959 to preserve the history of Colorado's rollicking railroad era, this museum is now a haven for aficionados of heritage railways, antique cabooses, and steam locomotives. Railfans will want to check out the museum's periodic train ride days, where you could have a wine & cheese tasting on a train, or let the kids meet "Thomas the Tank Engine". Also, the museum is a non-profit establishment that publishes its own books about railroad history. It also has indoor and outdoor model train layouts.

• Clear Creek Whitewater ParkAlong 10th St in Clear Creek. Considered to be the heart of the Colorado kayaking social scene, the mile long course in Clear Creek provides a playspot for both playboaters and slalom kayakers, as well as a plethora of tubers and boogie boarders. Even if you don't want to get in the water, head down to the park to watch kayakers ripping it up in the holes some of the best kayakers in the state practice here on a regular basis. If you want to try kayaking, local kayak school RA Guides provides lessons here regularly during the summer months, or, if you having boating experience, kayaks can be rented from either of the two river stores in town, Golden River Sports or Alpenglow. The park is beginner friendly and folks are more than happy to help out newcomers, as long as you have some common sense and basic courtesy. Look but don't touch others' boats, wait your turn and be safe.

• Heritage Square

  address: West Colfax Ave (Hwy 40)
  Theme park built in the 1950s with Victorian architecture. Several touristy shops, the Alpine slide, Knotz Landing ('50s food and ice cream), and the Music Hall (featuring live plays always fantastic).

• Golden Gate Canyon State Park

  phone: +1 303 582-3707
  address: 3873 Highway 36

• Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge

• Gold-N-Detectors

  phone: +1 303 278-6622
  address: 802 Washington Ave
  Metal detectors and gold prospecting gear.

• Ali Baba Grill

  phone: +1 303-279-2228
  address: 109 North Rubey Dr., F
  Friendly and elaborately-decorated Lebanese restaurant in the northern part of town.

• Café 13

  phone: +1 303-278-2225
  address: 1301 Arapaho St
  Coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and other light fare. The locally-made muffins are excellent.

• D'deli

  phone: +1 303 279-5308
  address: 1207 Washington Ave
  One of two adjacent sandwich shops.

• Windy Saddle Cafe

  phone: +1 303-279-1905
  address: 1110 Washington Ave
  Comfortable spot to grab a sandwich for lunch and watch the activity on Washington outside. Kid-friendly.

• Woody's Woodfired Pizza and Watering Hole

  phone: +1 303 277-0443
  address: 1305 Washington Ave
  Family owned restaurant located a block from the Coors Brewery

• Ace Hi Tavern

  phone: +1 303 279-9043
  address: 1216 Washington Ave
  If one bar is the locals' watering hole, this is it. Music is from the jukebox and the place isn't the prettiest, but on any night of the week this place will be full of college students and old-timers alike. Great place to drop in and get to know the residents of the town. Located on Washington next to Foss Drug.

• Blue Canyon Grill

  phone: +1 303 271-0730
  address: 1301 Washington Ave
  The quietest bar in town, but still popular with those who like to shoot some pool while drinking or just enjoy a location with a tad more ambiance. Located just off Washington next to the Starbucks.

• The Buffalo Rose

  phone: +1 303 278-6800
  address: 1119 Washington Ave
  A stereotypical biker bar on Washington Ave, with loud and often live music and plenty of Harleys parked out the front. It's big and hard to miss, with a large sign out the front.

• Golden City Brewery

  phone: +1 303 279-8092
  address: 920 12th St
  2nd largest brewery in Colorado.

• Ascend Collection The Golden Hotel

  phone: +1 303 279-0100
  address: 800 11th St

• Comfort Suites

  address: 11909 W. 6th Ave

• Hampton Inn Denver West/Golden

  phone: +1 303-278-6600
  address: 17150 W. Colfax Ave
  Fairly generic, but in a good way: simple and well-maintained.

• Quality Suites Evergreen

  phone: +1 303-526-2000
  address: 29300 U.S. Highway 40
  All-suites hotel, free breakfast, free Internet, a swimming pool, wedding event facilities.

• Residence Inn Denver West/Golden

  phone: +1 303-271-0909
  address: 14600 W. 6th Ave
  Equipped kitchen with a refrigerator & microwave. Complimentary high-speed wireless internet access and in room cable TV, HBO, and pay-per-view movies.

• Table Mountain Inn

  address: 1310 Washington Ave
  Southwestern-style hotel in downtown Golden, right next to the Colorado School of Mines campus.

• Jefferson County Library - Golden Branch

  phone: +1 303-235-5275
  address: 1019 10th St

• The cities of Denver and Boulder are nearby.
• The ski resort town of Winter Park is about 60 miles away.
• Hop back on I-70 and take it westbound into the Rocky Mountains, through the famed Eisenhower Tunnel at the peak of the range (highest elevation on a freeway in North America), and across into Northwestern Colorado.

Fredddie