Fun Outdoor Summer Activities in Golden, CO (For the Whole Family)

The owners of Golden Mountain Guides love living in Golden, CO. As Colorado natives and

Golden residents for over six years, they spend a lot of time playing and discovering fun things to do all year round. Summertime brings a plethora of activities, eliciting fun for the whole family! Here are eight fun, outdoor activities you and your whole family can try while in Golden!

1. Rock Climbing

Let’s just get the shameless promotion out of the way first. Yes, we may be biased, but rock climbing is a great way to play in the outdoors and the whole family can participate! Just outside the city, Clear Creek Canyon offers a variety of rock climbing routes for all abilities, overlooking the river below as it runs through the curvy canyon cliffs. Inside the city limits, you can also climb at North Table Mountain. This crag overlooks the city and with a short, steep hike, you’re under the cliffs ready to climb! Book a privately guided trip with Golden Mountain Guides.

2. Water Sports In Clear Creek (Kayaking, White Water Rafting, Tubing, SUPing)

Clear Creek spills through Golden and creates amazing views and offers a great place to stroll alongside on a cool summer evening. It also offers many different types of recreation like white water rafting, kayaking, tubing and SUPing. You can rent equipment, hire a guide or if you’re a skilled athlete at the sport, you can don your own equipment and take to the river.

Kayaking/SUPing: Need to rent equipment or want to take lessons? Check out Golden River Sports.

Tubing: There are also many different outfitters in Golden that rental tubes to float down the river. Try Adventure West River Tube Rentals.

Notes: Clear Creek can be VERY dangerous. Always wear a personal floatation device and pay attention to city warnings/closures when the water level is too high or too fast. Tubing is not suitable for toddlers or infants. There are inherent risks when participating in any water sport.

3. Hiking

There are 100’s of trails within a 20 mile radius of Golden, many within walking distance from downtown Golden. Some of our favorite are:

–South Table “castle rock” Trail – This hike is heavily used but is worth the steep (but short) hike to the top, overlooking the whole city.

–North Table Rim Trail: This trail circumnavigates North Table Mountain and offers beautiful views of Golden and Denver in the distance with a lot of cool rock formations and wildflowers.

–Mayhem Gulch and Juniper Loop (Centennial Cone) – During the spring, this hike has many wildflowers. Mayhem Gulch circles around to Juniper Loop Trail (a 4.7 mile loop) total. On the back side of this loop, you can also connect to Centennial which is a 15 mile loop for hiking and mountain biking.

4. Festivals

Golden has so many fun festivals all year round. During the summer, don’t miss these fun events:

–Buffalo Bill Days (complete with parade, live music, Buffalo Bill show, and more!)

–Golden Fine Arts Festival

–Chili Cook Off and Beer Festival (all your can eat chili and beer tastings!)

–Movies and Music in the Park

–Golden Farmer’s Market (Saturdays from June to the first week in October)

​5. Splash

Take the whole family to Golden’s outdoor swimming pool complete with slide, splash zone and even a giant sandbox for even the littlest of family members! Website.

6. Biking

There are plenty of places for all types of bikers. Mountain bikers will find many trails exclusively for them (Apex Park) and road bikers have a great selection of challenging roadways to bike (Lookout Mountain). For the more leisurely biker, you can rent bikes at the Golden Bike Shop and cruise through town, beside Clear Creek or maybe make your own biking tour of the local breweries and restaurants.

7. Enjoy the Patio Lifestyle Or Discover A Local Micro-Brewery

Coors isn’t the only beer in the game in Golden anymore! Now, there are eight micro-breweries offering amazing beers and great atmospheres for the whole family to enjoy. Parents can grab a brew (or two) while the kids sip on homemade root beers and play games. Many of the breweries have rotating food trucks so you can grab a bite to eat while chilling on the patio. Keeping with the outdoors theme, our favorite is New Terrain Brewing Company where their motto is “Alive is the pursuit of adventures unknown & territories unseen with an insatiable curiosity to explore hops, barely, water and yeast. The unbound journey exists for those who wander.” We also love Coda Brewery and their patio nestled in the residential district.

With a ton of great restaurants and breweries within the city, there comes a ton of great patios to relax with the whole family and grab a bite to eat. One of our favorites is the patio at the Bridgewater Grill, right alongside the river with views of Lookout Mountain.