So beautiful and unique. I thought the yarn graffiti was very interesting. Visitor center staff…read morevery friendly and informative. Lots of great brochures to help decide what to do in many areas of Colorado

I've walked by the buildings for years and never walked up to check them out until now. I'd walked…read morethe museum a few years back, the main building, but this time entered all of the old buildings behind it. There is a lot of interesting stuff and it kept my eight year old entertained.

My wife and I have traveled throughout all 50 states, visited parts of Canada, and traveled…read moreinternationally. Along the way, we have toured museums of every size and description. I was traveling solo today and made my way to the Gilpin History Museum. It may be comparatively small, but it ranks among the best local-history museums we have visited. It is thoughtfully organized, rich in detail, and clearly created by people who care deeply about preserving the area's story. The recreated "Main Street" is a wonderful introduction to everyday life in an earlier era. Its rooms include a bank, barber shop, saloon, bookstore, doctor's office, pharmacy, grocery store, law office, and the Teller House. Together, they provide an engaging picture of what life and commerce once looked like in these Colorado mountain communities. The museum also includes an old classroom with an extensive collection of school memorabilia. Its exhibits explain the history of the surrounding communities, the old mining towns, and the railroads that once connected and supported them. The mining collection is particularly impressive. The museum does more than display old tools and equipment--it provides exceptional descriptions explaining what the artifacts were and how miners actually used them. Then there is the Mountain Submarine exhibit. Yes, you read that correctly: a submarine in Colorado! The Nautilus was tested in Missouri Lake, and its story is one of the museum's most unexpected and memorable features. Having served aboard three submarines during my Navy career, I found this room especially interesting. My visit was made even better by Colin, the young man working that day. He is obviously bitten by the history bug and possesses a remarkable knowledge of the area. Just as impressive is his broader, well-traveled perspective on the world. He is intelligent, enthusiastic, personable, and a terrific host. Talking with him added real depth and enjoyment to our visit. The Gilpin History Museum proves that a museum does not have to be enormous to be excellent. This is a top-notch local museum and unquestionably worth a visit.

Although the Gilpin Museum is one of the most comprehensive museums one could visit (chock full of…read morehistory and unique artifacts from the area) it was pretty clear that the Gilpin Historical Society does not really care too much for visitors coming to their sites. When we visited the museum, reception was lukewarm at best. However, given that its a self-guided museum we strolled around the building and read about each exhibit (note to the society: you could up charge tourists like us who come to your city for the historical value if you offered guided tours with a docent or using an app audio guide). The visit to Washington Hall however (were tours for the Opera House, Teller House, St James church, old Print Shop and Thomas House all depart from) was extremely disappointing. We inquired about a tour of the Opera/Teller Houses to a younger female with glasses and long strawberry blond hair (she never introduced herself; no name provided) who mentioned she would need to cross the street to see if an opera tour was possible (no tours are allowed while the troupe is in session). It seemed like she was annoyed to have to make the trip, but she did and returned shortly afterwards announcing no opera house tours were allowed, due to ongoing rehearsals. She then proceeded to begin typing on her laptop without further details or inquiries (to weather we may want to tour other available properties, to provide an amount for the teller tour, or any interactions with us whatsoever) and merely continued to type in silence for several minutes. Having gotten the hint that we were disturbing, we let her continue her work and took the chance to peruse the gambling exhibit waiting until she'd provide a hint that she was done with her work. When we ran out of displays to read, we approached to ask if tours started at a set time, to which she replied: "the tour is $10 per person, and will start as soon as you pay me". Taken aback, but with not much choice, we paid for the Teller House tour (note: she never mentioned touring any of the other buildings, which we knew of and were very interested in visiting but given the rude nature of the interaction we lost interest in spending additional time with this tour guide) and proceeded across the street to the hotel to commence the tour. She was quite knowledgeable and not a bad tour guide, but by then she had ruined our experience and put me in a very bad mood (so much so I decided not to tip. First time for me I have to admit). It's very unfortunate that in such a small town fully dependent on tourism someone who works (or volunteers) for the most important historical attractions in town would be so clueless about customer service, but alas she missed the opportunity to sell us additional ticketed tours as well as to make a nice tip. I truly fail to see what slight we may have caused her, but apparently it was enough to grant her behavior...

Visited when I first moved to town about one year ago, so I'm very late on many of my reviews, but…read morestill a wonderful museum and staff.

We came in for the family Christmas and Hamill house did not disappoint. It is such a treat to…read moreexperience this small towns heritage and their traditions. I do wish that our kids had been a little older since I think it would have been more enjoyable to do the sing alongs and the reading of a night before Christmas. If you are planning on going I would say a kid 5-12 would be age appropriate for this event. If you happen to be in Georgetown for the Christmas market or are planning on doing the Christmas train I do highly recommend this!

I learned a lot about this old home which is now a museum. Entry was free and the home was bigger…read moreon the inside than it was on the outside. Additionally you can visit other buildings on the property.

I got tickets a week ahead of time, and on the day we went, I was stuck dog-sitting a friend's two…read morechihuahuas. We went to the museum early, and thought I'd just ask if the dogs were allowed or not (I expected not, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask), and if not, to let them know that we'd have to cancel our tickets for later in the day. So I try to explain the above situation to the woman who opened the door, and she was *really* condescending about it--"No, this is a MUSEUM" (Yes...I know...I have tickets for *the museum*....) and snapping the door shut every time the dogs moved forward, as if the chihuahuas were going to snap their leashes and lunge at her (we were about five feet from the door). I explained that I wanted to cancel our ticket reservations for later in the day as a courtesy so that someone else would have a chance to go, and she just said, "Okay" and shut the door, finishing the conversation--*and without asking what name my reservations were under*, so...that attempt at courtesy was useless. Now, I expected we wouldn't be able to bring the dogs in, and I wasn't at all upset to find that out, but you don't have to be *so very* condescending and intensely rude about it. Just be like, "Oh, I'm sorry, we don't allow dogs." Just because the museum is free doesn't mean you have to be so discourteous to someone just asking a question--even if it's a dumb question. I've gone to the area around the museum several times and have always loved the trees and picnic tables and everything, but this one docent or tour guide or whatever really has soured me on the whole place.

This is a nice little stop located within the shops of Idaho Springs main street. The Underhill…read moreMuseum chronicles the history of Idaho Springs as a mining town, with relevant exhibits. There is nothing terribly exciting and it will keep you occupied maybe 15-30 minutes (it is a very small place), but there are a few items worth looking at. Two things really stuck out at me. They have a few vaults/safes including one that you can walk in, along with a series of rocks and minerals that you could show to your children. They also sell historical photos of Idaho Springs and a few other similar pictures. The prices were not terribly expensive from what I recall -- although, there were a few pricier options. Some people may wonder why I gave this place such a good rating. That is because its free. They ask for a $2 donation, and I can respect this miniature museum for what it is. If you're strolling through, its worth a few minutes of your time.

We had a great time at the 2023 Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival! Great music, lots of…read moredifferent breweries to sample, fun and tasty food options and a family friendly crowd. Be sure to order a beer sampling glass in advance from their website by the day, if you want an easier way to sample the different beers on tap. My husband enjoyed his and said all the beers were great.

I saw a familiar grammy artist for the 1st time, renfrow from grateful dead by a great producer…read moreMonroe. Foelowd up by lead singer for lonesome days and the band's woody hollow and mighty pines. Last year I saw mandoline orange

Fourth of July weekend with my Mom always has me making the rounds at new places in CO. If I knew…read moreBreckenridge was so close before I would be there every other weekend (no lie). With Denver enjoying a pretty decent heat wave, the BF suggested a trip up to Breckenridge, between the 30 degree drop in temperature and a great road trip, we couldn't resist. To our surprise there was an Art Festival in Breckenridge this weekend. It's a bit different then the one in Cherry Creek. A lot less crowded and I would say and more modern art if you ask me. Not as big as Cherry Creek, in my opinion I think the Breckenridge Art Festival is the perfect size. My Mom even found some art she decided to buy for her house back home. I fell in love with some great photography there as well and would love to buy some in the coming years for my house. With the weather being cooler and the crowds being easier to migrate through, the Breckenridge Art Festival is the better choice in CO. And if you don't find any art, there are a million cute boutiques to shop at as well.

I'm a huge fan of the summer art festivals around the state, especially in mountain locales. Out…read moreof all of them, the Breckenridge one is my favorite. It's grown quite a bit in the last few years and seems to attract artists that don't necessarily frequent the other festivals. Even if something isn't my taste, most of the art here is at least interesting to look at. The past couple of years, I've found items to take home. This year I bought a couple of pottery pieces at fantastic prices (I got a collector discount since I've purchased from that artist a few times before) and I spent out of my comfort zone to get an amazing mixed media piece that I absolutely fell in love with. If you like art and you like escaping to the mountains during the hot summer, I'd highly recommend this festival. Look for it on a weekend around July 4th each year.

Small selection of games. $26 (without tax) is the minimum you can charge to a game card which is…read morerequired to play anything. Mario Kart was definitely fun but limited to two players vs four. Most of the VR games were broken along with a few other video games. Genres include mostly lightgun shooting games, 2 racing games, and a fishing game as far as video games go. The remaining are ticket games (claw, chance, speed basketball shooting, etc.)

We took a break from skiing one day and spent a few hours at this arcade. What a great find. Games…read morewere fun, there was a wide variety and all were working. After playing, we went downstairs to use our game tickets and they gave us enough free extra credits that both of my kids got to play two additional games. During prize selection the woman at the counter was super nice and patient while my kiddos made their selections. We will be back on our next trip to Breckenridge.