Olde Town Arvada - Arvada, CO

The gold rush and Colorado's history are deeply intertwined. In fact, Arvada was founded due to the interest in gold. In 1850, one particular wagon was on its way to California when it made a pit stop in Clear Creek, Colorado. During a stop along the way, a man named Lewis Ralston dipped his pan in the river and suddenly pulled up $5 worth of gold on his first try.

This discovery led to a huge rush throughout Colorado. By the 1860s, men who came to dig gold ended up staying in the area. They discovered that there was a large demand for food in Denver since there were so many miners and not enough farmers. Many of the crops thrived in the Colorado weather compared to cities back east. At one point, Arvada was even known as the celery capital of the world.

Through surges and declines in the population as the World Wars occurred, Arvada finally became a city in 1951 with a population of over 2,000 people. It took historians until 1995 to pin down the discovery of gold to Arvada using old diaries from the time period.

Olde Town Arvada features a wide variety of restaurants, nightlife and stores throughout the neighborhood.

Start your morning off at the Egg Shell. This small-town breakfast spot provides one-of-a-kind options, including the A.M. Nachos, comprised of French toast topped with powdered sugar and fruit of your choice — regulars heartily recommend the delectable pineapple. For something more filling, order the salmon Benedict, a whole flank of salmon swimming in Hollandaise sauce with two poached eggs on top.

One of the most popular restaurants, the chain restaurant Texas Roadhouse, lies right outside the Olde Town Stadium 14 movie theater. This popular attraction gets quite busy on a Friday and Saturday night, so make sure to get a reservation. Definitely order the grilled shrimp appetizer when you sit down.

Be sure to stop by Manneken Frites, rated as Top of the Town by 5280 Magazine, to experience authentic Belgian food. Get a true taste of the west with a Texas Dog, a hot dog topped with sucker punch BBQ sauce and onions.

Walking up the streets of Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, you can find a few bars and late-night restaurants in the area. One of the local classics, a dive bar called the 12 Volt Tavern, has a good jukebox and cheap beer, a perfect combination for a relaxing night.

Known for its top-notch bartenders, The Arvada Tavern mixes hole-in-the-wall bar with excellent drinks and an inviting atmosphere. Come for the cocktails and live music, and stay for the delicious dinner options recently introduced as part of the bar's revamp. You can't miss this option for a great Saturday night.

Although Olde Town itself is a highly walkable neighborhood, travel by car serves as the best transportation option for the surrounding area of Arvada. Featuring a more suburban feel, this neighborhood offers great public transportation options if you're heading to a major city in the area, but getting anywhere else from Olde Town proves much more difficult without a car.

Public parking exists throughout the Olde Town neighborhood, giving visitors and residents easy access to all they have to offer. With the neighborhood located just blocks away from I-70 and I-76, residents enjoy easy access to the major highways.

Uber, local taxi companies and Lyft are also options for visitors and residents.

As a suburban neighborhood, Olde Town has a lot to offer when it comes to parks, the most notable being Memorial Park. This park has a skateboarding spot, multi-use sport court, parking lot, creek trail and a disc-golf course.

Arvada wows residents and visitors with its long trails, open space and the Rocky Mountains serving as a beautiful backdrop. The whole city of Arvada around Olde Town includes 140 parks and 125 miles of biking, hiking and horseback riding trails, the perfect environment for outdoor enthusiasts.

Each year, Olde Town Arvada celebrates an annual chocolate event that includes chocolate tastings, treasure hunts, entertainment, baking contests and even romantic carriage rides.

These parks are incredibly kid and dog-friendly, making this an inviting neighborhood for all kinds of families.

The median house value for this neighborhood is $241,000, and the average one-bedroom apartment goes for $1,000. This rate is the median average for this surrounding area. This keeps the neighborhood affordable while also being close to Denver.

One of the bakeries in the area that receives constant acclaim is Rheinlander Bakery. This bakery has served the Olde Town Arvada neighborhood for over 50 years, baking everything fresh and serving as one of the best places to find gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free bakery options. People from all over the state flock to Rheinlander Bakery for these incredible goodies.

Historic Olde Town Arvada is home to many local boutiques and shops for any need. Olde Wadswroth Blvd. and the surrounding streets are lined with shops for everything from the Book Cranny to Penzy's Spices to Paws 'n' Play. The Rolling Sands is a yoga boutique and fitness store. This unique store offers customers all different kinds of products for their yoga, meditation, fitness, muscle recover and many other health and wellness needs.

There are two major farmers' markets within the Olde Town Arvada block. For groceries, Safeway is a quick fifteen minute drive from downtown.