8 Best Sights in Golden, Rockies Near Denver

The drive up Lookout Mountain to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave provides a sensational panoramic view of Denver that alone is worth the price of admission. It was this view that encouraged Bill Cody—Pony Express rider, cavalry scout, and tireless promoter of the West—to request Lookout Mountain as his burial site. Adjacent to the grave is a small museum with art and artifacts detailing Cody's life and times, as well as a souvenir shop. The grave is 100 yards past the gift shop on a paved walkway.

Thousands of beer lovers make the pilgrimage to the venerable Coors Brewery each year. Founded in 1873 by Adolph Coors, a 21-year-old German stowaway, today it's the largest single-site brewery in the world and part of Molson Coors. Only guided tours with reservations are available; the tour explains the malting, brewing, and packaging processes. Informal tastings are held at the end of each tour and are included in the price of admission; for half the price of a tour, you can just sample beers. Reservations are required for tours and sampling, and you can buy souvenirs in the gift shop. A free shuttle runs from the parking lot to the brewery.

A National Historic District, Golden's 12th Street has a row of handsome 1860s brick buildings.

Even if you never intend to go climbing, you may enjoy learning about lofty adventures showcased at the American Mountaineering Museum here. Visual exhibits display photos and items from experiences climbing some of the world's highest mountains. Artifacts from famous climbs are alongside exhibits about the 10th Mountain Division—men who fought in Italy in World War II, some of whom founded several of Colorado's ski resorts.

Just outside Golden is the Colorado Railroad Museum, a must-visit for any train lover. More than 100 vintage locomotives and cars are displayed outside the museum. Inside the replica-1880 masonry depot are historical photos and memorabilia of Puffing Billy (the nickname for steam trains), along with an astounding model train set that steams through a miniature-scale version of Golden. In the Roundhouse you can witness a train's restoration in progress, and in winter, the popular tale of The Polar Express is theatrically performed.

The Colorado School of Mines, the nation's largest and foremost school of mineral engineering, has a lovely campus containing an outstanding geology museum with minerals, gemstones, and fossils from around the world, one of the "Goodwill" moon rocks collected during the Apollo 17 mission, and a reproduction of a gold mine.

Two properties—the Golden History Center and the Clear Creek Golden History Park (formerly Clear Creek History Park)—have combined under the name of Golden History Museum and Park. The park interprets the Golden area circa 1843–1900 via restored structures and reproductions, including a teepee, prospector's camp, one-room schoolhouse, and cabins. It is also populated with live chickens and bees. On select days, guides in period clothing lead 45-minute tours, but you can stroll the park and peek into the buildings anytime, and picnic lunches on the grounds are welcome. There's also a research center and an interactive area for kids.

A colorful re-creation of an 1880s frontier town, Heritage Square has a music hall, a rip slide (an inflatable water slide), an alpine slide, and some specialty shops. A vaudeville-style review ends each evening's entertainment.