· Red Rocks

Golden

Aliases: Lions Park, Crusher Fire Trail, Tony Grampsas Park, Colorado School of Mines campus, Mines Park

Famous for its breweries, the Colorado School of Mines, and its beautiful location, Golden is a town worth visiting for non-birding reasons alone. If you want to bird the northwestern metro area or nearby foothills, it also makes a good base offering all the typical amenities. For the ambitious, it’s possible to bike from Golden to the larger Denver-area bike trail system, allowing for a full day out while avoiding using a motor vehicle.

To the east along 10th Street, which winds past the Coors headquarters and becomes Denver’s 44th Avenue, is the Crusher Fire Trail, which follows the Church Ditch along the west side of Tony Grampsas Memorial Sports Complex. The trail is nicely wooded for most of its 1.3 mile length. Access is via a small trailhead on Easley road about half a mile north of 44th or by walking west from the parking lot in Tony Grampsas park. You can also get to this area by heading east along the bike trail that follows Clear Creek. The tree-filled School of Mines campus is sometimes worth a leisurely walk as well. You may want to check out Jefferson County Open Space’s website if you’d like to stop at one of the numerous parks they manage in this area.

County: Jefferson

Directions: Golden is along US 6, just north of the junction of I-70 and C-470.

Dates of Access: Open all year
Hours: Daylight hours
Ownership: Municipal/Private
Admission: Free

Restrictions: Respect adjacent private property

Parking: Varied
Lodging: Hotels in Golden; camping in nearby parks

Handicapped: Yes
Handicapped Access: ADA accessible facilities available

Latitude: 39.756939
Longitude: -105.223323

» Visit the website for Golden