Lookout Mountain: free observation deck and grave, then a Golden brewery

Start at the observation deck beside the museum. It looks out over the Rocky Mountain Front Range and the Great Plains, and both the deck and the gravesite are free. The grave sits 200 yards along a paved walk with a 20-foot climb, where William F. Cody and Louisa Cody are buried. The museum is the only paid part: $5 for adults, $4 at 65 and over, $1 for ages 6 to 17, free for 5 and under. From November 1 to May 18 it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed Mondays plus Thanksgiving, the Friday after, Christmas and New Year's Day. The deck and the grave cost nothing; park gates lock an hour after sunset.

Golden City Brewery opened in 1993 in the machine shop behind a house a few blocks from the Colorado School of Mines. The carriage house is the taproom now and the backyard is the beer garden, with a food truck parked alongside. Doors open at 11:00 AM every day. The site lists summer last-call times only, so check the day's hours before a late stop, and no reservations are taken. Red Ale has poured since the first year, and house root beer is on the list for anyone skipping the beer. Seating is outdoors, and in winter how much of the garden is open depends on the weather.

There is no public transit to the summit, and a rideshare back down can take a while, so come by car. From Denver, I-70 west to exit 256 and about four miles up Lookout Mountain Road; parking at the museum is free. Allow an hour for the museum and 20 minutes for the deck and the grave, then take Lookout Mountain Road and 19th Street down into Golden. Two stops, one tank of gas. Snow and ice can sit on the mountain road in winter, the park gates lock an hour after sunset, between 5:40 and 6:00 PM in November, and whoever drives skips the second beer. Official info: Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave, buffalobill.org (checked 10/30).