Highlights

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• Customizable Comps
• Net Rates
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available

Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs.  Just let us know!

Itinerary

Day 1 – Welcome to Denver

Arrive today in Denver, Colorado, where you enjoy a three-night stay at a local hotel.  Dinner is included this evening at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 2 – Denver City Tour – Free Time Larimer Square – Denver Art Museum – Wynkoop Brewing Co. Tour & Tasting & Dinner

After breakfast at the hotel, meet your local guide for a Denver City Tour.  Not only will you see the highlights of the Mile High City, will learn about Denver’s Old West Roots. Denver began as a rough-and-tumble gold rush camp in 1858 during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. Driven by prospectors, gamblers, and outlaws along the South Platte River, it quickly transformed from a collection of tent camps into the primary supply hub for mountain mining towns.

This tour will include Larimer Square & Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver’s oldest block, featuring 19th-century Victorian brick buildings and historic sites like Rockmount Ranchwear (inventor of the snap-button cowboy shirt).  The area is also anchored by Union Station and Coors Field. This is one of Denver’s top nightlife and eating neighborhoods filled with hip restaurants, sports bars, rooftop cafes and more. Enjoy free time for lunch and shopping on your own here.

This afternoon, visit the Denver Art Museum.  The museum has an extensive collection of works by Western masters such as George Catlin, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, John Mix Stanley, Alfred Jacob Miller, and others. The crown jewel in the institute’s collection is Long Jakes, “The Rocky Mountain Man” by Charles Deas. It is the single most influential image in Rocky Mountain iconography. There is also a famous collection of Native American art to explore.

End the day at Wynkoop Brewing Co.  Start with a tour of the Brewery, which has been a pioneer on the American beer landscape since opening in 1988. Wynkoop was the first brewpub in historic downtown Denver since Prohibition. The Brewery makes hand craft porters, meads and cask-conditioned beers and other current craft beer fixtures that beer lovers had never tasted before. Now is your chance to see behind the scenes and sample Wynkoop beers along the way!  Following the tour, enjoy a hearty dinner at the Brewery. (B, D)

Day 3 – Georgetown Loop Railroad – Idaho Springs, CO – Mighty Argo Cable Car – Argo Mill Tour – Gold Panning – Dinner at Buckhorn Exchange

Today, follow in the footsteps of Colorado’s gold seekers. Start the day in Georgetown for a ride aboard the Georgetown Loop Railroad, climbing through the Rockies on one of Colorado’s most famous historic narrow-gauge railroads. This classic experience features breathtaking mountain views, historic bridges, and engaging narration that brings Colorado’s mining and railroad history to life.

Then head to Idaho Springs, CO, the site of the first major 1859 gold discovery that sparked the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush.  Enjoy lunch today at Tommyknocker’s Brewery. For more than 25 years, Tommyknocker Brewery has been passionately crafting award winning ales and lagers and has been awarded over 100 medals from a multitude of local, national, and international competitions.

The afternoon continues with Colorado’s Newest Mountaintop Experience – the Mighty Argo Cable Car to the top of Mount McClellan. Glide over Clear Creek Canyon with views that stretch to the Continental Divide. Ride in a brand-new, state-of-the-art Doppelmayr cabin that climbs a full mile from historic Idaho Springs to Miners Point, 1,300 feet above town.

Then tour the Argo Mill and Tunnel and experience the wonder of ingenuity, technology, and entrepreneurial spirit of a premier Colorado Gold Country attraction. Rising more than 110 feet, the Argo Mill is a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in its heyday, it processed over $100 million in gold ore (roughly $2.6 trillion in 2020 dollars).

Following the Mill tour, test your luck and do a little panning for gold. You will receive an ore sample containing real placer gold — and yes, you keep what you find! Learn the techniques that prospectors use. You would also be surprised to learn that a variety of gemstones can also be found while gold panning in Colorado.

Return to Denver for the evening where dinner is included at Denver’s oldest restaurant and saloon, The Buckhorn Exchange. This National Historic Landmark and Western Museum has been serving the finest in Old West fare since 1893. (B, L, D)

Day 4 – Royal Gorge Route Railroad w/lunch – Royal Gorge Bridge & Park – Colorado Springs

This morning depart Denver for Canon City, CO.  Here you climb aboard the Royal Gorge Route Railroad for a scenic excursion through the spectacular Royal Gorge. Since 1879, these tracks have followed the winding, tumbling Arkansas River deep within the soaring, 1,000-foot granite cliffs of Colorado’s Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge Route is a quality, Colorado attraction – no thrill rides or cotton candy – just rugged scenery.  Lunch will be included on the train today.

The afternoon features a visit to the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, often called the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River. The Royal Gorge Bridge is one of the world’s tallest suspension bridges, a sight so incredible that a park for tourists has grown around it. You can also ride the aerial gondolas, walk across the Bridge, shop for souvenirs and enjoy breathtaking views of the Royal Gorge.

End the day by traveling to Colorado Springs where towering red rock formations and Colorado’s frontier heritage come together. Enjoy a two-night stay at a local hotel.  Dinner is included this evening at a local restaurant. (B, L ,D)

Day 5 – Garden of the Gods – Historic Old Colorado City – Ghost Town Museum –– Flying W Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner & Western Show

After breakfast, begin the day with a visit to the breathtaking Garden of the Gods, where massive sandstone monoliths have watched over travelers since long before the days of cowboys and gold miners.  At Garden of the Gods, learn about the park’s geology and experience Native-American culture. There will also be ample time to explore the Garden of the Gods Trading Post.

Then enjoy free time and lunch on your own in Old Colorado City, a historic 19th-century district. Take a stroll in Old Colorado City and enjoy shopping, fine dining, sidewalk and patio cafés, boutiques, galleries, jewelry, a variety of seasonal events and activities, antiques, sweets and treats, collectibles, home decor and more!

This afternoon, step back into the 1890s at the Ghost Town Museum, an authentic recreation of a Colorado mining town. Wander along wooden boardwalks lined with original frontier buildings, explore a blacksmith shop, general store, saloon, and livery stable, and discover artifacts from Colorado’s mining boom. You can even try your hand at an old-fashioned shooting gallery or gold panning, making this a fun and interactive glimpse into life in the Old West.

This evening, enjoy an authentic Western experience at the Flying W Ranch. Savor a hearty chuckwagon dinner before the legendary Flying W Wranglers take the stage for an entertaining evening of cowboy music, humor, and Western traditions. (B,D)

Day 6 – Depart for Home

After breakfast, depart for home. (B)

Tour Map