Local towns & communities celebrate their heritage with festivals and preservation projects to keep their local history alive. The mountains are filled with ghost towns, old gold mines, mining communities, narrow-gague railroad routes and artifacts, army forts, and historic sites of all kinds. The high plains to the east boast towns that played a part in settling the West, with many more army forts and sites of Indian battles and encampments.

• Bent's Fort, 1833 to 1849 (La Junta, Colorado)
• General William Jackson Palmer Founder of Colorado Springs and the D&RGR
• Gold Prospecting & The Reynolds Gang (South Park, Colorado)
• History and Heritage of Cache La Poudre and Ft.Collins
• Moffat County "Diamond Fields" Hoax (Northwest Colorado)
• Stephen Harriman Long
• The Gold Fields Of Colorado (Fairplay, Colorado)
• The Hanging of Daniel Arata (Denver, Colorado)
• The Richest Square Mile On Earth (Central City, Colorado)
• The Royal Gorge War (Canon City Colorado, Pueblo Colorado)
• The Sand Creek Massacre (Kiowa County, Colorado)
• Tom's Baby (Breckenridge, Colorado)
• Treasure Mountain (Gunnison, Colorado)
• William Scott Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• Zebulon Montgomery Pike

Grubstakers
Colorado Goldrush Store located in historic Central City, Colorado offers these tours, products, & services. Tours: creekside gold panning including historic mines, also available mineral digging tours, and tours of Central City & cemetaries. Products: 20-acre gold claims, gold panning kits. Services: gold panning lessons, GPS services & training.
The Historic Argo Gold Mine and Mill
Educational adventure tours and a museum. Come see 107 years of Colorado history…just 35 miles west of Denver via I-70 at Idaho Springs. Gold panning, frontier town, fun for the whole family!
Indian Springs Resort
Historic and world famous natural hot springs…indoor pool, private baths, geo-thermal caves, club mud, outdoor jacuzzi, spa services & packages, lodging, restaurant & lounge, and more! Open all year.
Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour
Underground guided tours and train ride in a real gold mine. See authentic mining demonstrations. Pan for gold and silver and keep what you find! No Reservations needed. Open Daily.
High Country Jeep Tours
Thrilling open-air jeep tours up to 13,000 feet elevation. Tour famous ghost towns, abandoned mines, waterfalls, lakes, and canyons. Knowledgeable guides give you history of the areas. Outstanding scenery, an absolute MUST-DO!
Focus Ranch
Focus has been a guest ranch since 1939 and is still a working cattle ranch from the 1890’s. Come enjoy an unusual vacation experience; cattle drives, private fishing, barnyard animals for the kids, and much more!
Historic Trinidad
Victorian Trinidad against the Colorado Rockies, loaded with history & heritage of early days on the Santa Fe Trail. Theatre, B&Bs, free trolley tours, galleries, concerts, festivals, museums, county fair & roundup; wilderness areas for camping, fishing, hiking, scenery, more.
Van Camp Cabins
Newly handcrafted authentic pioneer log cabins with hiking, fishing, rafting, hunting, x-c skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling minutes from your door with Steamboat only 30 miles away. Come relax in our hot tub and sauna.