Carved into the mountains along busy Interstate 70, Idaho Springs offers a mix of mining history and modern pleasures. Accessible Indian Springs Resort, a hot springs/spa/hotel, is a soothing stop for skiers returning to Denver. Walt Whitman and Teddy Roosevelt bathed here, but long after Indians first discovered its refreshing waters.
Three major mine tours leave right from Idaho Springs. The reopened Phoenix Mine gives a thorough story-filled tour into an actual working hard-rock mine. A drive up Fall River Road and the half-mile hike to stunning St. Marys Glacier is a worthy summertime trek, or test your nerves on dirt Oh My God Road (yes, thats its real name), which twists by sheer drop-offs and past old mines on the back route to gambling spots Black Hawk and Central City.
