In addition to the prehistoric relics at Fossil Trace Golf Club, several massive remnants of clay mining equipment can be seen throughout the golf courses layout. Each piece serves as a reminder of the rich history of the property and adds to the award winning golf experience.
Fossil Trace Golf Club is open:Sun - Sat 6:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Hotels near Fossil Trace Golf Club: (1.28 mi) The Dove Inn (1.31 mi) Table Mountain Inn (1.50 mi) The Golden Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection (1.76 m...
Restaurants near Fossil Trace Golf Club: (1.39 mi) D'deli (1.33 mi) Woody's Wood-Fired Pizza (1.16 mi) Sherpa House Restaurant and Culture Center (...
Fossil Trace Golf Club opened July 2003 in the historic city of Golden, Colorado, nestled adjacent to the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, just 20 minutes west from downtown Denver. Fossil Trace is considered one of Denver’s top golf courses and premier destinations to play.
Located just inside the main doors of the golf course clubhouse is an exhibit that details the rich history of the property and shares information about the dinosaur tracks and other impressive trace fossils uncovered during the excavation of the golf course.
In its short history, the golf course has enjoyed tremendous success and is considered one the finest golf courses and golf experiences available in Denver and all of Colorado. Fossil Trace has been honored as “Best Golf Course in Denver” on multiple occasions by Colorado golf and lifestyle publications. Although the property is known for its rich history, the golf course itself has entertained golfers from all 50 states and from over 40 countries. Take a golf vacation in Denver, Colorado and experience one of Denver’s true “must play” golf courses. We invite you to play, experience and discover the finest golf course destination in Denver.
Triceratops footprints, as well as other prehistoric creatures’ fossils can be viewed adjacent to the golf course’s 12th green. The palm leaf featured in our course logo can be viewed in the form of a prehistoric trace fossil adjacent to the 12th green. Expand.
Future tee times are made only online without any time restrictions.
A huge tropical lake covered the area where Fossil Trace Golf Club now sits. As it receded, the first thing to drop to the bottom of the lake was sand , followed by clay, then trees, brush, etc. This happened numerous times and eventually created multiple alternating layers of sandstone and clay.
As you travel to the second nine holes, you encounter what remains of the Rockwell Mine – mined by George W. Parfet in 1877. His heirs continued to mine clay until 2001. After removing the clay, all that remained was the sandstone column (by Hole #12 green) which houses the palm frond wall and exposes triceratops and hadrosaurs footprints. The path and fence were put in place as part of a Boy Scout Eagle Badge project.
On the fairway of Hole #1 is an often-photographed incinerator used by the adjacent Boy’s School in the mid-1900’s to burn trash. Root cellars were built into the hillsides on either side of the fairway which also housed farm equipment. The entire area was a working farm with cows, hay fields, and fruit orchards.
The difference b/w a resource and a reserve mostly has to do with certainty that it can be mined.
Because it is isolated from the land surface, groundwater is rarely contaminated by mining.
The gold concentration is too low to be extracted using traditional methods
Locals consider the challenging layout one of the best in the state. The greens are large and undulating and there are cavernous sand traps that are over six feet deep.
The golf course is named after the fossilized triceratops footprints and palm fronds that can be found in the sandstone next to the 12th green. Millions of years after the dinosaurs, the terrain served as a clay mine prior to becoming a golf course in 2003. Some of the equipment remains on the golf course, adding another historic element to ...