i'm going out of my way to write this review because this was such a cool experience. I did the…read more"Mother Lode" combo, which includes the main main tour, plus an additional mine tour, which to reach it that requires a quarter mile hike up a trail, and gold panning (after several tries I only found one tiny gold flake, but I got something!). Definitely bring sunscreen for the second tour, as you will be sitting outside in the sun for a little bit. It's cool and refreshing inside the mines, and they're full of history, right down to the wooden shafts that still have numbers painted on them from the miners of 1800s. You will learn about mining history and how harrowing and challenging it was, and see the actual tools they used, and how techniques developed over time. You will see shafts and tunnels you cannot explore but remain from days of old that inspire the imagination. You will also hear some silly ghost stories, and even see how UV light illuminates the rocks and minerals in the mines. Interested in history, gold, geology, or mining? Even if you aren't, take this tour anyway! It's well worth it, and the guides do a great job.

We have been to Colorado many times and this remains one of our very favorite things to do! You…read more just can't beat panning for gold in a river stream knowing that you are actually going to find flecks of gold and we have every time! It is so much fun! This year we did the tour of the cave and it was super super interesting me as well and my kids really loved it :-) I did too! Lastly, the chipmunks. You could literally just go for the chipmunks lol! They are so super friendly and so much fun! We cannot recommend this place highly enough!

The employees are very nice, equipped with great knowledge. Our tour guide Toren was really fun and…read moreeducational! You would have never known she's only done a handful of tours and is new-ish touring with Argo Mill. The tour was very interesting and living in Colorado for 20+ years, I've always seen the red building driving by Idaho Springs but never thought they had tours available to check out. We panned for gold at the end and that was very fun to learn how to do that. All in all I'd recommend to support local and Idaho Springs to come check them out. The tour is not handicap friendly so if you have a wheel chair it would not be ideal to walk through the mill. Hard hat is for show with the tunnel visit but it was def a fun experience with photo opportunity.

We started our experience with a tour of the mill. I would definitely suggest doing the combo if…read moreyou also wanna ride the gondola. I think my biggest beef is that supposedly they charge you for parking. Why?! there's plenty of parking and why would we have to pay? It's not like it's paved it's a parking lot full of rocks with that being said we purchased the gold package which included parking so I'm not sure how much it costs but you can also just do one of the activities and use the QR code to pay for parking. However, I did not notice how they can tell who's paid for parking or not. I did not see any tickets on other people's cars and at least getting the package. They never asked for our license plate so I don't know how they're monitoring that but a stupid fee to say the least. I would give the tour a five out of five stars only because our two were really Caitlin was great. Other than that, there's not really much to look at and being a tour connoisseur. I've been a better two hours with more things to learn and see. To be honest, it really not that interesting for the cost. But thanks Caitlin you made it fun and educational! Then we rolled the gondola which is brand new as of this summer and it was really nice. No complaints and 30 bucks to ride. The gondola is typical and probably less expensive than the other mountain town gondolas.

Daniel our car lead was fire and funny! I wish you got to change sides coming back down. The…read moresausages, cheese and crackers were nice. We got a table, which I would suggest. I think a night time train ride with all the lights would be fun. The beer samples were great! I usually don't like pumpkin but that was really good.

I found this place as one of the things to do in Colorado. The parking lot is compact and can get…read morecrowded as I saw people park on the outside on the street so show up at the early train at 10am as if you go later parking can be a pain to do. We paid $35 dollars per person online and we picked up our tickets through will call. The process is really quick. We did have a full train and you get your picture taken and they print these out and give you an option to pay for these or not. I am sure they throw away the prints, but I wish they would give them to you complimentary. Train ride is more like 45 minutes as there is a 15 minute break. You take the train around the forest and there are stops in the mines for pick ups. Overall, it is a relaxing ride, but a most do only one time. If I am in town probably something I can skip.

Another amazing exhibit at the DAM! Wow - this one exceeded my expectations and it is the only…read moreplace in the US you can see the DIVA exhibit. I learned, I was entertained, I took a walk down memory lane, and I enjoyed every second! We did not plan enough time as it is seven rooms so we will be going back before it ends to get more time with the 80's DIVAs! The music is great as you walk by the DIVA and it changes as you go. There is much to see and read, a real sensory treat that put a pep in my step for hours after we left. This is a must experience exhibit! The staff is always helpful and friendly and as members we got a discount on the tickets. And when they let us know we only had 15 minutes to get through several rooms, we appreciated the heads-up. Of course there is a wonderful variety of exhibits at DAM, and for the membership makes it where we get a great value and don't feel like we have to get through everything at once.

The DIVA exhibition at the Denver Art Museum was a good experience! The gowns were absolutely…read morebeautiful, and I loved learning about the rich history behind the exhibit. I did wish it were a bit more extensive, as I would have enjoyed seeing even more. I was curious whether the mannequins were proportioned to reflect each diva's actual size, though it certainly didn't take away from the experience. It would be fantastic to see a future exhibit dedicated to Bob Mackie and his incredible influence on fashion, iconic gowns, and the world of entertainment. The staff and volunteers were great and did an excellent job of encouraging respectful viewing. Some areas became crowded as visitors moved through the exhibit at different paces, but overall, it was a beautiful and memorable experience! Was it worth roughly $35 - eh not really in my opinion. To each their own! Parking in downtown is always a pain, so be prepared. All metered or paid surface lots incase you didn't know.

Stopped in to peak around on our way through Idaho Springs, and hit the jackpot! Lilly at the front…read moredesk was incredibly kind and informative, you can tell how much she loves what she does, and this beautiful place. We left feeling overjoyed and with so many new fun facts! Truly one of the best parts of our trip. Thank you Lilly!!! You are awesome!!

We did a road trip, and this was one of the spots we stopped at. It's the first gold mining town…read morewhen the gold rush started. The town is so small, if you blinked you would miss it. It has a bunch of mom and poo stores. This trip we went into their local museum which was cool and gave you a bit of history about their town. We all loved it and bought some cute souvenirs. Overall, a cute quaint town. Will be back to ski!

Pound for pound, Georgetown is the best preserved and lived in mountain burg in Colorado…read more Only 45 miles west of Denver right off Interstate 70, it is the easiest to reach, and particularly for short term adventurers, the most picturesque village on the front range. Sure, there are more beautiful Victorian streets and homes deeper west, like Cripple Creek, Telluride, Ouray, Silverton and my favorite, Crested Butte, but all those require many more hours of driving and a lot more from your wallet. Georgetown offers a lot of what the others do, but without the long term commitment. I have used it as my first and last stop in the Rockies, on my way to skiing in winter and camping/hiking/mountain climbing in summer. It has sufficient hospitality for a comfortable room for a few nights, and enough decent restaurants and bars to keep your palate entertained and whistle wet. The former "Silver Queen of Colorado" still shows its boom or bust history with the Hotel de Paris at the end of Sixth Street, Loop Railroad to Silver Plume that has been a tourist attraction since 1890, and Guanella Pass over to the town of Grant. This is a beautiful drive any time of year that it is open (closed in winter due to weather conditions). The route passes through golden Aspen mountainsides, pine forests and goes above the tree line near its highest elevation. Two 14,000 footers, Mts. Evans and Beirstadt, stand guard nearby and make for healthy climbs in Spring and Summer. So, while Colorado may be the most spectacular state in the Union and deserves as much exploration as you can spare, the Georgetown area provides a smaller sample when you don't have time for more. With only a weekend you can leave totally infatuated with this town and its amazing surroundings.

Georgetown is the quintessential mountain town! Why you ask? Let's talk about it!!…read more It has plenty to offer year-round! Here's just a few ideas: Spring: Hit the trails in the nearby Mt Evans wilderness and check out some wildflowers in bloom! Craving to get a 14er under your belt? Well Mt. Bierstadt just happens to reside off Guanella Pass! Summer: Take a ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad! They offer a variety of packages and options for riders. Fall: Fall in Georgetown is a sight to see - after all it is the gateway to Guanella Pass; a popular fall leaf-peeping destination! Winter: In the winter ice fishers' take to the frozen waters of Georgetown Lake. They also hold ice races (think all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles skidding and sliding around) too! Not to mention a great variety of year round local businesses and rich history! It was established in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and many museums throughout the town offer up tours or speak to the rich history of the area! Yet the town has experienced a boom of new businesses seeking to make their fortunes in this picturesque town! Want to grab a quick drink? Cabin Creek Brewing and Guanella Pass Brewing Company have got you covered! Need a bite to eat? Having made my way to Lucha Cantina I can say that they are tasty AF and will quell your grumbling tummy. Plus so many more options! Def make sure you take the time to explore! Georgetown makes a great stop for the day or a mountain weekend!

Honestly, we didn't know what to expect from Meow Wolf. Nowadays, you hear about "immersion…read moreexperiences", and think about people getting scammed into attending events that amount to mostly empty convention halls with a few cardboard cut-outs and balloons. Meow Wolf is definitely not that. The price of admission might seem steep, but what we thought would be a couple of hours of wandering around and enjoying the art, turned into five and a half hours of following an actual plot and interacting with the surroundings. There is so much to see and so much to interact with. Art absolutely everywhere, and constantly more to discover, even in areas you've already been to. We did not come close to completing the story, so we'll have to come back and keep investigating. A drink at the bar was the perfect way to end our adventure. Overall a really neat place to visit, but definitely make a day of it!

I am so conflicted about this review but I want to leave one because Convergence Station was both…read moreone of the coolest things I've done in a long time, and something that could have been infinitely cooler if it was operating as intended. This was my first time at a Meow Wolf location, and as someone who is very into escape rooms, art, and unique experiences it feels like I absolutely am the target audience. On the surface, it is an extremely well designed interactive art experience that you can get lost in for hours. I absolutely loved this. When you look a bit deeper, it gets even cooler -- this interactive world has secrets and quests to uncover if you keep an eye out. However, this is where the problems started, because so many of these pieces were entirely non-functional. We had a QPass, which you can tap to terminals and other things to interact with the world and find lore and activities. This was paid, and while it was only $3, only about 60% of these tap features worked. There are also supposed to be a number of interactive quests in the space -- we uncovered the starting points and multiple steps of some, only to find parts were broken entirely and unable to be done. Finding and uncovering instructions on how to interact with a secret part of the world was thrilling, only to be incredibly disappointing when we rushed to the next stop to find it was broken and we wouldn't be able to complete it. We were in total only able to complete one quest (the pizza room) and would have done a second (the organ), but it was roped off as they were setting up for a nighttime event. Two phones in the station out of all the ones we tried worked, and they were so quiet you could barely hear anything. The convenience store, slime scanners, vending machine puzzle, panchinko machines, interactive computers, fossil room, and multiple QPass stations were all broken, only partially interactable, or frozen. We still spent hours at Meow Wolf, and it was an incredibly cool experience with weird and wonderful art. I had a fantastic time, but I almost wish I hadn't started to uncover the world and quests because then I wouldn't have known how busted so many of the features were. I would absolutely love to come back here if I knew these things would work, and I really hope they continue to invest in this space and do new and creative things. I wanted to love this, and I did, but it was also a bummer when I know how cool it really was supposed to be. I would still recommend it -- I would have given it 10 out of 5 stars but instead I'm sitting at like a 3.5 and I sincerely wish that wasn't the case.

What a cute little museum!!! Unexpected and uncrowded. A nice history Estes Park. There are plenty…read moreof exhibits and be sure to go outside to the cabin and other exhibits.

This was the cutest small museum about the history of the town Estes park in Colorado. It has 3…read morebuildings with history art and artifacts. Definitely worth a visit if you come. Maybe takes you 45 mins to and hour to complete. Not to long. You can get it done is less than 30 if you don't actually read anything and just look at what they have. But definitely take the time to read and watch some of the movies they have to offer. You will be surprised at some of it. I won't spoil it so go see for yourself. The town itself IS AMAZING!!!!

It's fine. It's something to do other than the hot springs and that matters in this town…read more For context, Hot Sulphur Springs is a tiny place that is somehow the county seat of Grand County. I presume this goes back to olden tymes when more was going on here. As of my visit, aside from the hot spring, options in this town were a single restaurant, a gas station that closed at 6 PM... and this museum. So if you want to learn a little about this town's past and what made it the county seat, you should check it out. It was a very short drive from the Hot Springs, one could walk if desired, and there is a parking lot, so that wasn't an issue. I also happened to be there on a free day, which was handy. However, admission is very affordable if you are there on a normal day - $8 adults / $7 seniors / $5 children (6-17) / under 5 is free as per https://grandcountyhistory.org. I'm not going to pretend that this was an exciting spot, but it was informative and it should not be overlooked as an option for visitors to the area.

Pioneer Village Museum is part of Grand County museums. Grand County operates a total of seven…read morelocal museums preserved over the century. Pioneer is neat cause the actual spot has a lot of history. The land and general main building started out as the county courthouse (1891-1902) and jail (1897-1937). From 1924-1942 the schoolhouse was built. Kinda funny how the jail was next to the schoolhouse. The exterior shows the original basic structure with updated technology. Aside from the local history, there are several homesteading themes on the grounds and millions of trails in the general vicinity for all your outdoor pleasures. Due east about one hour is the georgeous Grand Lake and Village. Two hours or so is the west entrance to the actual Rocky Mtn National Park (not to be confused withnthe Rocky Mtn Range). Lots of facilities in a 100 mile radius. Safe travelings.