Arvada: Gold Rush Roots in a Modern Denver Suburb
Gold discovered at Ralston Creek in 1850 makes Arvada the site of one of the earliest mineral finds in what would become Colorado Territory. The town incorporated in 1904 as a small agricultural community, and it stayed that way until suburban growth from Denver reached its borders in the 1960s. Today Arvada has roughly 115,400 residents and sits in Jefferson County, bordered by Wheat Ridge to the south and Westminster to the east.
Olde Town Arvada, centered on Grandview Avenue, is a compact walkable district with restaurants, breweries, and shops in restored early-twentieth-century buildings. The G Line commuter rail, which opened in 2019 after years of delays, connects Olde Town to Union Station in downtown Denver, making Arvada one of the few Denver suburbs with direct rail access to the city center.
Arvada's western neighborhoods abut the foothills, with trails leading into the open space areas around Leyden Gulch and the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant site, now a wildlife refuge. The eastern half of the city is more typical suburban development: residential subdivisions, strip malls, and the Arvada Marketplace retail center along Wadsworth Boulevard.
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Gold discovered at Ralston Creek in 1850 makes Arvada the site of one of the earliest mineral finds in what would become Colorado Territory. The town incorporated in 1904 as a small agricultural community, and it stayed that way until suburban growth from Denver reached its borders in the 1960s. Today Arvada has roughly 115,400 residents and sits in Jefferson County, bordered by Wheat Ridge to the south and Westminster to the east.
Olde Town Arvada, centered on Grandview Avenue, is a compact walkable district with restaurants, breweries, and shops in restored early-twentieth-century buildings. The G Line commuter rail, which opened in 2019 after years of delays, connects Olde Town to Union Station in downtown Denver, making Arvada one of the few Denver suburbs with direct rail access to the city center.
Arvada's western neighborhoods abut the foothills, with trails leading into the open space areas around Leyden Gulch and the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant site, now a wildlife refuge. The eastern half of the city is more typical suburban development: residential subdivisions, strip malls, and the Arvada Marketplace retail center along Wadsworth Boulevard.
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