Evergreen and Golden are the two foothills towns most Denver couples think of first, and they could not be more different. Evergreen is a mountain town on Bear Creek, built around a lake and a log lodge. Golden is a college and brewery town at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon, with Lookout Mountain rising behind it. Both are roughly 30 to 45 minutes from downtown Denver (estimate, traffic dependent), which is why both work for a small wedding where guests fly in and out the same weekend.
The thing to know before you choose a spot: each town’s parks belong to a different agency. Evergreen’s parks are run by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, Evergreen Lake itself belongs to Denver’s Mountain Parks, and the big open spaces belong to Jefferson County. Golden runs its own city parks. Ask the wrong office and you lose weeks.
Your license
Both towns are in Jefferson County, and the clerk’s Records and Licensing office is in Golden. The license is $30, valid for 35 days anywhere in Colorado, and the county takes drop ins Monday through Thursday. Our Jefferson County marriage license guide has the hours and what to bring. No witnesses are needed, and you can solemnize your own marriage.
Evergreen Lake House
The Evergreen Lake House is a log building on the shore of Evergreen Lake, rented by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District (EPRD) twelve months a year. The lake sits in Dedisse Park, which the City and County of Denver owns and EPRD manages. What the district publishes:
- Capacity: up to 200 guests. Ceremonies are usually on the east deck facing the water, with up to 100 chairs; no chairs or furniture go on the grass without staff approval.
- Time blocks: 8 or 10 hours, and you choose the start time. A free half hour rehearsal can usually be scheduled within six weeks of the date.
- Included: tables, chairs, the ceremony area and a district staff member. Linens and table settings are not.
- Food: a licensed caterer is required. Using one not on the preferred list adds a $1,000 fee.
- Alcohol: allowed, served by a TIPS certified bartender, with no shots and no sales.
- Money: $750 to hold the date, with the balance, a refundable $750 damage deposit and the setup fee due at least 180 days out.
| 2027 to 2028 rates, both rooms | 8 hours | 10 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Saturday | $8,250 | $9,500 |
| Peak Friday | $7,250 | $8,500 |
| Peak Sunday | $6,750 | $7,750 |
| Peak weekday | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Off season weekday | $5,000 | $6,000 |
Off season is January through April and November, and smaller rooms are cheaper on weekdays. The district reserves the right to change prices, so confirm before you sign.
Two honest caveats. The lake and trail stay open to the public during your event, with boating all summer that the district will not pause. And only a few parking spaces are held for Lake House events, so the district encourages shuttles. If you only want photos at the lake, commercial photographers need an Evergreen Lake photography permit, a $25 fee after approval. The picnic tables by the Lake House are first come, first served and cannot be reserved.
Evergreen parks and Alderfer
For a ceremony in a park rather than a venue, EPRD requires a park permit for any scheduled activity with 25 or more people and suggests one for smaller groups so the space is yours. Email the Park Operations Manager about two weeks ahead at minimum. The district lists picnic shelters at Arrowhead, Kittredge, Marshdale, Stagecoach and Wulf parks, generally $30 an hour or $175 a day for district residents with a three hour minimum, though it notes prices may be out of date.
Alderfer / Three Sisters is the one couples ask about. The 335 acre open space belongs to Jefferson County, but EPRD leases the small ranch site with two picnic pavilions and lists an Alderfer event venue, the meadow plus both pavilions and one tent, at $2,250 a day for district residents and $2,800 for non residents. The rest of the trails follow Jeffco rules, including the trail group limit of 14 hikers.
For the Jeffco shelters at Hiwan Heritage Park and Pine Valley Ranch, and for Jeffco’s permit and photography rules, see our Red Rocks and Denver foothills ceremony sites guide, which covers them in detail.
Golden
Golden’s city parks run along Clear Creek and through the neighborhoods, and the city has a short test for whether you need a special event permit. You most likely need one if any of these is true:
- 50 or more people are expected,
- you will serve alcohol,
- you will use amplified sound,
- you put up tents, a stage or other temporary structures, or
- the event affects the public’s use of a park or natural resource.
Questions go to the city’s special events office at (303) 277-8728. If you just want a covered spot, park pavilions can be rented from mid May through mid September; the rest of the year they are first come, first served. City parks are open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., open fires, including charcoal, are banned, and alcohol is prohibited without a special event or open container permit. Golden Park Rangers patrol the Clear Creek corridor, which gets crowded in summer, so an early morning ceremony by the creek is far calmer than a Saturday afternoon one.
Lookout Mountain, above town, includes Lookout Mountain Park, a Denver Mountain Park, and Boettcher Mansion, a Jefferson County venue. The Red Rocks guide covers both. Golden Gate Canyon State Park, northwest of town, has aspen meadows and Panorama Point; Colorado Parks and Wildlife says weddings may need a special activity agreement, which our state parks guide explains.
Choosing between them
Pick Evergreen if you want a lake, a log lodge and a full reception under one roof, or a meadow wedding at Alderfer. Pick Golden if you want a town walk, a brewery dinner and a creek or canyon backdrop with the mountains a short drive away. Either way, budget for shuttles: parking is the limit at the Lake House and around downtown Golden.
Plan it
Browse the local vendors below, or search photographers, venues and officiants statewide. The Denver and foothills guide adds more ceremony ideas and a sample day, and the Denver wedding venues list covers private venues if a park permit is more than you want. Keep everything in the free planner.
