History

Military

Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs) — free visitor center and tour stops

Dragonmans Military Museum (Colorado Springs) — personal collection of a guy with an obsession for collecting

Fort Garland Museum (Fort Garland) — army fort from 1800s, probably not worth a special trip, but interesting if you’re in the area

National Museum of World War II Aviation (Colorado Springs) — restored planes and exhibits on aviation during the war

Peterson Air and Space Museum (Colorado Springs)

Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum (Pueblo)

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (Eads)

 Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (Denver) — decent volunteer-run museum with several aircraft on display

Mining and Industry

Argo Mill & Tunnel (Idaho Springs) — tour of a gold mine

Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum (Golden) — more geology than history, with many interesting gems and minerals

Georgetown Loop Railroad (Georgetown) — Steam engine ride on old narrow-gauge tracks through a mountain pass.

Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour (Cripple Creek) — Interesting tour of a mine 1,000 feet below ground level.

Steelworks Center of the West (Pueblo) — small museum about the local steel industry

Vindicator Valley Trail (Goldfield) — trail past ruins of several gold mines

Western Museum of Mining and Industry (Colorado Springs) — exhibits on mining in the American West with a lot of working machinery

Money

Money Museum (Colorado Springs) — exhibits on the history of money and samples of U.S. gold coins.

United States Mint (Denver) — free tours on weekdays

Old Houses

McAllister House Museum (Colorado Springs) — first permanent house in Colorado Springs.

Miramont Castle (Manitou Springs) — tours of an old mansion

Molly Brown House Museum (Denver) — home of millionaire activist and Titanic survivor Margaret Brown

Transportation

Colorado Railroad Museum (Golden) — decent size collection of railroad equipment and a model train layout

Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow-Gauge Railroad (Cripple Creek) — short trip behind an old steam engine past old gold mines

Cussler Museum (Arvada) — antique cars from Clive Cussler’s private collection

Dougherty Museum (Longmont) — interesting collection of antique vehicles and farm machinery

Dr. Lester L. Williams Fire Museum (Colorado Springs) — museum of fire fighting in Colorado Springs

Forney Museum of Transportation (Denver) — interesting collection of cars, train cars, bicycles, and motorcycles.

Penrose Heritage Museum at the Broadmoor (Colorado Springs) — carriages and an exhibit on the Pikes Peak Hill Climb race

Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation (Colorado Springs) — history and restoration of trolleys and train cars

The West

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site (La Junta) — old trading post on the Santa Fe Trail

Buffalo Bill Grave and Museum (Golden) — small but interesting museum

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (Colorado Springs) — local history and a 1903 elevator that you can operate

Cripple Creek District Museum (Cripple Creek) — history of Cripple Creek, the railroads, and the gold mines

Cripple Creek Heritage Center (Cripple Creek) — free museum with displays on local history

Cripple Creek Jail Museum (Cripple Creek) — jail building in use for 90 years

El Pueblo History Museum (Pueblo) — tiny museum with a one-sided perspective of history

Fort Vasquez (Platteville) — rebuilt adobe walls of an old fur trading fort with a small museum

History Colorado Museum (Denver) — nicely arranged but shallow

Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings (Manitou Springs) — reproductions of Native American cliff houses

Museum of Colorado Prisons (Cañon City) — located next to an operating prison

St. Elmo — ghost town near Buena Vista