Local Guides World
Top Museums in Golden, United States
Top Rated Museums in Golden
Top Reviewed Museums in Golden
Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center
Golden History Park
Colorado Railroad Museum
Golden History Museum
Mines Museum of Earth Science
Reviews
Best mineral collection I've ever seen. Simply amazing. Most of it from Colorado but they had examples from all over the world too. Really an incredible collection.
What a gem! (Get it?)
Neat museum that's an easy walk from downtown Golden. Tons of unique specimens from around the world. Plenty of fun and interesting things for adults and kids to look at and read.
Neat museum that's an easy walk from downtown Golden. Tons of unique specimens from around the world. Plenty of fun and interesting things for adults and kids to look at and read.
An excellent collection of minerals from throughout Colorado and the world. If you are interested in how UV light affects certain minerals make sure you go in the "mining shaft" on the lower floor.
Amazing collection of rocks, gems, fossils and minerals from all over the world. So much to look at, all set in beautiful, informative displays. Well worth the visit!
One of the best Earth Science Museums I’ve ever been to! They’ve packed an incredible number of samples under one roof. Don’t skip out on the burro scavenger hunt!
A lot of railroads are private property so you don’t really ever get the chance to see some of these trains upfront and in person.
This museum was a great deal, easily spent 90-120 min walking around, reading, and learning.
This museum was a great deal, easily spent 90-120 min walking around, reading, and learning.
We had an amazing time visiting the museum today! We got to ride in a beautiful passenger car pulled by a locomotive from 1890 and got to try building railroad by hand. The volunteers were very friendly and wonderful sources of information. We bought a membership and will return soon!
It's free, it's essentially just gold mining, if you're an out-of-towner it's disappointing but I'm sure it's a nice experience for locals, as there was an exhibit about the highschool
If you wish to go back to your childhood days when we all were fascinated by trains and railroads do visit this museum at Golden. This museum has some rare collections of old engines and train compartments for you to explore. They have some old pictures from 1850s and 1900s to learn about the history of railroads in Colorado. The tickets are affordable around 12 dollars including tje train ride. Kids below 5 are free. One improvement area is the cleanliness of this place and the railyard can definitely be more organised.Should visit with your kids
This is a nice small museum that is free. The location by the creek makes it a nice destination for families.
Honestly, there really isn't much to see here. For what they do have, it is well presented. Cheap and worth a vist if you are in the area.
My youngest son has a passion for trains. As we had some time in Colorado this weekend this was a must-stop. We ended up spending several hours there. This is a very interactive and neat place to visit. We were able to go on the train ride, and explore the grounds. Staff is very friendly and helpful, this is a treat for anyone, even the ones that may not be so passionate about trains.
What a great experience! This well exceeded our expectations on the number of rocks, minerals, and gem stones available to see. We also enjoyed the interactive mine display and glowing gems!
Truly fantastic experience, the number of trains on show, as well as the model trains running is amazing. Been able to visit the restoration shed is also awesome. But the highlight has got to be the train ride.
Museum is free. Docents are friendly, knowledgeable and informative. Super cute area for children to play restaurants recreating a bygone era. Highly recommend.
My daughter and I love train museums and she came into town to visit for Christmas. She saw this Museum online so this was part of her itinerary before she left. We had a great time looking at all the trains and the videos! While we were there we saw so many excited kids tooting the train horn! This is truly a family-oriented activity that can be done any time of the year!
I have been wanting to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum for many years. Primarily because I wanted to see the F9's that pulled the California Zephyr, but this museum is so much more ! Our Grandson enjoyed the expansive model train layout in the basement of the station, as did my wife and I. The motive power collection is enough to excite any rail enthusiast. The Garden Scale layout is the best I've seen. I have read the stories of the Galloping Goose(s), and here are 3 of them. The Pikes Peak Cog units are here too. The Roundhouse displays units in the process of restorations and repair. Last, but not least is a fully staffed resource and learning center/library who were able to provide materials and answer most any questions and show drawings and photos. We will return !
Lovely museum, so interesting and staff really helpful. Free admission too. Great mural on the back wall!
We recently had the pleasure of riding the Polar Express. It was perfection! Every last detail was thought of. From the pre-show, that was delightful, to the fact that they had crayons and templates for children to keep themselves busy with, to the little details (like the mailbox where one can mail a letter to Santa), to the boarding process (by color), to the beautiful engine and cars, to the performances on the train and Santa at the end, we loved every minute! It’s not the least expensive thing we’ve done, but I think it was worth every penny.
Awesome place to visit. We went to both buildings after walking the trails. The trails were amazing. Great way to spend time with your family.
I didn’t go to the dinosaur ridge discover center but I went to the main dinosaur ridge across the street which is affiliated and they have lots of cute fake dinosaur statues outside as well as real life dinosaur tracks on the hike, I recommend checking them both out
It's amazing seeing dinosaur fossils still in the rock! A must visit
This location isn't the official headquarters but more than likely your GPS will bring you here. There is a small geocache on site with a short path to walk on and enjoy a picnic. If you plan to walk up the ridge, this is a great place to park. There are roughly 20 parking spots here and some off a bit of shade on those hot afternoons.
A great place to visit, with a massive display of every kind of rock, mineral, and crystal specimen that you can imagine. Two levels of exhibits, organized by where the specimens came from - all the counties of Colorado, different parts of the US, and many foreign countries. Every display is visually stunning with amazing shapes and colors. There is also a display of nice fossils, meteorites, and moon rocks. A great place to bring the kids! Admission is free, but parking fee is now required just within the last two weeks - $10
The trail, it was stroller friendly and a hike that could be done with a 4 year old on foot. The markers were interesting and the discovery center staff was friendly. The area is beautiful and great for hiking.
I wasn’t sure about the parking situation so we parked at a public parking area just over a quarter of a mile up the hill. Apparently parking is free on Sundays so that was nice. The gift shop is right in front of the museum, so clever! This is a really decent free museum. We enjoyed looking at all the gyms and reading the informational placards. There is an upstairs area as well as a downstairs area.
Fun and free! What's not to like?
A few fairly impressive dinosaur tracks and a nice visitors center. The best part is the nice disposition of the staff.
Just a great spot to spend some time enjoying some wonderful historical buildings just a block or two from downtown Golden. The setting is perfect with the mesas surrounding Golden in the background. And right next to Clear Creek.
We stopped in here when visiting Golden, as we always like to check out the town’s visitor center and/or museum when we are in a new town. We’ve been to dozens of similar venues, but this one was one of the better we’ve experienced, especially for a town the size of Golden. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted warmly, asked repeatedly if we wanted any more info, and were regaled with various local anecdotes by the staff and volunteers. The exhibits were quite well done and very interesting. We especially liked looking at the Holland House exhibit, including checking out the old menus, as well as walking through the outdoor trail on the river.
Very nice and easy trail, great for the whole family young and old.
Well maintained, paved with lots of access points to the water (some of the access are graduate sloped for easier access for mobility!)
Bike is encouraged to use south bank trail while leaving North bank trail for slower pace walking. This help keeping the trail more enjoyable to all and reduce the conflicts between faster traffic with enjoying viewer.
A lot of tuber launch and exit pools along the trail for summer time fun.
The fall colors are very good, specially like this fall.
Free parking at 10th street if you want to enjoy more than 2 hours, near by parking is free for first two hours only, so utilize the parking lot a little bit to the east on 10th street (It's less than 0.5miles from the parks. less than a hundred yard from Clear creek Trail. ) and enjoy more relaxed pace is recommended.
Well maintained, paved with lots of access points to the water (some of the access are graduate sloped for easier access for mobility!)
Bike is encouraged to use south bank trail while leaving North bank trail for slower pace walking. This help keeping the trail more enjoyable to all and reduce the conflicts between faster traffic with enjoying viewer.
A lot of tuber launch and exit pools along the trail for summer time fun.
The fall colors are very good, specially like this fall.
Free parking at 10th street if you want to enjoy more than 2 hours, near by parking is free for first two hours only, so utilize the parking lot a little bit to the east on 10th street (It's less than 0.5miles from the parks. less than a hundred yard from Clear creek Trail. ) and enjoy more relaxed pace is recommended.
Cute little park. Good walking. Free exhibits to check out. Gardens and historic things to see with good information. Dogs welcome but closed and locked bathrooms? No trashcan. Why? You invite people to come and capitalize off the tourism for your whole town. Give us trashcans and open your bathroom and porta potty. And stop making excuses. Take care of your tourists.
Beautiful scenery to see! Especially when you aren’t used to this type of landscape coming from the flatlands of Northwest Indiana.
You and your family will enjoy this interesting place. To see the fossils that were found in that area of Colorado. It is displayed well and packed with much information. The staff was friendly and helpful and showed us were to go to see the trail and the stomping ground of the many Dinosaurs 🦕.
Came here during December and we’re extremely impressed! The park and the downtown area of Golden is super clean with a peaceful country vibe. The river walk trail was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the Denver area. We definitely plan on visiting here again!
AMAZING HIKE & really cool giftshop. Totally recommend a half day hike here. Bought loads of fossils really affordably (as in 5$ for large & incredible quality) and the best poster explaining the history of the planet. Great for kids, families, dates. Loads of dino tracks on the hike, so incredible. All paved and very accessible to handicap and strollers. Recommend the audio tour as you go, but signage is great too. Awesome viewpoint of red rocks amphitheater from the top, but this continued trail is unpaved and steep.
Beautiful park! Great walk on the river. Next time I'm going to bring a tube!
Great spot to take photos. Always see a photographer there. The old rustic buildings and props great for senior or family photos. Near clear creek, hiking trails and downtown Golden.
What a museum for free. Very well done and not crowded on a Saturday on 30 Jan 2021. Very friendly and helpful staff. Lots of free parking on property and close by. Clean restrooms and facility.
Recommend allowing 3 hours to do all the inside, less if you don't read everything or watch the videos. An additional hour for the outside exhibits where you can feed chickens; $.25 cents for feed available. There are also ducks in the creek if you want to bring something to feed them.
Like many things in life, this museum gives back what you put into it. Our group including 3 teens, age 12 to 15 spent 3 hours inside and an hour outside. The teens participated in a scavenger hunt and were given a prize upon completion.
The museum itself has lots of little gems if you take the time to search them out and can be accomplished in three hours very easily, but many spend much less time. We learned a lot about Golden and the people the museum highlights. Exhibits evidently do change and we'll be back again. Woody's Pizza is a great finish to the day.
Recommend allowing 3 hours to do all the inside, less if you don't read everything or watch the videos. An additional hour for the outside exhibits where you can feed chickens; $.25 cents for feed available. There are also ducks in the creek if you want to bring something to feed them.
Like many things in life, this museum gives back what you put into it. Our group including 3 teens, age 12 to 15 spent 3 hours inside and an hour outside. The teens participated in a scavenger hunt and were given a prize upon completion.
The museum itself has lots of little gems if you take the time to search them out and can be accomplished in three hours very easily, but many spend much less time. We learned a lot about Golden and the people the museum highlights. Exhibits evidently do change and we'll be back again. Woody's Pizza is a great finish to the day.
Love this park, especially since they have added all the new beautiful routes down to the water. It is great to see kayakers, paragliders and walkers out and about in all weather. Also love the new history 'homes' that are decorated inside and the chicken coop. Lots of fun and beauty for the family. Good running and a playground too!