Colorado’s State Capitol: Gold Dome, Tours, and Visit Tips

The Colorado State Capitol is the working home of the Colorado General Assembly and the Governor’s office, sitting on a hill in downtown Denver with a gold-leafed dome visible from across the city. It’s open to the public free of charge on weekdays, and anyone can walk in, take a guided tour, visit the dome, or sit in on a legislative hearing.

Hours and Tours

The building is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and closed on weekends and most federal holidays.¹ Free guided tours run on the hour from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and last about an hour, including a trip up to the dome observation area.² Self-guided tours of the dome aren’t permitted, so if you want the view from the top, you have to join a guided session.³

Walk-ins are fine for groups of fewer than ten. Larger groups must reserve a spot in advance through the General Assembly’s online reservation form or by calling the tour desk at 303-866-2604.⁴ Tours are capped at thirty people. Spring school season books up weeks in advance, so if you’re bringing a class or a travel group, reserve early.⁵

What to See Inside

The main entrance hall rises 180 feet to the top of the dome’s interior, roughly the height of an eighteen-story building.⁶⁷⁸ Stained glass windows depict figures and events from Colorado history, and the third-floor rotunda is ringed with presidential portraits and opens straight up into the dome.

The Gold Dome

The dome’s copper panels are gilded with 24-karat gold leaf from a Colorado mine, chosen as a tribute to the 1859 Gold Rush. The gilding has been reapplied four times since original construction, most recently in the early 2010s.⁶ A small museum called Mr. Brown’s Attic, tucked between the third floor and the dome, has 2,000 square feet of exhibits on the gilding process, the building’s construction, the sculptures on the grounds, and Colorado’s state symbols. The collection also includes four small moon rocks and a miniature state flag flown aboard Apollo 11.

The Mile High Markers

Three markers on the west steps each claim the exact spot one mile above sea level, and standing on them is a Denver tradition. The oldest, engraved in 1909, is on the fifteenth step. Colorado State University students placed a brass cap on the eighteenth step after resurveying the site in 1969. In 2003, a team of professional surveyors working with the Colorado Department of Transportation and Metropolitan State College of Denver installed a third marker on the thirteenth step, which is now considered the most accurate.⁶

Getting In: Security and Firearms

Everyone entering the Capitol goes through security screening. Personal items go into a bin for X-ray scanning, you walk through a metal detector, and bags may be physically searched.⁹ Lines move quickly most days but can slow when the legislature is in session.

Firearms are prohibited inside the Capitol and in adjacent parking areas, whether carried openly or concealed. A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor. The ban doesn’t apply to law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security staff.¹⁰

Accessibility

The main entrance is on the north side at Colfax and Sherman, up the stairs. The ADA-accessible entrance is at ground level at 14th and Sherman, under the stairs.¹¹ Elevators serve floors one through three.

The dome observation area is 99 steps above the third floor and only reachable by stairs. If the climb isn’t an option, a closed-captioned video tour near the third-floor elevators shows the view from the top.³ For visitors who are blind or have low vision, the Capitol offers Aira, an on-demand visual interpretation service that’s free for 30-minute sessions and available around the clock.¹¹

Assisted listening devices, including T-Coil technology and T-Coil neck loops, are available at no cost for legislative proceedings. Requests must be submitted at least two business days in advance through the General Assembly’s online accessibility form or by contacting the ADA Coordinator at 303-866-3521.¹²

Sitting In or Testifying at a Hearing

When the General Assembly is in session, you can attend committee hearings and testify on bills, either in person at the Capitol or remotely. Sign up through the Public Testimony Registration portal on the General Assembly’s website. When the committee chair calls on you, give your name, address, and the reason you’re testifying.¹³

Hearing rooms run on strict rules. Cell phones must be silenced, placards and signs aren’t allowed, and applause or verbal interruptions will get you removed. Written testimony is accepted if you’d rather not speak. The chair controls how much time is available, and on high-profile bills not everyone who signs up gets a chance to speak, so arrive early and keep your remarks short.¹³

A Little Background

Architect Elijah E. Myers designed the Capitol to echo the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Ground was broken in July 1886, the cornerstone wasn’t formally laid until 1890, and the building wasn’t considered complete until the 1901 legislative session. It’s built of Colorado white granite in a Neoclassical style, topped with a copper dome, and oriented so the west steps face the Rocky Mountains.⁶

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Colorado General Assembly. Capitol Information
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Colorado State Capitol. Winter 2025-26 Tour Information
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Colorado General Assembly. Tour Information
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Colorado General Assembly. Colorado State Capitol Tour Information
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Colorado General Assembly. Request a Tour
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Colorado State Capitol. History of the Capitol
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Colorado State Capitol. Inside the Capitol
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U.S. Geological Survey. Colorado Yule Marble – Building Stone of the Lincoln Memorial
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Colorado Secretary of State. Capitol Security Protocols
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Colorado General Assembly. SB24-131 Prohibiting Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces
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Colorado General Assembly. Visit and Learn
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Colorado General Assembly. Colorado General Assembly Technology Accessibility Statement
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Colorado General Assembly. Participation in Legislative Hearings