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The City's official
tourism web site offers even more ideas on
things to do in town!
The Washington Avenue bridge is a destination of its own. Wide pedestrian
walkways on either side are separated from motor
vehicles. The pedestrian areas offer
tables and chairs, to allow people to enjoy one
of the best views in town. It's a great
place to drink coffee or eat ice cream. Interesting signs line the bridge, with photos
and text telling the history of the Golden area.
Changing colored lights illuminate the bridge at
night, making it pretty both day and night!
Just across the bridge from downtown
shopping, Parfet Park is a great place to bring
a sandwich and enjoy the trees, the mountains,
and the creek. There is no playground at this park, so it tends
to attract adults who want to sit, stroll, or play
Frisbee. One summer a fencing club met
there, and the park was full of flashing
rapiers. Pretty cool. Young children love the dragon
statue and generally wind up crawling
all over it. (If you need a park with a
playground, go four blocks west on 10th street,
to Lions Park.)
During the summer, Parfet Park is host to our
biggest annual event--Buffalo Bill Days.
This multi-day event fills the park with food
vendors, rides, carnival games, live music, and
thousands of people. Buffalo Bill Days
happen over the last weekend in July.
In August and September, Parfet Park is the
venue for a music and film series, hosted by
GREAT and the City of Golden. This is also
popular with the community, as several hundred
people arrive with lawn chairs and blankets to
enjoy the free entertainment.
The Mountaineering Center is a former Golden
School, used first as the high school and later
as the junior high. The building stood
empty for a number of years after the schools
moved to more modern facilities. Former
Mayor Marv Kay was very instrumental in finding
a new use for the building. He persuaded
first the American Alpine Club and later the
Colorado Mountain Club to bring their
headquarters here to Golden. Colorado
Outward Bound also has offices here.
| The school was a nice building even before
the restoration, with a WPA mural, neo-classical
architectural touches, and a nice auditorium,
but it definitely showed signs of many years of
hard use by thousands of students. The
Golden Civic Foundation stepped in and worked
with the new occupants to bring the building
back to its prime and far beyond. Walk
inside the building some time, just to admire
it! |
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In early 2008, the Bradford
Washington Mountaineering Museum opened.
Don't miss this spectacular addition to Golden!
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The Visitor's Center is a good place for
out-of-towners to start a visit to Golden. An
army of volunteers keeps this place staffed, and
they're always very happy to provide maps,
directions, and recommendations. Pamphlets
describing local attractions are plentiful and
free for the taking. This building is also
the home for the Chamber of Commerce. A
shady side patio offers a good place to rest and
watch the creek.
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A favorite activity in Golden is to walk
along the paved paths on either side of Clear
Creek through the downtown area. The paths
extend for several blocks, beginning at Vanover
Park on the East, and ending West of the city's
campground. Three bridges cross the creek,
and benches are placed throughout the path
system, to allow people to sit and enjoy the
creek and mountain scenery.
Just west of the Visitors Center on the
creekside path is the Rotary Amphitheater. When Rotary International celebrated its
100th birthday, they encouraged local clubs to
contribute a tangible memorial to the event in
their own communities. Golden Rotary Club
asked the City of Golden what they would like to
have, and the City suggested a creek-side
amphitheater that was included in the master
plan. The club built the amphitheater and
contributed the grouping of butterfly sculptures
that complement it.
Rotary Amphitheater Dedication Ceremony
| The next stop along the creek path
could be the Golden Pioneer Museum. The Pioneer Museum was started in the 1930s
and has been collecting and interpreting
interesting Golden artifacts ever since.
It's a good place to learn about the Indians who
occupied this area prior to European
settlement. They also have nice displays
on domestic life of the pioneers, ranching,
mining, antique guns, and many of Golden's
historic businesses. They've recently
added an entire room of Western art, donated by
the Harmsen family (the founders of the Jolly
Rancher candy company).
See the museum's web site to learn more....
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During the summer,
D'Deli runs a satellite operation selling lunch
and ice cream on the museum's patio, which
overlooks Clear Creek and the Living history
park.
 
Golden Pioneer Museum Patio - a great lunch
spot in the summer!
The Golden Library is right next to the
Pioneer Museum. Golden residents
appreciate the frequent programs and the
extensive collection of books: Golden
library is part of the
Jefferson County Library system, so whatever
titles they don't have on the shelves, they can
generally get.
Visitors to Golden can use the library's
internet connection to check e-mail or do a
quick web search. They may also enjoy just
relaxing with the magazines and newspapers in
the periodicals section.
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Lions Park offers tennis courts, baseball
diamonds, a good playground, picnic tables, big
shade trees, and a pond. The Lions Club
hosts the annual 4th of July celebration here,
which includes live music, food vendors, free
children's rides, and a good fireworks display.
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The kayak park is interesting even for those
of us who don't kayak. Several years ago,
the City "groomed" the Creek as it runs through
downtown Golden, to make it particularly good
for kayaking. They rearranged the rocks
and boulders on the stream bed to make
interesting chutes. Now, kayakers are
often seen in the Creek, starting at the West
end, across from Lions Park, and ending down at
Vanover Park, on Ford Street. The trail on
the North side of the creek generally has a few
kayak-toting people in wet suits, carrying their
boats back upstream for another run.
The community center, located at the West end of
10th Street, is a beautiful facility, with
a recreation pool (including slides for the
kids) and a lap pool, a dance studio, a
rock-climbing wall, a gym, an indoor track, and
a weight room with weight
machines, free weights, stationary bikes, and
treadmills. The facility is open to the
public.
See their
web site
to
check hours of operation and admission fees.
Re-cross Clear Creek via the
pedestrian bridge that runs between the library
and the Clear Creek History Park. Enjoy
the Friendship Garden on the south end of the
bridge.
This
collection of old buildings on the south side of
Clear Creek is one of Golden's many historic
treasures. The buildings in the park are not
original to the site; instead, they are all
buildings that were slated for demolition in the
mountains West of town. A number of
Golden-area residents attended school in the one
room Guy Hill School House. The Reynolds
cabin, root cellar, blacksmith shop, and chicken
coops are all relicts of pioneer times.
The Park is open to the public (with a small
admission charge) during the summer months. See
their web site to learn more....
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Two blocks east of the downtown shopping
district is the starting point for touring the
world's largest brewery. Vans collect
tour-goers at 13th and Ford Streets.
The tour includes a brief history of the
business, an explanation of the brewing process,
a chance to see the beer being made, and a trip
to the Coors hospitality room, where visitors
have the opportunity to sample Coors products. |
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The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
has really put us on the map with the large and
enthusiastic cult of quilters! People
travel from all over the world to visit our
museum. Their quilt exhibits change
several times each year. They also offer
education programs and a wonderful gift
shop. See
their web site to learn more....
The Pioneer Museum was started in the 1930s
and has been collecting and interpreting
interesting Golden artifacts ever since.
It's a good place to learn about the Indians who
occupied this area prior to European
settlement. They also have nice displays
on domestic life of the pioneers, ranching,
mining, antique guns, and many of Golden's
historic businesses.
See the museum's web site to learn more....
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The Astor House
is one of the older structures in Golden,
having opened in 1867. During the
years that the territorial legislature met
in Golden, many of the legislators boarded
at the Astor House. It now serves as a
museum, with the hotel rooms set up to show
how a legislator might have lived (a
roll-top desk for doing business), or a
cowboy, or a family (in a multi-room
suite).
The dining room/parlor on the
first floor are full of interesting artifacts,
such as a stereoscope and a piano that the guests
would have used for entertainment, and the kitchen
is stocked with antique food preparation
tools.
The Astor House presents a very
popular series of "teas" featuring
performances or lectures and, yes, a yummy high
tea. See
their web site to learn more....
| This spectacular new museum opened in
February 2008 and is already attracting
mountaineers from around the world
Co-sponsored by the Colorado Mountain Club,
American Alpine Cub, and National Geographic
Society, the museum is "...dedicated to
the heroism, technology, culture and spirit
of mountaineering."
Learn
more at their web site... |
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One (steep!) block south of the shopping district
is the Foothills Art Center. Foothills is a
highly-respected gallery with juried exhibits
that rotate throughout the year. They also
offer classes and lectures. From
Thanksgiving till Christmas each year they host
a holiday art market which offers great, unique
arts and crafts. See
their web site to learn more....
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Two blocks west of the downtown
shopping district is the Colorado School of
Mines. The CSM campus
is a pleasant place for a stroll, with
hundred year old trees and equally old buildings
abounding. The school recently
published a walking guide to campus
artwork, available on their web
site.
A short walk along the nearby CSM Geology Trail provides visitors with a chance to view fossilized palm trees, dinosaur footprints, palm frond imprints along with an overlook of Golden. Maps for this
tour are available from a box posted at
Maple Street and Campus drive.
The CSM Geology Museum showcases minerals and fossils from Colorado and around the world.
The upper floor exhibits exquisite mineral collections as well as displays on Colorado mining
districts. The lower level of the Museum holds many educational displays. These include fossil, meteorite, mineral properties, and interactive radioactivity displays. The highlight of the lower level is a walk-through faux uranium mine. Within the mine is a photomontage showing Colorado miners at work, a display of mine lamps through time, display about radon, and a collection of fluorescent minerals.
See
their web site to learn more....
Extremely popular with locals, this brewery is
about as "micro" as they come. The beer is
brewed and sold in a carriage house behind one
of the finest houses in the 12th Street Historic
District. They make a red ale, an India
pale ale, a brown ale, and several other
brews--all delicious. There is a small
seating area in the carriage house and a larger
one in the yard outside.
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