GOLDEN —While Interstate 70 and U.S. 285 clog with mountain traffic each weekend, there’s a gateway that leads from Golden to mountain cabins, camping, backcountry trails and panoramic views. And, without traffic, it’s just under an hour away from Denver.
“That’s the thing that blows me away, is that we live so close to here and yet we’ll go to Rocky Mountain or we’ll go to Fort Collins and back to Red Feather and we’ll forget that we have this,” said Mary Rianoshek, a Boulder resident who last week . “I think it is a well-kept secret.”
Rianoshek said she and her husband decided to take out-of-town guests to the park by way of Golden Gate Canyon for its scenic drive that was still full of fall color.
The 12,000-acre state park is just 14 miles up Golden Gate Canyon Road from Golden off Colorado 93. Its visitor center has a Golden address, despite being just across the Gilpin County line. Less than half of the park is in Jefferson County, which is the part that allows hunting, and also the portion that borders Ralston Creek State Wildlife Area.
Golden Gate Canyon State Park sees more than 700,000 visitors annually, enough to keep its campsites and cabins booked through the summer, said Megan Barton, manager of Golden Gate State Park’s visitor center.
“My favorite part is that I just like the proximity,” she said. “You can drive just 30 minutes and be in the mountains.”
But what makes Golden Gate ultimately unique, Barton said, is that it is the only state park where visitors can find the full spectrum of accommodations: tent and backcountry camping, recreational vehicle camping, cabins, ) and even a guest house — the four-bedroom Harmsen Guest Ranch.
The ranch was donated to Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 1977 by the . It has two bathrooms, a full kitchen, horse stables and two sites for recreational vehicles.
The ranch house is not necessarily historic, but there are plenty of sites within Golden Gate Canyon State Park that are. A brochure outlines old cabins located within the park that were built by the area’s early miners, homesteaders and pioneers.
Harmsen Ranch is close to the park’s most popular attraction: Panorama Point. With a large deck that faces west to a wide panorama of Rocky Mountain peaks, it’s a popular spot for everything from picnics to weddings, said Jennifer Churchill, spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s northeast region.
“Golden Gate is a close-to-home mountain camping experience,” she said. “It has those nice, rolling hills that give you those beautiful mountain views.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JosieKlemaier
