Visit and Learn

Booking field trips for the 24/25 school year now! 

The Capitol building houses the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and the Department of the Treasury.   The elected officials in the building work to make laws and administer state government.

The Capitol building was designed by Elijah E. Myers, and its construction lasted from 1886 through 1901.  The Colorado Capitol was designed on an axis in the form of a Greek cross and resembles the basic design of the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. The cost of the construction was about $3 million.  The cost of replicating this building today is impossible to determine.

The exterior walls of the Capitol are constructed of granite quarried near Gunnison, Colorado. The pink stone seen throughout the Capitol is rose onyx discovered near Beulah, Colorado. This coloration of onyx has never been found anywhere else in the world. The floors of the Capitol are constructed of yule marble from Marble, Colorado.

In 1908 Colorado gold miners made a gift of 200 ounces of gold to gild the dome.  Rising 272 feet above the ground, the gleaming gold dome on the Colorado Capitol is a fitting tribute to the history of our state.

Capitol Tours and Visitor Information

The Capitol is open Monday-Friday, 7:30-5:00. The Visitor Information Desk is open Monday-Friday, 9:00-4:00. Free guided tours are available Monday through Friday, on the hour between 10:00am-3:00pm (June and July only). Free DOME ONLY tours will be available on the half hour, from 9:30am to 2:30pm (June and July only).

Capitol tours are limited to 30 people on a first come, first served basis.  All tours begin at the Visitor Information Desk, north side, first floor. 

SCHEDULED TOURS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR CANCELATION IN CONSIDERATION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS.
Capitol tours take about an hour and include a trip to the dome observation area. The dome is a 99 step climb above the 3rd floor and is accessible by stairs only.  A closed-captioned video tour (near the third floor elevators) is available for visitors who are unable or do not wish to make the climb.  Self-guided tours of the dome are not permitted.

Two entrances are available for Capitol visitors.  You may enter the building on the north side (Colfax and Sherman Avenues), up the stairs, or use the ADA accessible ground level entrance (14th and Sherman Avenues), under the stairs.

Can't visit in person?  Take our virtual tour here.  

We are unable to schedule tours the following dates:

Independence Day, Thursday, July 4, 2024 - Capitol Closed

Friday, July 5, 2024 - No Tours (Capitol open for self-guided tours only.  Mr. Brown's Attic museum and the dome observation area will be closed.)

Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2024 - Capitol Closed

Mother Cabrini Day, Monday, October 7, 2024 - Capitol Closed

Thursday October 17, 2024 - No Tours (Capitol open for self-guided tours only. Mr. Brown's Attic museum and the dome observation area will be closed.)

Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2024 - Capitol Closed

Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2024 - Capitol Closed

Friday, November 29, 2024 - No Tours (Capitol open for self-guided tours only.  Mr. Brown's Attic museum and the dome observation area will be closed.)

Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2024 - Capitol Closed