They say Golden Colorado is where the West Lives. But Golden isn’t a step back in time to the days of the Wild West. It’s rather a meeting of Western Frontier spirit , a few western legends, and a peek at what makes a western town, well, a western town. Golden is the perfect place to exhale a moment from the fast paced modern world. And if you are up for a family adventure, Golden has everything you need to live the western dream, at least for a getaway weekend.
Bonus: the ‘New West’ has things like great food…and showers!
Star in Your Own Western Adventure
Golden Colorado has been home to western films since the silent film days! It makes sense. Golden originally formed as a supply stop for all the miners headed up to the hills. It was (and is) the last ‘flat spot’ before the hills and of course, the Rocky Mountains so naturally Golden was a quintessential western town and laid out perfectly for a western movie set.
Coming from the film industry, we recognized the perfection right away and decided Golden Colorado was the perfect place for families to explore and get their Western on! So…. we created this itinerary/checklist for your family to go have an adventure. Print it out and let the kids be the boss! It’s time to travel to charming Golden Colorado, where the West lives!!!
Bonus For Parents: Using the checklist, let the kids make their own slideshow or movie on the iPhone on the trip home. Great way to relive all the fun AND play the quiet game all at the same time!!! 😉
Discover More Historic Colorado
Sweeping Vistas
The first thing any good western needs is a sweeping vista. Think about every western film you’ve ever seen. Gorgeous views of wide open spaces, right? Golden has got ’em!
Lookout Mountain Preserve and Nature Center
Situated just above Golden lies 110 acres of beauty plus a nature center complete with a ‘hands on’ room for kids to explore the eco systems of the foothills to the Rocky Mountains. Trails, campsites, wildlife, flora, fauna…even a bit of history. Yup, pretty much an outdoor paradise that you can explore for an hour or for days and days. LOOK AT THAT PHOTO! Can’t you just hear the hawk screeching overhead?
Lookout Mountain Preserve and Nature Center
Table Mountains
Formed by lava 60 million years ago, North and South Table Mountains have over 15 miles of trails and scenic views of Golden from pretty much anywhere you are. The mesas are popular with hikers and climbers as well as prairie dogs and red tailed hawks. These are the beautiful formations you see in most photos of Golden and they separate Golden from the urban sprawl of Denver. Fun Fact: a T Rex tooth was found on South Table Mountain and can be seen in the History Museum.
Directions and Info on Table Mountains
These two amazing places almost act as sentinels guarding Golden from all the modern sprawl. The mountains (ok foothills…but they are huge!) kind of hug the town and the result is everywhere you go, even in the downtown area, you get a glimpse of that quintessential western landscape.
Sweeping Vistas: Check
Lookout Mountain 
View of the Tables 
North Table Mountain AKA Castle Rock
Adventure
Not everyone defines adventure the same way. Maybe your adventure was on one of those great hikes from above. Remember those great stories we all grew up with….Choose Your Own Adventure series? I loved those! As an adult, I pretty much live that way and by default, so does the family. Here are three different adventures, all in Golden Colorado, you can choose!
Colorado Railroad Museum
In the 1830’s railroads really started and in the 1870’s train travel was standardized. What that meant was all trains would have a standardized track size. That didn’t really work for the whole of Colorado as their trains were going up into fierce mountains and so they developed the ‘Narrow Gauge’ train. Colorado held onto their narrow gauge tracks and trains will into in 1950’s, in some cases even into the 1960’s. The result is a rich railroad history that in some ways is completely unique to Colorado. The Colorado Railroad Museum is full of stories like this. They have standard and narrow gauges, a Coors train (of course), the old 491 (the biggest narrow gauge for the state of Colorado) and so, so many more.
The Galloping Goose
It took five people to run a steam engine and an hour to service it in a round house every time it ran. In the time of The Great Depression, hiring 5 people plus servicing just wasn’t an option. But the trains needed to stay afloat. The Railroad managed to maintain their contract with the US Postal service and they needed an economical way to keep delivering the mail. Enter the Galloping Goose.
The Galloping Goose was a Pierce Arrow Limo literally plunked on the train. It drove like a car, was lightweight, and required less than half the manpower to operate. We got to ride this treasure through the Museum grounds and it was SO COOL! This bit of genius kept the Colorado Railroads going for twenty years and kept them from folding!
We could go on and on about this magical place (and yes, trains are 100% magical as well as historical). Enjoy a wee slide show and highly recommend this as part of your western adventure in Golden Colorado.
Golden History Museum and Park
For a small town, this museum is one of the most robust and thoughtful programs we’ve ever seen! The museum itself is small but very appropriate to the size of the town. The exhibits are amazingly thoughtful and personal to the town and the people who live(d) there. When we visited, the exhibit theme was food (Always in good taste….ba dump smash!) We learned how in the depression Coors pivoted to cater to the malted milk industry, the history of the community centerpiece, Holland House, and the surprisingly fascinating stories of Golden’s food history. Spoiler alert: Jolly Rancher started here! WHAT?! I’m still geeking out about that!
Stay (AND EAT) at Holland House, now Table Mountain Inn
The History Park is just a short jaunt out the museum doors and across the creek. It is a little like walking into Little House on The Prairie. Here are all kinds of buildings gathered from the surrounding areas and they serve as everything from a living history park on weekends and festivals to a quaint backdrops for wedding and senior photos. Kids can run around here and feed heirloom chickens, watch honeybees, or attend one of the museum’s incredible workshops, camps, or festivals. So many stories to create (and learn) here!
At the Museum 
Cool old farm equipment 
Historic Park Garden (Notice the hops for Coors) 
Exploring the park 
I could 100% live here 
The FAMOUS two seater outhouse!!!!
Triceratops Trail
This super fun trail is 1.5 miles is accessed one block east of 6th Avenue and 19th Street. It’s a self guided walk that takes you back in time to see everything from early Golden clay mining to fossils of plants, bugs, and of course, dinosaurs! A great after dinner walk, but really, any time.
Extra Adventure: there is a geocache along the trail. We left a stick on mustache in it (because an epic mustache is also required in a western but more on that later)
Walking Tour of Golden Colorado
Maybe hearing the stories rather than living them is more your jam. A walk through Golden history is full of stories, and depending on the time of year, maybe a few ghost stories as well…Two ways to do this: Golden History Tours and Self Guided Walking Tour.
We did the Wild West Walking Tour and we’d love to come back and do one of the other tours, like the cocktail one, or the ghost one…. Great stories get you looking at the town with new eyes as secrets are shared and legends uncovered. I won’t spoil this adventure by spilling the stories (the locals tell them better any how) but I will tell you there are really ‘sweet’ parting gifts. (If you know, then you know 😉 )
Adventures: Check
Characters
It goes without saying that an epic western story needs epic western characters. Well, Golden is home to at least one of the most epicest–is that even a word? If it is this is the most appropriate perfect title for this man, Buffalo Bill Cody himself.
Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave
Buffalo Bill was many things but most known as a Wild West showman. The museum showcases his life from childhood to death told through artifacts and stories from the people who loved him. It’s an extraordinary look into the life of a western, and quite frankly American, icon.
A note on culture: Being a mixed family of Caucasion and Native American, we like to point out Native connections whenever we can as part of the American experience. The museum surprisingly took a lot of care to showcase the relationship between Bill and his many Native friends and co workers. It’s a window into history and respect that I think gets overlooked in todays charged climate. Josh has a couple of ancestors who worked in Bill’s famous show and we cherish the stories that have been passed down.
Sage particularly enjoyed everything there was on Annie Oakley. Short little thing with a great outfit and fierce as they come? Why wouldn’t ya! She now has a new hero.
In addition to the museum, there is a gift shop, dining, hiking, and an outstanding observation deck where you can get a birds eye view of Golden and so much more.
Buffalo Bill requested he be buried on Lookout Mountain where he could look out over the land he loved. His request was granted and after one of the most elaborate and celebrated funerals, he now watches over Golden. Every year Golden hosts Buffalo Bill Days Festival which I’m REALLY hoping we get invited back for!
Josh looking for his ancestors who were in the show 
Pahaska Tepee, original structure 
Buffalo Bill Cody’s Grave
Buffalo
Just down the road from Buffalo Bill is the Buffalo Overlook Viewpoint. It’s nothing formal, just a pull off the side of the road but not to be missed.
I-70 Exit 254, Golden, CO 80401 Take care when pulling over as it is a high traffic area. Be respectful of others (both cars and foot traffic) and of the buffalo of course.
Your Epic Western Selves
Do it for the gram!!!! If you are going to have a western adventure, you kind have to cast yourself as the main characters, amirite? You can live your western dreams out at Oh Susanna Vintage Photo Studio.
You can be gunslingers, bar mavens, outlaws, good guys, or even Victorian dandies! More than a photo session, the staff here is going to make sure you have fun! It’s a rip roaring good time and you get the perfect keepsake out of the deal.
Characters: Check
Frontier Food with a Good Story
Good food and good people usually go together. At least that is how it is supposed to be. The result then is sore cheeks from laughing, new friends, and of course full and happy tummies!
Always tough to talk about food… let us just show you some of the awesome we experienced and encourage you to too!!! My only regret, I didn’t take pictures of the friendly faces who cooked and served us. DELIGHTFUL FOLK!
Frontier Food: Check
Coors
We can’t talk about Golden Colorado without talking about Adolph Coors. And you can’t really talk about Coors without the three essentials, beer, hats, and mustaches. Adolph Coors had them all and so did their spokesperson for years, Sam Elliot (my favorite cowboy).
Coors has a great brewery tour that I hope to do next time we are in town. Everyone raves about it. It was closed when we were there due to COVID safety measures but that did not stop us from creating a fantastic moment in the history of Golden, Coors, and This Family. Please enjoy our version of Sam Elliot… complete with stick on mustaches… representing Coors in glorious Golden.
Yes this is how we travel and experience America. And if anyone knows Sam, please feel free to forward. I would like to ask him to record his voice for my GPS. I would also like to have a beer with him.
Coors Barmen Select
One thing we learned in Golden was that there is a thing called Coors Barmen Select. It is Mr. Coors original recipe and it takes seven minutes to pour because it has to build. It’s only served in five places IN THE WORLD and at least two of those places are in Golden. There are secret Coors beer police that make ninja visits to make sure it is being poured properly and if it does not meet the standards, BAM, privilege taken away. It’s unique, it’s super cool, and it’s pure Golden!!!!
Coors Experience: Check
Bonus Points if it included a fabulous mustache!
Final Notes
Nothing Gold Can Stay and alas, we couldn’t either. From it’s humble beginnings as a mining supply stop to a charming town full of western spirit and New West lifestyle, Golden Colorado is a great spot for a family getaway. So many memories waiting to be made, Golden left a mark on our hearts and we are sure it will for you too!
Where to stay in Golden Colorado
Pin It to Plan It!
When you are ready to plan your getaway to Golden Colorado, we will be here! Pin It to your favorite planning board.
Discover More Historic Colorado
Stay Golden with This Family
Well, we can’t promise you’ll find gold in ‘them thar hills’ but we can promise you’ll find all kinds of nuggets of great info to plan your next family trip to discover (or rediscover) your love for America. Our nation is just full of characters and stories waiting to be found and shared. Our history is rich! Come along with This Family and plan your next trip!
Stay Golden!
I love this blog post. I live in Colorado and have been to Golden a few times. But your post makes me want to revisit it with new eyes. I have taken Golden for granted. Thank you!
So happy to hear we’ve inspired a new way to visit historic Golden Colorado! Golden is a special place and in some ways a Colorado secret, isn’t it? Have fun exploring!