Tour Difficulty Scale

• Easy - May include light physical activity, including boarding a bus, short periods of standing, walking, and some stairs.  
• Moderate - Includes walking up to two miles on streets or easy trails, climbing stairs or spending several hours outside. 
• Ambitious - May involve several nights away from home, long stretches on a bus, and activity-filled days. Be prepared to walk up to two miles a day on easy to moderate terrain or spend long periods outside. 
• Challenging - Requires a high level of fitness and an adventurous streak! May include day hikes over potentially rough terrain, accessing remote areas in a vehicle, by foot, or by boat, and/or extended periods outside.

Meet the guides! 

Sam Bock 

Sam Bock is the Director of Interpretation and Publications for History Colorado, where he has written and made museum exhibitions about Colorado's hoppy history.

 

Emily Miner

Emily Miner coordinates and leads programs for lifelong learners at the Aurora History Museum. She is passionate about making history education accessible and engaging. Emily loves working in Aurora and learning about the world through the diversity of the city and is excited to share it with anyone who will listen. 

She holds an undergraduate degree from Colorado College in Museum Studies with a minor in History, and a master's degree from the University of Denver in Communications. 

 

Jack Wheeler-Barajas

Jack Wheeler-Barajas is a fourth-generation Coloradan, an environmental scientist, an avocational archeologist, and a local historian of railroads. He has developed programs and given invited lectures for numerous national and local organizations, including History Colorado, the University of Denver, the Metropolitan State University of Denver, the University of Colorado Denver, the National Railway Historical Society, and Treasure Box Tours. He specializes in Colorado Railways and the history of passenger trains. He is also actively engaged in advancing modern passenger rail solutions in the state of Colorado as the President of the Colorado Rail Passenger Association. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography, Planning, and Design, and he holds a master's degree in Environmental Science from the University of Colorado Denver and bachelor’s degrees from Colorado State University in Spanish, Anthropology, and Business.

 

Gil Asakawa

Gil Asakawa is a cultural consultant, journalist, author and blogger who covers Japan, Japanese American and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture and identity in blogs, articles and social media. He is a nationally-known speaker, panelist and
expert on Japanese American and Asian American history and identity. He’s the author of “Being Japanese American” (Stone Bridge Press), a history of Japanese in America originally published in 2004 and revised in 2014, and co-author of “The Toy Book” (Alfred Knopf, 1991), a history of the toys of the Baby Boom generation.

His latest book is “Tabemasho! Let’s Eat!” (Stone Bridge Press, 2022), a history of Japanese Food in America.

In 2023 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays from the Japanese government for his longtime efforts to build bridges between Japan and the United States.

 

Janan Graham-Russell

Dr. Janan Graham-Russell is a cultural anthropologist, strategist, and preservation historian. Her work explores the relationship between people, practices, and places. She earned her doctoral degree in The Study of Religion at Harvard University in 2025, focusing her research on the ways constructions of race, ethnicity, gender, and religion inform the experiences of Haitian Latter-day Saint women in the United States. She is currently an associate fellow with the Heritage for All initiative at History Colorado, where she works to reimagine how community histories can be told.

Policies

Registration & Payment

Visit historycolorado.org/tours-and-treks to register for a tour online. 

For additional assistance, call 303-866-2394 to register for tours over the phone with a credit or debit card. Note: The credit card will be immediately charged.    

Day tours require payment in full at the time of booking.  

Overnight tours require a refundable deposit at the time of booking to hold your spot. The balance is due by the tour registration deadline. Registration deadlines are specific to each tour and indicated in the tour description.  

Pricing for overnight tours is available for double occupancy (two people per hotel room) and single occupancy (one person per room). Roommates may be requested but are not guaranteed. If paired with a roommate, you will be notified and given information to get in touch prior to the tour. If paired with a roommate who cancels after the registration deadline, you will not be charged the single occupancy rate.  

To request a roommate, select a single occupancy ticket online and check the “roommate requested” box during checkout. Should you be paired with a roommate, your remaining balance will be adjusted.  

Payments must be made by credit or debit card. History Colorado accepts all major credit cards.  

Reservations for overnight tours are non-transferable.

Cancellation Policy 

You may cancel a walking tour seven (7) or more days prior to the tour and receive a full refund or credit. Cancellations with fewer than seven days’ notice are non-refundable. 

You may cancel a bus tour (day tour) fifteen (15) or more days prior to the tour and receive a full refund or credit. Cancellations with fewer than fifteen days’ notice are non-refundable. 

You may cancel an overnight tour without penalty before the registration deadline posted for each tour. Any payments taken before the registration deadline will be refunded in full. Cancellations after the registration deadline are non-refundable. 

If History Colorado must cancel a tour or trek, all ticket holders will be notified via email and will be fully refunded. If a tour or trek is postponed, guests will be given the option to either keep their ticket for the rescheduled date or receive a full refund.

Weather Policy 

History Colorado tours and treks run rain/snow, and shine! Refunds for tours due to weather are only given if History Colorado cancels the tour due to extreme weather. 

Wheelchair Accessibility

To request wheelchair accommodations for bus tours (including the Overnight Treks), please contact Rebecca at rebecca.chickadel@state.co.us as soon as possible, and we’ll do our best to accommodate the request.  

Waitlists 

Tours sell out fast! Space is limited to ensure a safe, high-quality experience for all. If a tour sells out, a link to a waitlist will be added online. You will be notified if a spot becomes available. 

Start Locations 

Before the tour, a “know before you go” email will be sent with important information such as start/end locations, parking options, and clothing/gear suggestions. Start and end locations can also be found in the tour descriptions.  

Itineraries  

Please note that all overnight tour itineraries are subject to change. Final itineraries are sent to registered guests 2-4 weeks prior to the start of the tour. 

Dietary Restrictions

Meal options for a variety of dietary restrictions are available for tours that include a shared meal. Please let us know about your restrictions at the time of booking.  

If guests have further questions not answered here, please email Emily Turner at reservations@state.co.us or Rebecca Chickadel at rebecca.chickadel@state.co.us.