If you know me, you know I love to travel! I love big and small trips! There is so much to explore close by where we live! It has been such a long time since I visited the Denver area, and it was time to get back and take a little three-day excursion to visit Golden, Colorado. Golden is located about an hour away from the Denver International Airport, 30 minutes outside of Denver, and an hour and a half to the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park.
We stayed at the cutest place; The Dove Inn is a recently renovated 1866 Victorian Mansion. The details inside were soooo amazing! They restored it wonderfully! The Dove Inn is a mix between a Bed & Breakfast and a Hotel. The service happened behind the scenes; we had self-check-in and checkout; the continental breakfast was ready to grab when we woke up. We had excellent service even though we hardly saw anyone during our stay! The breakfast came from local companies and one of my favorites, Noosa yogurt! The delicious pastries are provided by Cafe 13, just down the street! It was the perfect amount for a fresh start to the day! We stayed in the Castle Rock Studio room, and this room would be perfect if you were traveling with a large group. Equipped with a full-size kitchen and the Murphy bed folded right up and opened the space for larger gatherings!
When we travel, I love to find fun new restaurants and Golden, Colorado has so many options to choose from on the historic main street. The Dove Inn is in the perfect location to walk to any of them. We ate at the Thai Gold, Abejas, and The Sherpa House. Our favorite was Abejas, the modern farm to table menu was so unique. The local trout and steak had accompaniments of a fresh twist on puréed vegetables and tasty grains.
We enjoy walking around downtown Golden. We are suckers for outdoor gear shops, and I am surprised neither of us came home with a new jacket! There are so many fun shops to peruse!
When we first decided to go to Golden, I knew I wanted to try and get some time in Rocky Mountain National Park. I enjoy the mountains, and I love being able to check off another National Park on my list. From The Dove Inn to the entrance of the park, it took us an hour and a half to get there. The drive is so scenic once you enter the mountains. We traveled in January, and we were expecting a lot more snow; I guess when you live in Logan and always have snow in the winter, you assume that the mountain towns are going to have the same amount of snow. We rented snowshoes in Golden just in case we needed them, but the snow was packed down enough in the areas that we hiked that we didn’t use them. Next time I will bring some spikes for my boots. We drove up to Bear Lake and walked around it and then hiked up to Nymph Lake. They were easy hikes and very passable in the winter; the views were so spectacular. We only had an afternoon, so we only got to two of the lakes. There were so many other trails I would have loved to explore. After we drove around and chased the last bits of light and viewed the breathtaking scenery.
This year I feel like I missed the holidays, I took on a lot of photoshoots while everyone’s families were in town. Once the New Year hit, I felt like I didn’t get to relax and celebrate. When the opportunity came up to travel to The Dove Inn, the getaway was definitely needed! Everything about the place was so relaxing, we were able to come and go as we liked. The bed and bedding were so comfortable, we didn’t want to leave! They did such a fantastic job on all of the details, it made for a beautiful weekend! Now I am ready to tackle 2020, thanks for the lovely stay, Dove Inn!
