Golden, CO to Idaho Springs, CO on US Route 6

Golden, CO to Idaho Springs, CO

 22 miles

The 19 miles of US Route 6 between Golden, CO and Idaho Springs has got to be one of the most stunning stretches of the highway in the country.  Why anyone would want to skirt this drive on I70, which takes you up and over the mountain rather than within the canyon is beyond me.

Route 6 (Clear Creek Canyon Drive)
Between Golden, CO and Idaho Springs, CO

This area of the country is all about the scenery.  I can tell you about attractions and shops, but the main attraction is rock, river, trees and sky in ever unfolding manifestations.  Sometimes, I'd find myself catching my breath at the wall of evergreens coming at me at 50MPH.  Other times, I'd sigh at the white-water creek coursing alongside the car.  It was overwhelming, geologically speaking.

This part of Colorado is teeming with tourists – a very different Route 6 than it’s been since the larger cities to the East. (Q: How do you know you're in a tourist town? A: Everyone walks around with ice-cream cones).  I’ve been happy in small towns with intimate museums and precious B&B’s.  Here, the crowds are out, and it’s no different in Clear Creek Canyon, where most of the bikers, rock climbers and passenger car gawkers have no clue – nor do they care- that this is the Grand Army of the Republic Highway nearly transcontinental Route 6. 

Much of Route 6 pairs with 70 through its 424 miles in Colorado, with several exceptions.  Clear Creek Canyon is one of them.  Back onto I70W here, though, there is no sign indicating that 6 and 70 are one and the same. They are.  It’s only three miles to Idaho Springs from the Route 6 merge. Leave the interstate at the first Idaho Springs Exit,  head to the the middle of this small mining town and stop at the Visitor’s Center and History Museum.  You’ll learn that since 1859, Colorado mines produced more than 45 million ounces of gold (among a few other factoids).  So, we’re here in gold and silver mining country.  What should we do?  Go to a real precious metals mine.

Alvin Mosch, owner
Phoenix Gold Mine
Idaho Springs, CO

Jeff at the Jackhammer
Phoenix Gold Mine
Idaho Springs, CO

Inside Phoenix Gold Mine
Idaho Springs, CO

Bob Smith, Tourgide
Phoenix Gold Mine
Idaho Springs, CO

Skip the commercial, take-your-money tourist trap that is Argo Mines (you can’t miss it – location and signage blare even from I70), and head a bit out of town and a mile up a dirt road to the real deal: Phoenix Gold Mine.  You don a hard-hat and follow small rail car tracks right into what was up till the 1940’s a functioning gold, silver and copper mine.   Guides can be a bit long-winded and incorrect with dates,  but there’s no denying that the work was deadly, arduous and potentially led to riches, and you hear all about it.  You see the “healing room” where miners were taken when injured, the old hand-operated chisels used to make holes for dynamite, a jackhammer, rock-breakers, and of course, the reason you came.  The glittery veins of rock right beneath your hands, left there when it was more expensive to extract the gold than the stuff was worth.  Sure, run your fingers over it, but don’t pluck anything out.  A sign warns, “Theft of high-grade ore is punishable by 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.  Take pictures only.”  When you exit the mine, be sure to say hi to the mine’s owner, Alvin Mosch son of Hans Mosch who worked in the Argo Mine and was the super-miner of his day.  Han’s epitaph reads, “A Man To Match G-d’s Mountain.”  Al was a uranium miner after his stint in the Navy, and came to this “tourist” mine quite by accident.  He purchased it as a working silver mine and now attracts tourists from all over the world.

Eat: Mangia – order the “Mangia Salad” – a fresh assemblage of baby greens, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and pistachios.  Food is good and there’s live music on weekend nights.

Firepit by the Creek
Baxters B&B
Idaho Springs, CO

Room at Baxters B&B
Idaho Springs, CO

View from Fire Pit
Baxters B&B
Idaho Springs, CO

Linda Wendling, Owner
Baxters B&B
Idaho Springs, CO

Stay: At Baxter’s B&B you will discover your own private (or semi-private – it is a B&B after all) HEAVEN.  Set on a busy road, I had to admit I experience some apprehension when we pulled into the small parking area and began walking towards the front door.  Within a split second, I was swept away, figuratively, by the roaring creek that bisects an intimate patio and lounging area.  I dreamed of having a glass of wine in front of the creekside fire pit.  Baxter B&B is a fine, casually elegant place, designed by owner Linda Wendling, a former Interior Decorator. In the morning, Linda cooks and serves a three course candlelit gourmet breakfast on one china-set table.  It promotes discussions among the guests, many who are athletes (the B&B is on the road to Mt. Evans and consequently many runners and bicyclists reserve rooms), rafters, retired couples and “lots of accomplished and interesting people,” Linda said.  True to promise, we made some friends (Mike and Caroline Theiss-Aird) over a couple of bottles of wine while hanging out at the creekside fire pit.  Heaven on earth.