Downtown Littleton | Littleton, CO visit our website Downtown Littleton is a place to experience a classic small town "Main Street" atmosphere within the larger Denver metropolitan area.  Accessible from downtown Denver by car, light rail or bike path, the historic downtown district includes buildings featuring a diverse array of architectural styles.  Numerous independent businesses, galleries and restaurants line Main Street and the adjoining side streets.

Oak Creek Tracks and Trails Museum| Oak Creek, CO 970-736-8245 | visit our website One hundred years ago, tiny Oak Creek, Colorado was attracting new residents from around the globe.  Immigrants from Poland, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Japan arrived in Oak Creek seeking work in the nearby coal mines.  Others founded new businesses in the quickly growing downtown commercial district.  In 1908, the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railroad reached Oak Creek and the town became a refueling stop for coal-hungry locomotives.   By 1915, some 2,000 people lived in Oak Creek, and more than 30 businesses operated in a collection of one and two-story masonry and wood-frame buildings.  Six of these businesses were saloons.

Trails of Gold | Victor, CO 719-689-2675 | visit our website The Trails of Gold is a series of hiking trails & interpretive sites through Victor's 1890s gold rush mining country. Located as a side trip off the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway, the trail passes by historic mines, mill sites, and railroad routes.  Although privately owned, many of these sites are open and accessible to the public.

Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway | Golden, CO visit our website The completion of the Lariat Trail in 1914 allowed early automobile travelers to escape the congestion of Denver and test their driving skills on a twisting mountain road that featured numerous hairpin turns and sharp drop-offs.  Today, drivers and bicyclists can experience the same thrills on the 40-mile Lariat Loop Trail, a designated Colorado Scenic & Historic Byway.  Numerous historic sites and structures are located along the route, including several museums open to the public.

Historic Fourth Street Corridor | Loveland, CO visit our website One of the hidden gems along Colorado's Front Range is downtown Loveland, where historic architecture, independent businesses and the arts come together to create a rich environment for visitors and residents alike.  The historic Fourth Street corridor between Railroad and Washington streets is filled with numerous historic buildings that tell the story of Loveland's development as a railroad and agricultural center.

Historic Downtown Salida | Salida, CO 719-539-4555 | visit our website Located adjacent to the scenic Arkansas River, Salida's downtown streets are lined with interesting historic structures and a variety of independently-owned galleries, bicycle shops, restaurants and other retail businesses. Founded as a railroad town, Salida is now evolving into a lively center for tourism, arts and recreation.Downtown Salida features one of the state's finest collections of turn-of-the-century commercial architecture and is a designated historic district.

The Leadville Historic Walking Tour and Heritage Museum | Leadville, CO visit our website In the late 19th century, Leadville was the richest mining district in the world. Leadville's mining history began in 1860 with the discovery of gold south of town. About 8,000 prospectors soon arrived, and during the next five years, unearthed more than $4 million worth of gold. Once the gold played out, most of the prospectors moved on. A few remained and discovered the area was also rich in silver and lead. Prospectors once again swarmed the town. By 1880, Leadville was home to more than 30,000 residents, along with stores, hotels, saloons, dance halls, gambling joints and brothels.

Town of Georgetown | Georgetown, CO 303-569-2555 | visit our website Founded in 1860, Georgetown grew to become one of the most important early mining settlements in the state.  Although gold brought the initial rush of settlers, it was silver that made the fortune of many Georgetown residents.  They built homes, churches, schools and commercial blocks using a range of late nineteenth-century architectural styles, from Greek Revival to Italianate and Second Empire.  The construction boom ended sharply after the silver crash of 1893.

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad | Antonito, CO 888-286-2737 | visit our website Hidden away in a little-known corner of the southern Rocky Mountains is a precious historic artifact of the American West that time forgot. Built in 1880 and little changed since, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is the finest and most spectacular example of steam era mountain railroading in North America. Its equipment, structures and vast landscape exist today as if frozen in the first half of the twentieth century.

City of Durango | Durango, CO 970-247-3500 | visit our website Nestled between red sandstone bluffs in the lush Animas River Valley, Durango, is blessed with natural beauty matched only by its colorful history. As miners flocked into Southwest Colorado in the 1870s, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company purchased land from homesteaders to establish Durango's charming downtown. With the quick mining money came grand hotels, fine Victorian buildings and even a 3 story "skyscraper," all of which still stand in Durango's historic district. Along Main Avenue, the big red trolley runs daily past the brick and stone buildings that still bear the names of the frontiersmen who built them.

Trinidad History Museum | Trinidad, CO 719-846-7217 | visit our website Explore the past and present of the American West at the Trinidad History Museum.  The museum features several attractions on one block of Trinidad's acclaimed historic district, "El Corazon de Trinidad."  Historic homes, local treasures, and lovely gardens make the Trinidad History Museum a great place to spend the day.  The Trinidad History Museum is a property of the Colorado Historical Society.

Westcliffe / Silver Cliff | Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, CO 719-783-9163 | visit our website Located in the Wet Mountain Valley between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the West and the Wet Mountains to the East, Westcliffe and Silver Cliff are hidden gems unknown to many Coloradoans.  The earliest settlers of European descent to enter the valley were Spanish gold seekers followed by Hispanic shepherds.

This project is paid for in part by a State Historical Fund grant
from the Colorado Historical Society.