Golden (Colorado)

Golden is a city in the Denver Area of Colorado. It sits at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and distance-wise is roughly halfway between the cities of Boulder and Denver. It is the home of the Coors Brewery, the Colorado School of Mines, and the Colorado Railroad Museum.

The city of Golden has a distinct country-western atmosphere due in part to its gold-mining history and in part to its proximity to the front range. A slogan often used to describe the city claims that it's "Where The West Lives". Also, an iconic, antique signboard draped over Golden's Main Street ushers in travelers with "Howdy Folks! Welcome To Golden".

In keeping with the general spirit of the Rockies, Golden is an outdoor, active town. It's not unusual to see kayakers lugging boats around town and playing in the mile long whitewater course that runs through town, or mountain bikers returning from a ride up to the surrounding hills.

Understand
Golden is a tourist town in summer and a college town the rest of the year.

Golden is not between Boulder and Denver. It is west of Denver and south of Boulder. There are other cities between Golden and Denver, e.g. Lakewood and Wheat Ridge.

Get in
See this Colorado travel map. Colorado is on Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07) in the winter and on Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-06) in the summer.

By car
Golden is served six major highways:      Rental cars are available at Denver International Airport and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.

By rail
The Amtrak California Zephyr and Winter Park Express serve Denver Union Station. You can use the RTD light rail W line for the 43-minute ride from Denver Union Station to the Jeffco Government Center Station in southeast Golden.

By bus
Greyhound Lines serve Denver.

Public Transit
Golden is served by the RTD light rail W line which connects to Lakewood and Denver, RTD bus routes 17 and GS, and the RTD GDFX FlexRide bus service.

Downtown Golden consists of a strip of businesses surrounded by residential neighborhoods. This commercial and business portion of Golden is relatively small, and can be driven or biked through, or even covered by foot, in a short amount of time. In fact, Golden is very alternative-transportation friendly, and groups of walkers or bikers are always seen moving through town. The downtown area is an active hub for area residents. Numerous events are sponsored there throughout the year. One of these is a weekly Friday night street party with music and local restaurants selling tapas and beverages. In August the city sponsors a popular fine arts festival. In 2012 professional cyclists will, for the second consecutive year, begin a day of racing in the middle of town.

Do
Activities in Golden are usually split between visiting its historical sites including the Coors Brewery, and doing outdoors activities such as rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking.









Eat
Despite being a college town, a surprising number of Golden's restaurants close early, or are only open for breakfast and lunch. The late night crowd moves to bars (or Denver proper) instead.











Sleep
Several hotels, particularly the chain hotels, that claim to be in Golden are often well outside the city proper – no more than a few minutes' drive away on US-6, but not within walking distance. Addresses on 6th Ave., or any name including "Denver West", are both tip-offs.













Go next

 * Take US-6 west to the historic mining towns and casinos of Blackhawk and Central City.
 * Take C-93 north to Boulder, Estes Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park.
 * Take C-470 south to Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak.
 * Take any highway east into Metropolitan Denver.
 * Take any highway west to Idaho Springs, Mount Blue Sky, the heart of the Rockies and Ski Country USA.