Hertage Square and Amusement Park in Golden, Colorado

by Sandra East
(Denver)

My family recently visited Heritage Square and Amusement Park in Golden, Colorado for the first time. We have lived in Colorado for several years, but only recently heard of Heritage Square and we decided to give it a try on Mother's Day.

From the moment we drove under the sign, I had a feeling we were going to have a good time. We parked our car using their free parking lot and walked to the entrance, seeing their train on its circuit around the outside of the park as we entered.

My four year old daughter waved at it and got very excited about what we would find inside. I was relieved to see upon entering that the park appears to be very well maintained. It was rustic and some of the paths are dirt paths (so I wouldn't bring kiddos here in clothes you don't want to get dusty) but here was no trash littering the ground and the employees we spoke to were all very friendly and helpful.

I had researched their attractions and shops on their website (http://www.heritagesquare.info/) before we left home and we learned that there is no admission charge for the park, but you can either buy individual tickets to ride rides or buy a wristband that allows you to ride most of their rides as many times as you'd like that day.

We were only planning to spend a half day there and the main attraction we were interested in was the Alpine Slide, which is not included with the unlimited rides wristbands. Based on that, we decided to just buy individual tickets for the rides we wanted to ride instead of the wristbands.

Upon entering, we first went to the back of the park so my husband and daughter could ride down the mountain on their Alpine Slide, a cement track you can ride down on a plastic sled. We purchased tickets for a three ride package, $20 for my husband's pass and $9 for my daughter's. Children under 7 must ride in the same slide with an adult, so they rode the chair lift up to the top so they could ride back down together.

They had a great time on their first slide and they quickly went back for their second and third rides. Then we decided to get a look at their other rides. My daughter asked to ride their tea cups ride and another ride where you sit in a ride vehicle made to look like a balloon basket with a hot air balloon over it. We went to purchase tickets for those rides and discovered that an adult can accompany a child on many of their rides for free, which made the rides much more economical.

We bought the four tickets we needed to go on those two rides at a cost of $5. My daughter and I enjoyed both of those rides together. I noticed that both of the ride operators were careful to explain the safety guidelines. They were also both friendly and seemed to be enjoying their day.

Before we left, we stopped at one of the concession stands to buy some ice cream and french fries, found a table by the walkway, and sat down to eat and watch the people walk by. It was early in the season so the park wasn't very crowded, but it was fun to watch as the people who were out that day walked past on their way to the stores and the rides.

When we left, I think we all knew we would be back a few times while the park is open during the summer. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and didn't cost that much money, and it doesn't hurt that it is located close enough to Denver that it is easy for us and for any of our friends in the area who might want to drive out to join us to get to.