Explore Georgetown: six places in driving order

Georgetown is at I-70 exit 228, with its lake at the north end of town by the interstate and the Victorian blocks of 6th Street and Rose Street downtown. The Town’s visitor page calls it a National Historic Landmark District and points visitors to the Gateway Visitor Center for “A guide to Historic Sites in Georgetown, Colorado”, a book that works as a self-guided walking tour. The stops are spread across town, from the interstate exit to downtown, so this is a driving order, with the downtown stops on foot.

01 · Georgetown Gateway Visitor Center

The Gateway Visitor Center at 1491 Argentine Street is the first right before the traffic circle as you come off the interstate. The Georgetown Trust, which runs it, gives the gift shop and information center as 9 am–5 pm daily and the restrooms as 6 am–10 pm daily, with CDOT traffic monitors, travel information, a picnic area and a dog walk outside. Overnight parking is not permitted. Pick up the historic-sites book here.

Getting there: from exit 228, the first right before the traffic circle. Best for: restrooms, the walking-tour book and a look at the road conditions before you go further.

02 · Georgetown Loop Railroad, Devil’s Gate Depot

The Georgetown Loop Railroad runs between its Devil’s Gate Depot at 646 Loop Drive, in Georgetown, and its depot in Silver Plume, one exit west; you ride to the far end and back to the station you boarded at. The railroad’s FAQ says the ride takes about an hour and a quarter in the main season and about 55 minutes from mid-October through early January, that steam generally runs from Memorial Day weekend through early October with diesel the rest of the time, and that the Silver Plume station is open only from late May through mid-October. Tickets are not mailed or emailed: collect them at the depot 30 minutes before departure. There are restrooms at both stations and none on the train, and pets other than service animals are not allowed. The pages read give no departure times or prices; the railroad’s online calendar has them, and its number is 888-456-6777.

Getting there: take the first right at the traffic circle onto Argentine Street, keep right at the fork, and the road ends at the depot. Best for: the centerpiece of the day, booked ahead.

03 · Downtown: Mountain Mamas’ or 511 Rose

Two kitchens on foot in the downtown blocks. Mountain Mamas’ Needful Things at 415 Rose Street is a café with an espresso bar, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, soups and sandwiches, and its own jams and freeze-dried snacks to take home; it is open Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 am–8:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 7:30 am–10:30 pm and Sunday 7:30 am–4 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. 511 Rose, a saloon and restaurant at 511 Rose Street, serves lunch and dinner Thursday to Sunday 11 am–8 pm and Monday 11 am–3 pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, with live music on Thursday to Sunday evenings and no reservations.

Getting there: by car into town on Argentine Street, then on foot between the two. Best for: lunch and an hour downtown, Thursday to Sunday, when both are open.

04 · City Park

City Park at 1001 Taos Street, between Rose and Taos south of 10th Street, is the Town park its 2021 master plan calls one of the most heavily used in Georgetown: a gazebo in the middle, arched gateways, mature trees, picnic tables and grills, and Foster’s Place, the community-built playground. Neither the Town’s parks page nor the plan gives hours or rules.

Getting there: on foot or by car from downtown. Best for: a break for children between the train and the mine.

05 · Capital Prize Gold Mine Tours

Capital Prize Gold Mine Tours at 1016 Biddle Street takes visitors more than 1,000 feet into a gold mine its operator says is still worked, on level ground under a ceiling generally above six feet, in about an hour; afterward you can break ore and keep a piece. Adults are $30 and children 4 to 16 are $20. From September to June tours run by reservation on its booking calendar, and Mondays and Tuesdays may be restricted; in July and August they leave on the hour from 11 am to 3 pm. It is 49°F underground, so bring a jacket and wear closed-toe shoes.

Getting there: by car; buses and RVs must follow the operator’s written directions from exit 228 (11th Street across the bridge, then Main Street and 10½ Street, all dirt) rather than a phone map. Best for: an hour underground, reserved ahead outside the summer.

06 · Georgetown Lake and Cabin Creek Brewing

Georgetown Lake is the Town’s lake at the I-70 end of town. The Tom Bennhoff Lake Trail circles it in a loop of about two miles from an entrance and sign on the southeast side, just off 22nd Street; the Town’s visitor site calls it a wide, fairly flat gravel path. Fishing needs a Colorado license (not for children 16 and under), and only non-motorized boats are allowed. In winter, check the Town’s news page before going onto the ice. Cabin Creek Brewing at 577 22nd Street, by the lake, brews its own beer and serves food Sunday to Thursday 11:30 am–8 pm and Friday and Saturday 11:30 am–8:30 pm.

Getting there: by car to 22nd Street. Best for: a flat walk and an early dinner on any day of the week.

A simple first visit

1. Come off I-70 at exit 228 and stop at the Gateway Visitor Center for the restrooms and the historic-sites book.
2. Ride the Loop from the Devil’s Gate Depot, collecting your tickets 30 minutes before departure.
3. Lunch downtown at Mountain Mamas’ (Wednesday to Sunday) or 511 Rose (Thursday to Monday).
4. City Park with children, or the Capital Prize mine if you have booked it.
5. Walk the lake loop and eat at Cabin Creek, open every day from 11:30 am.

Getting here

Drive times are estimates for normal conditions and vary with traffic, weather and construction; check a live routing service before you set out. Capital Prize’s directions page puts Georgetown about 50 minutes from Denver at C-470, 90 minutes from Denver International Airport and 15 minutes from Idaho Springs, and says the I-70 Floyd Hill construction adds about 30 minutes coming up from Denver. The Georgetown Trust’s page describes that project as eight miles of I-70 from west of Evergreen to eastern Idaho Springs, and asks visitors to check COtrip for current road conditions in every season.

Guanella Pass, County Road 381, leaves from the south end of town and is a separate outing: the byway listing has the county’s winter closure, from after Thanksgiving to about Memorial Day, and its parking rules.

Accessibility: what we can confirm

The Georgetown Loop says its coach cars are wheelchair accessible if you tell the reservation agent, that parlor cars have limited wheelchair seating, that its Waldorf and Tahoe cars have none, and that groups with more than one wheelchair should call 303-569-0133. Its restrooms are at the stations, not on the train. Capital Prize’s mine has level ground and lighting, but the operator says wheelchairs and strollers are not suitable because of the ore-cart rails. The Gateway Visitor Center’s restrooms are open 6 am–10 pm daily.

Step-free entrances at Mountain Mamas’, 511 Rose and Cabin Creek, and the condition of the lake trail and of City Park’s paths, have not been confirmed and are not claimed here; contact a business directly before relying on it. Corrections and additions to this section are welcome and published with their date.