When it comes to requests from out-of-town visitors to Denver the top of the list is always, “to see the mountains.” The trick is that seeing the mountains can mean a lot of different things. Catch the top of the right building, or the top of the right hill, and you can see the mountains in all of their Rocky Mountain range glory stretched on the horizon from left to right. While a full panoramic horizon view is beautiful it may not fulfil all of the “seeing the mountains” desire.
Head in a little closer to the actual mountains and there again is another way to see the mountains. Drive West on Highway 36 and you get a beautiful view of Boulder, the University of Colorado campus, and yes, the mountains, this time mostly obscured by what us locals would call the foothills. (The three large rock formations are called the Flatirons. It sounds better once you’ve heard it a hundred times.)
Historic Colorado Train Ride Georgetown
If you want to really satisfy that desire, one of the best ways to see the mountains is on the Georgetown Loop train ride. If you plan ahead a bit, you want to get your tickets online. It is always a letdown to find out that the train is sold out for your planned trip, or even sold out for the entire day.
The train begins in Georgetown. To get to Georgetown you drive west on I-70 getting closer and closer to the mountains until all there is are mountains on each side of the road as you drive up an increasing incline. With each turn, you get further and further into the mountains until everything is up. Chances are you might want a little more zing on your mountain visit.
The Georgetown Train Loop is actually the Georgetown Train back and forth but let’s not split hairs. The train runs from the western edge of Georgetown up some suspicious track along the mountainous hills, the canyon below, and the piece de resistance, across an absurdly high bridge named Devil’s Gate Bridge. The train cars are windowless so you can gawk out the window as much as you like. If you decide to take photos, or film, by holding your device out the window, hold on tight. Finding your gadget once dropped is unlikely. It working after it is dropped is more unlikely.
The train travels up to Silver Plume, a smaller town than the tiny Georgetown you came through to get on the train in the first place. Getting off the train, however, is not part of the standard ride. Instead, you relax as they prepare the train to go back down to Georgetown. There is no loop. They just get the engine ready, and you go back the way you came. But don’t worry, the ride is worth it for the ride and views. Getting somewhere is not the point.
Georgetown Loop Special Events
The Georgetown Loop train puts on some special events depending upon the time of year. They do a really fun Christmas service complete with food and a Santa, and of course, lights. They also do a Pumpkinfest in autumn.
Georgetown Loop Train Mine Tour
If you have the time, I’d recommend the mine tour. It is a separate ticket. You get off the train in the middle of the ride. Don’t worry, you get back on the train in the same place and take the whole ride. You just take a little detour.
Georgetown and Silver Plume were thriving mining towns just a few miles apart. Mining is one of those rare things that generates so much money that spending a ton of money on something like a train that gains 600 feet in elevation over just two miles while crossing back and forth across the river a normal expenditure. The mine tour is of one of the abandoned silver mines. You get a hard hat (if you are a fellow member of the 6’+ tribe, you’ll be glad you have the helmet more than once or twice) and follow a guide down into the mine. After the tour, you get right back on the train.
Georgetown Visit
Georgetown is a small mountain town that is more a place where people live than a charming tourist destination. Still, there are a few blocks of old town and there are some fun places to eat and drink along the way. There is also a candy shop (fudge!) and a toy store that are fun to visit. There is a great rest stop area in the middle of the main roundabout that handles traffic to and from the interstate. Just grab a parking spot and you’ll find comfortable bathrooms, a couple of vending machines and a little shop.
Colorado Historical Society
The Georgetown Loop train is run by the Colorado Historical Society, so if you want any sort of media or behind-the-scenes tour they are the ones to contact.
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