Staycations aren’t so bad when you live in Colorado! This Spring Break, head to Golden for fun for the whole family.
DRIVE THE LARIAT LOOP TRAIL TO BUFFALO BILL’S GRAVE
It’s amazing how many Denverites have never driven the thrilling Lariat Loop to the summit of Lookout Mountain. With 51 curves, dramatic cliffs, pull-offs, trailheads and spectacular views in all directions, experience it this Spring Break. Also, be sure to visit Buffalo Bill’s Grave & Museum, located atop Lookout Mountain, for a fascinating look at the most famous character from the Old West.
HIKE THE ‘PEAKS TO PLAINS TRAIL’ ALONG CLEAR CREEK
If you’re looking for something more tranquil (and level) the Peaks to Plains Trail meanders right through the heart of downtown Golden and follows the banks of pretty Clear Creek for miles up into a rugged canyon. The family-friendly trail crosses over the creek on a series of bridges and has numerous access points where your four-legged friends (on leashes) can take a dip in the water. You can also bike the trail up into the canyon, or pedal it east all the way to Denver.
VIEW MODEL TRAINS AND PLAY ON REAL ONES
The Colorado Railroad Museum has two fantastic model railroads – an indoor HO scale model with trestles, mining towns, cities, and even a circus, and a gigantic, larger scale outdoor model railroad where locomotives cross bridges and chug with realistic sounds past real trees. And then there are the real trains! There are dozens of locomotives and cars. You can ring the bell on a steam engine, climb in a caboose, operate a telegraph, and on most Saturdays and during Spring Break, board a train for an exciting ride around the museum grounds.
WALK WITH DINOSAURS
The world’s first dinosaur bones were found near Golden, and there are plenty of modern-day dinosaur adventures in town. At nearby Dinosaur Ridge, see dinosaur tracks and dinosaur bones that have been in rock for millions of years. The Triceratops Trail in Golden helps you learn how Golden was once the beach of an ancestral sea that covered much of the midwest. The area around Golden was teeming with dinosaurs, and you can even see the bones of the furious T-Rex, which were first discovered here. The free Colorado School of Mines Museum has other dinosaur exhibits, as well as gold and rare gems that have been discovered in the area.
TAKE A SELFIE, SHOP & DINE UNDER THE “WELCOME TO GOLDEN” ARCH,
There’s no more iconic experience in Golden than taking a “selfie” under the huge Welcome Arch that has spanned Washington Ave. since 1949. Built at a cost of $7,500, the sign proclaims that Golden is “Where the West Lives,” and you’ll certainly feel that way strolling under the verandas of this Western Street that is lined with one-of-a-kind shops filled with art works, outdoor recreation gear, antiques, Western wear and more. Hungry? There are two dozen restaurants in downtown Golden. Grab a seat at an outdoor café and enjoy the mountain views in all directions.
TAKE IN AN ‘ITTY BITTY ART TOUR”
Stop at the Golden Visitors Center along Clear Creek and pick up a guide and you’re off on an adventure trying to find dozens of little art works that have been “hidden” around Golden. It might be a miniature house built in a tree stump, or a painted snake crawling out of a drain. There are art works in sidewalk cracks, on bike racks, on the sides of buildings and on bridges. The free guide will get you started on this “Kid-sized” treasure hunt. You can also admire that many full-size Western sculptures and murals that also decorate every block around downtown Golden.
VISIT A HOMESTEAD AND FEED THE CHICKENS
Golden was the first capital of the Colorado Territory, and the town is filled with historic experiences. The free Golden History Museum has exhibits on the people and businesses that made Golden a gold mining and ranching center. Of course, Coors Brewery is here – the largest single-site brewery in North America – but did you know that famous Jolly Rancher candies were also created in Golden? At the Golden History Park on the other side of Clear Creek you can visit an authentic homestead from the 1880s,check out an old schoolhouse and cabin and if you bring some quarters, feed heritage chickens in a hundred-year-old chicken coop.
LEARN HOW TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN
The area around Golden is one of the most famous rock-climbing regions in the U.S. You can see daring rock climbers up in Clear Creek Canyon and if you want to learn how to rock climb, Movement Golden or The Spot both offer indoor climbing with classes and Golden Mountain Guides offers private outdoor rock climbing trips in Clear Creek Canyon and North Table Mountain or private ice climbing trips at Lincoln Falls. Bentgate Mountaineering in Golden will provide you with all gear, ropes and shoes you need. Looking for something more passive? Golden is also home to the American Mountaineering Museum, the only museum of its kind in the nation, which has exhibits on climbing everything from Colorado’s 54 Fourteeners (peaks that climb to 14,000 feet and above) to Mount Everest and K2.
Indoor Rock Climbing
MEET THE MOUNTAIN LIONS, ELK AND BEARS THAT LIVE IN GOLDEN
The Lookout Mountain Preserve & Nature Center on top of Lookout Mountain has exhibits and dioramas on all the wildlife that live in Colorado. You can view “night cam” videos to see who was wandering around the center last night, and then hike along the same nature trails! There are a series of family-friendly trails that wind around the nature center through a beautiful pine forest with interpretive exhibits that help you understand Mother Nature of Colorado.
TOUR COORS
Although you have to be over 21 to sample during the Coors Brewery tour, anyone can take the tour – and people of all ages enjoy it. The facility is the largest single-site brewery in the Western Hemisphere, and it is immense. On the tour, you see row after row of giant copper kettles where the brewing is done. Everyone enjoys the packaging room, where thousands upon thousands of cans and bottles are filled with beer and slotted into six packs and cases for shipping. There are sodas and lemonade for those under 21 and the freshest beers you will ever taste for those of drinking age.
There are so many adventures to experience in Golden! Be sure to add on a patio meal to really enjoy the spring sunshine!