Stop In, Shop, & See How It’s Made

Chances are, you’ll buy local this season in some form or fashion, and though we’ve got some big (international) name brands here in Colorado, we can still take pride that the roots run deep throughout the state. A good many will even let you tour the facilities, such as:

Celestial Seasonings (Boulder)

Celestial Seasonings, one of the largest specialty tea manufacturers in North America, offers free daily tours. On the tour, visitors will see how their favorite tea is made, packaged, and distributed all over the world. Guests will learn where each ingredient comes from, and have the opportunity to experience “The Mint Room.” In addition, guests can try free samples of tea and purchase one-of-a-kind souvenirs from the gift shop.

Coors Brewery Tour (Golden)

The world’s largest brewery, Coors Brewery, sits on the Clear Creek River in Golden, Colorado. After a short shuttle-ride through Golden, visitors can experience a free tour that includes a brief history of the business, the brewery process, and some delicious samples of beer for those of legal age.

Enstrom CANDIES (Grand Junction)

This family-owned candy store, which began in 1929, is famous for its delicious almond toffee. Made with the finest, freshest ingredients, Enstrom’s toffee is now sold worldwide along with their toffee popcorn, truffles, and gourmet chocolate. See how they make their handmade candy at their store in Grand Junction.

Feisty Spirits (Fort Collins)

Fort Collins’ first distillery, Feisty Spirits, opened in 2012 by a team that always tries making new and creative flavors with natural, organic ingredients. Take a free tour of their facility with one of the founders or the head distiller to get a truly behind-the-scenes look. Sample something that’s “in progress” during the tour and purchase a mixed cocktail in the Feisty Spirits tasting room at the end to enjoy the finished product.

Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy (Longmont)

Some of the best goat cheese in the state can be found at Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy. Their award-winning artisanal cheese-making process can be experienced firsthand on their creamery tour. The tour and cheese tasting takes approximately one hour and includes an educational session about cheesemaking, a tour of our different make rooms, and a guided five-course technical cheese tasting.

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey (Denver)

We at Out Front love a good whiskey, so a tour of one of our local favs that includes the warm-bellied sip of the good stuff? We’re in. On the one-hour tour, you’ll get a good overview of the company, a lingering gander at the brew and production facilities, and hang out on the bottling floor. Make sure you bring your picture ID and arrive 10 – 15 minutes early or you might get left in the dust, sadder than an empty barrel.

Honeyville (Durango)

What began in Durango in the 1920s as a man transferring his honey in a pickup to town is now a company with beehives all across the Rocky Mountains. Honeyville not only makes some of the best honey in the state, but also uses their honey to enhance jams, jellies, and even to make their famous Cinnamon Whipped Honey. Visit the Honeyville Factory Store to see their live glass beehive and watch how the honey is bottled in their country kitchen.

Infinite Monkey Theorem (Denver)

As an urban winery, Infinite Monkey doesn’t have a vineyard, but does have a great tour for visitors wanting to see how an urban winery works. The winery sources the majority of its grapes from the Western Slope and has them shipped to Denver where they make their delicious Colorado wine. For $25, spend an hour with the tour guide learning about the winery and tasting plenty of quality wine, including their famous canned wine. Hang out in their Wine Lab after to continue trying their variety of wines.

Meier Skis (Glenwood Springs)

Meier Skis is the only ski manufacturer that utilizes 100 percent Colorado-grown wood including High Alpine Aspen and Beetle Kill Pine (blue stain). Still completely handmade, Meier uses the world’s highest-quality materials and ski technology. This award-winning company has grown from the garage to their current factory in a mere five years. The tour includes a walk through their 3,000-square-foot factory with one of the crew and a detailed description of how they source materials to how their skis are made. There’s an opportunity to purchase your own pair of handmade skis or other Meier gear on location.

Moots Cycles Factory Tour (Steamboat Springs)

Moots Cycles, a bicycle company located in Steamboat Springs, makes handcrafted, high performance, titanium road, mountain, and cyclocross bicycle frames. Moots offers complimentary one-hour tours every week, year round, where guests can meet the crew and see how these high-quality bikes are made in the Moots facility located in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Phoenix Gold Mine (Idaho Springs)

Ever wondered what it was like to be a miner in the pioneer days? Phoenix Gold Mine was founded in 1871 and has a rich history that highlights the state’s pioneers and western spirit. Today, the mine offers tours that let visitors crawl through the tunnels and pan for gold. Other metals seen on the tour are silver, copper, iron pyrite, and tellurium. (Tellurium is the metal used for solar panels, which the mine now uses for all of their energy.)

SunCrest Orchard Alpacas and Fiber Works (Palisade)

Alpaca fiber was once used to clothe royalty as it’s known to be softer than cashmere and warmer than wool. Clothes made from alpaca fiber can be found in Palisade at SunCrest Orchard where they offer tours to show visitors how yarn from alpaca fiber is spun. Meet the alpacas that provide the fiber and see how the fiber is turned into yarn at their mini mill. Stop in the farm store afterwards to shop a wide array of products made on site.

Find more adventures at colorado.com.