Taking a factory tour can be a great way to find out how your favorite products are made, as well as being a fascinating inexpensive, or even free way to spend an afternoon. These tours are some of the best you can take while you’re in the Rocky Mountain State.
Celestial Seasonings, Boulder
Celestial Seasonings is one of the world’s top tea brands, and it’s made right in Colorado. Located against the backdrop of Boulder’s stunning Flatirons, visitors can take a free tour to see how their favorite teas are made, packaged, and distributed across the globe. Guests learn the classic story of how a couple of hippies from Boulder turned their passion for herbs and spices into one of the largest specialty tea manufacturers in North America, as well as where each ingredient comes from and the chance to experience the amazing aroma of mint while standing in the popular Mint Room. At the end of the tour, there are free samples of tea to try and unique souvenirs for purchase in the gift shop. You can also browse the art gallery and dine in the onsite cafe that serves a delicious lunch, often using fresh, local ingredients.
Coors Brewery Tour, Golden
Take a tour of the world’s largest single-site brewery in Golden, and it’s not only free, but every adult gets three free beers as well. It’s hard to beat that, but exploring the site itself is truly fascinating, with the chance to experience the elaborate malting, brewing, and packaging process. It all begins with a shuttle bus ride through the historic town of Golden, and then visitors head off to take the self-paced 30-minute tour that includes a brief history of the business, the brewery process, and a stop at the “fresh beer room” to sip a cold sample while resting on ice-cube benches in a refrigerated room. In the end, you’ll enjoy more delicious beer samples in the Hospitality Lounge as well as have the chance to view historical beer cans, neon signs, old photos, and other memorabilia, and pick up a souvenir at the Coors gift shop.
Hammond's Candies, Denver
The Hammond’s Candies tour is really a must for anyone visiting Denver. Ideal for families with kids, and kids at heart, the candy-making process, and the samples, are a fun, entertaining, and tasty way to spend your time. The company has been supplying the Mile High City, and the entire world, with high-quality sweets for nearly a century, from chocolates and candy canes to lollipops and brittle, and you’ll get to see it made by hand. Hammond’s still makes hard candy the old-fashioned way, in small batches, hand-pulled, hand-twisted, and hand-shaped. You’ll not only leave with a newfound respect for the candy-making industry but lots of free samples.
Haystack Mountain Creamery, Longmont
Haystack Mountain Creamery is just a 45-minute drive from Denver, located in Longmont. It’s known for making some of the best goat cheese in the state. Visitors can experience its award-winning artisanal cheese-making process firsthand by taking the one-hour creamery tour, which also includes a guided five-course cheese tasting. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the creamery, an overview of the economic fundamentals of the artisan cheese business, and the chance to taste at least five of the dairy’s finest cheeses, spanning a variety of styles. This one isn’t free, you’ll have to pay $10 per person, but it’s definitely worth the small price.
Moots Cycles Factory Tour, Steamboat Springs
If you like bikes, Moots Cycles makes some of the best, and the facility is located in the incredibly scenic Rocky Mountain town of Steamboat Springs. The company constructs handcrafted, high-performance, titanium road, mountain, and cyclocross bicycle frames and offers complimentary, one-hour tours. You’ll start in the showroom, which displays Moots latest wares in road, cross and mountain bikes, before seeing production firsthand to learn just how these high-quality bikes are made and meet the crew who makes them.
U.S. Mint, Denver
The United States Mint offers free tours in Denver, allowing visitors to learn about the history of the money-making process, and how it’s made today, including the craftsmanship at all stages of the minting process, from the original designs and sculptures to the actual striking of the coins. Admire all the tools that have been used to make thousands and thousands of coins over the years, and check out America’s second-largest deposit of solid-gold bullion, after Fort Knox in Kentucky.
Honeyville, Durango
Durango is worthy of a visit on its own, as a gorgeous town in the San Juan Mountains with plenty of things to do for everyone, from history buffs to outdoor adventurers. Along with viewing those magnificent historic buildings, riding the steam train to Silverton, and hiking the trails, you should be sure to put a visit to Honeyville on your itinerary. Founded in the 1920s, it’s located about ten miles north of town and produces a wide range of honey-based products, from honey wines to gourmet whipped honey and jams – and, in addition to being able to purchase, you’ll be able to sample them too. The true highlight, however, may be watching the bees make honey and the queen bee roaming about her hive.
Feisty Spirits, Fort Collins
Feisty Spirits in Fort Collins, about an hour’s drive north of Denver, opened as the city’s very first distillery in 2012 to focus on producing the best small-batch American whiskeys, and more, using only natural, organic ingredients. Feisty conjures up tasty bourbon, rye, and malt whiskeys in a copper still called Aphrodite. Visitors can get a behind-the-scenes look at how it’s made, meet Aphrodite, and enjoy a few nips too, like the nutty Blue Corn Bourbon, or the award-winning sweet Red Corn Bourbon.
