During our recent motorcycle trip through the Colorado Rockies we spent some time in the Georgetown / Idaho Springs area, biking through the mountains and exploring the old mining towns.

In addition to mapping out our motorcycling route, Brian found us fun activities along the way, including a morning ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad and a tour of one of the formerly active silver mines in the area.

Completed in 1884, the Georgetown Loop Railroad was designed to transport both freight and passengers. In its heyday, there were seven trains a day running from Denver to Georgetown and then on to Silver Plume via the narrow-gauge railroad.

Today, you can take the steam train on a roundtrip between Devil’s Gate station in Georgetown (elevation 8,615 feet) and Silver Plume station in Silver Plume (elevation 9,178 feet) via a variety of bridges and river crossings, and steep climbs and hairpin curves through the wooded mountains.

We caught the train in Georgetown after picking up the physical tickets for our timed reservation in the ticket office/general store. The train was packed full of people sitting in the mostly open-air cars, everyone vying for good views as we backed down the track and then slowly started to build speed as we climbed up to the soaring Devil’s Gate bridge over Clear Creek.

The steam engine was working hard throughout our trip, and we enjoying sitting away from the engine so we had great views of it pulling us along when we went around the numerous bends.

The area is beautiful and the air smelled like pine as we crisscrossed the river, pointing out the busy rapids thanks to the early summer snow melt. White water rafting is popular in this area, and we agreed on the spot we would come back and spend some time on the river!

When we arrived at Silver Plume, we had the option of getting off and walking around for about 15 minutes or keeping our seats for the return journey. We decided to step off and Brian checked out the small museum while I hit the restroom and gift shop.

While it was a nice opportunity to briefly stretch our legs, the real reason for the stop was for the railroad crew to refill the steam train with water for our return trip!

It’s a toss up as to which station is the better parking/starting point for the loop. I’m not sure there is much to Silver Plume itself while Georgetown has a historic downtown with a few shops, restaurants and breweries that we explored, ultimately making it the right choice for us.

Brian added on the extended silver mine experience to our tour, which we accessed during the return trip. Part of the way back to Georgetown the train stopped at a small platform in the woods and those of us with the appropriate wristbands were able to deboard for the the mine activities we selected.

One option was to pan for gold and take a brief tour of one of the mines while the other option (which we selected) was to explore 1,000 feet into Leavenworth Mountain via the once-operational Lebanon silver mine tunnel, which was bored in the 1870s.

We pulled on the fleece sweatshirts we brought (the mine stays 44 degrees F year-round), grabbed a hard hat and flashlight, and followed our guide into the tunnel.

We have done other cave tours before but I think this was my first silver mine. I enjoyed learning more about the years the mine was active as well as the residual silver in the mine today.

They shared gruesome stories about the miners’ working conditions, brought to life by many of the artifacts the company left behind when they discontinued mining these tunnels years ago. Many of the items were ones I expected to see given my general understanding of how mining works, but I was surprised by the story of the ‘hobnail’ boot print pictured below.

Because of the standing water in the mine (still there but thankfully running in a small stream alongside the area we were traversing – most of the time) and the slick rock, many of the miners would push nails through the soles of their shoes for added traction. They’ve been able to preserve one of two calcified boot prints marking this practice that were discovered along the tunnel we followed into the mountain.

The tour was interesting and went by quickly. Sooner than I expected, we were climbing the hill back up to the small train platform and waiting for the next one going by to stop and carry us back to Georgetown to complete our experience.

Note: As someone who is consumed with understanding available amenities, I’d like to mention that there are restrooms at both stations and at the silver mine entrance. There are no amenities on the train itself.

We stayed one night in Georgetown and walked from one end to see Georgetown Lake (gorgeous) and Cabin Creek Brewing (beer and food just ok, service terrible) before heading to the other end to visit the historic downtown and check out the more established Guanella Pass Brewing Company and Cantina (beer and chips + guacamole both great). The bonus at Guanella Pass Brewery was meeting the resident Bernese Mountain dog who holds down the bar. We love any excuse for a fur baby fix!

I always love time in the mountains and our time in Georgetown was no exception! I have a feeling we’ll be back for some white water activities in the near future and look forward to exploring other activities in this section of the Colorado Rockies.