I played here with my wife and we enjoyed it quite a bit. I dont disagree that the course is gimmicky, but for someone from out of town thats sort of what we were looking for. Its an unusual track that is pretty well maintained (as of August 2020). The staff member who checked us in wasnt exactly pleasant but thats somewhat common for upscale courses that get a lot of tourists. The starter, though, was friendly, as were the guys we were paired with. And honestly that makes all the difference in a round like this. My wife is still building her golf skills and she never felt out of place (we always keep pace with the group ahead of us). We played on a Tuesday hoping for a less-crowded course and we barely ever waited.If you are researching courses in the Denver area and are on the fence about Fossil Trace, (especially if you like a course outside the typical), Id say give it a shot. If you are a well-traveled golf purist, maybe its not for you.

Easily the most fun round of golf that I have played in Denver! Each shot yields a new view, a new perspective on this gorgeous course. You wont even feel badly for going into the sand! Its just a new place to explore. I cant wait to go back . While it is totally worthwhile to walk the course, the golf carts are a real treat!

Awesome course! Beautiful and very fun. Great pace of play.I won’t take a star off for this because our experience was all around great but the beverage cart lady was very odd. Every time she drove by our carts she would stick her head into them and look around. Kind of intrusive. She reminded us that outside alcohol was not permitted. None of us were drinking and had no beverages in our cart besides our water bottles. Probably would have bought a Gatorade from her if she didn’t act like that. But yeah besides that awesome time! Will be back!

Course is basically under repair. Still paying premium prices for sub-par conditions. There should be a bigger discount than the $8 considering that essentially three holes are unplayable. Pace of play is also severely hindered by the carts on path only rule that exists for no good reason. Save your money and go play Red Hawk Ridge instead, you won’t regret it.Update: My original review is listed above and was two stars, but the employee response to me since my review via email and here has now made me drop it to 1 star. I have been blamed for not understanding that there was construction, but that is simply not the case. I expected the other 15 holes to make up for the still high cost of a round and it simply didn’t. The tee box I included as a picture is not from a hole under construction, it is from a hole that is supposed to be in full working condition and it wasn’t. This wasn’t the only hole in poor condition that wasn’t described on their website. Other courses in the area offer better conditions for less money, staff is friendlier as well. I strongly advise you take your business elsewhere.

This is a special Golf Course. Diverse and it keeps you on your toes. Beautiful views and scenery. Overall, very fun!

One of the most overrated courses I’ve ever played.The round took 5 hours, and we were waiting on every single shot. The course was very gimmicky, and the front 9 was nothing special at all, however, the back 9 definitely was beautiful.The front desk staff was incredibly rude. The staff seem to take the attitude that it’s some kind of privilege for you to be allowed to play at the course they work at. It was like they were annoyed people were there playing golf. I had a 3:10 tee time, which I was told was a twilight time when I booked. When I arrived, they were pushing me hard to only play 9 holes. I kept being told they bring the flags in “at least 30 mins before sunset” and I’d potentially have someone come take the cart as carts needed to be in at that time as well. Also, one of the rangers asked one of the women in our group if she was sure she meant to be playing the white tees, because ladies usually hit from the front tees. Even though she could hit it 200+ yards with her driver.Would not recommend. There are much better “mountain golf” courses with people that actually want you to be there.

Absolute worst customer service I have experienced. I booked a 9:40 tee time 3 weeks in advance for my boyfriend and myself . About a week later fossil trace calls me and asks if I can move my tee time back by an hour to 10:40. This is odd to me but we had the time so I agreed. Today we arrived at the golf course at 10:20am and they tell us they are not only running an hour behind but they do not have the reservation for 2 players. (Even though on the website you cannot book for less than 2 players.) So now I’m stuck sitting at a golf course for 5 hours without being able to play. (My boyfriend and I drove together and this was my birthday present to him so I don’t want him to miss out as now it is too late to book anything else.)

Beautiful course. Well maintained. Fun/challenging greens. DEEP and I mean DEEP bunkers. More water on the back 9. Hard to find a flat area on the entire course other than the tee boxes. Well designed fun course. You need to play this course if you love golf!

What a beautiful course, tucked away in the valley of Golden Colorado, I think this is a must play when in the Denver area. Ive read that the course can be polarizing and I can see that, but its obvious what side Im on. Quite a few very short part 3s and some may find the signature holes gimmicky but my wife and I really enjoyed its uniqueness.As much as this course gets played, we found it in excellent shape in the middle of Summer.An added plus is the grill is great with the brunch menu being my favorite, in fact, our pre round meal impressed us so much we didnt bother looking for somewhere else to eat after our round...

The course is in great shape, and though a bit gimmicky, is fun. The problem is the pace of play is shameful. Waiting on every shot, usually three groups on a hole on he back nine. Why have rangers if they just drive around and do NOTHING to help the pace of play. It took three hours to play the back nine, and by the time we were on 18 we had to wait 25 minutes before even teeing off. Not worth the price.

The atmosphere was so quiet and quant, we were able to enjoy our meal without feeling rushed. We will absolutely come back for a dinner date soon! Thank you!

Havent been there in a while, but magnificent views with outside dining and wonderful food. Salad was fresh and flavorful!

Fossil Trace proves to be very enjoyable. Condition of the course was better than anticipated, pace of play was excellent and the staff could not have been more accommodating. Certainly some memorable vistas and shots. Will visit again!

Such a beautiful course and in fantastic condition for this time of year. Definitely challenging.

Awesome course. We had a great time playing and loved the atmosphere. The course is in great shape, staff are nice and the level of play is just right.

AMAZING COURSE. Amazing views, amazing greens, just an amazing time. The greens are quick but true, each hole presents a new and fun challenge and is fair to a decent golfer (I shot an 88 both times I played here). It’s a MUST PLAY. TRUST ME.

Fantastic course. Great service. Everyone was very accommodating and hospitable to us. The views alone make it worth every penny. The course is very challenging but a blast to play.

All around a 5 star. Customer service is fabulous. The course is fun to play, challenging and views that you have to witness yourself.

I played Fossil Trace this past Friday. It was a fantastic experience. The support staff at Fossil Trace are amazing and the course has to be one of the best courses in Colorado. The course is in the final stages of improving three holes and the improvements will make the course even more enjoyable.

One of the finest public coursesIn Colorado.

Amazing course right near Colorado School of Mines. The scenery is great, course condition is great, staff is great. They recently updated driving range with new targets (mainly 100 yards and less) with a Welcome to Colorado Sign in the middle of the range. The carts appear to be new and are the best carts I have ever used in my life. They have GPS and even Bluetooth speakers! Every hole is creative in its own way.As of 5/24, Hole #2 is shorted to a par 3 for green maintenance and #15 is shorted to what may as well be a par 4 for green maintenance. I am not a fan of the new location of what will be the 15th green, but it does allow for more pin placements, but I will miss the bowl shaped green is used to have.Overall I recommend the course. There are Golden resident rates they do not advertise very well, so let them know if you are local for a better rate. Will return soon!

5 hour 30 minute round was brutal. Greens werent in very good shape. Lots of cool looking & unique golf holes but a little too quirky and unpredictable. Probably wont play here again for $100

The course was fantastic. Traveled into Denver from Chicago and saw this course consistently rated among the top public courses and it did not disappoint. The elevation changes really challenge your game and the views are breathtaking. Dont miss out on this course if youre in the area.

Absolutely gorgeous course. Can be challenging, but the views are incredible. Just a quick 20 min drive up 6th and your there from downtown!

Incredible course for the rate. Great course to impress and take in the views. Located very close to the coors brewery it might be the best way to finish your round.

We had a two groups for our Saturday outing. The staff was very helpful and very accommodating. The course was very cool, well maintained, and challenging. I would highly recommend this course to anyone visiting the Denver area.

Awesome, staff very welcoming. Definitely coming back soon.,

Tremendous all around experience. Cart tech is next level

Great golf course. Tons of scenic holes. Very player friendly.

Great facility here, beautiful golf course, excellent equipment and friendly staff. Challenging course for sure, but awesome scenery.

Good golf. Bad news restaurant: they expect you to dine with masked face. Oh yeah its BYOM. SO SILLY.CV19 Must be hiding out in the bar and restaurant .

A spectacular golf course, and a well run restaurant, what more is there to say?

Love this golf course n its designed by one of Best disign golf eer played in Colorado. I have have played since moving to Colorado in January of 85.

Very fun and challenging course. Beautiful and well maintained.

The only reason I gave stars at all was because the course was great and the starter was so friendly and nice. Ron in the pro shop was extremely rude and unwelcoming at check in and check out.

Great course. Very well kept, interesting and challenging hole designs.

Fun course, good views, must recommend

Course was in good shape, and was fun to play.

Outstanding course in fantastic condition. Fun and challenging.

Wonderful golf. They take great care of the golf course

They did not allow us to drive on the course with our carts. The conditions were still subpar. They only gave us an $8 discount for having one hole closed and two temporary greens that were unplayable because of the sprinkler heads on the greens. Staff was rude when we talked to them about it. Overall not pleased and definitely would not recommend

Great putting green and a nice chipping area

Great day with very well groomed course, love this course

Great course, but what is the reason for the $100 dollar rates now, you guys think you are really something special, dont ya?

Well maintained great friendly personalwill b back

Beautiful course! Loads of fun

Great course but be ready its difficult

We had a networking social/dinner here after a long day. Lovely course and surrounding scenery. One of the employees was kind enough to let us hit a few balls on the driving range right before closing.

Not very well manicured, and the staff was extremely rude. As a local in Golden I was expecting better!

This is one of the best public golf courses you will ever play. Extremely well maintained and the staff is outstanding.

The range is very nice and the price for balls is better than Ive seen elsewhere.

Beautiful course in great shape. Super nice staff

Fun, challenging and beautiful course

Great back 9

Great environmental scenery and challenging layout. A real gem! A must play!

Went here for lunch with a friend. Have to say it was great. The munch menu had good options, staff was nice, and view was great. Had the pork belly Reuben and I would recommend it! I actually forgot some personal items here and staff was very helpful in holding them for me. Even if you don’t golf, check out the food here.

Amazing course.

I love this course so much and all the friendly staff that work at it. Im a regular out here so i may be a bit bias! I wish they would do a locals punch card or membership options but other than that, i cant say a bad thing about fossil trace! Go there, do it!

Had a great time golfing! Brunch was great and inexpensive which was nice. We ordered food from hole nine in the carts and didn’t realize we had to stop at the club house the folks on the cart were kind enough to bring it out to us! Course was quite challenging but a ton of fun thanks again!

Nice course. Everybody on course very nice and professional. Club house guys n gals are very nice. First time playing there and guy showed me around. Great experience. Purchased a glove with fossil trace ball marker. Will play there agian soon loved it.

Beauty of a course!

Nice course but Horrible 7 hour round and I brought my dad who is an amputee and they charged me $19 for him. Come on really? Thats the only course who has charged for him to ride EVER.

Enjoyable day of golf. Great staff.

Beautiful course. This place eats me up. Pretty tough course for an average golfer. But the views are worth the extra strokes! Incredible panoramic views of the entrance to the Rockies as well as both Table Mountains. Also love golfing through the canyon on the Back 9. I play here every Wednesday for a work League and have a great time no matter what I shoot. Just gained a new appreciation for the staff as well after losing a pretty pricey wireless speaker either on the course or left in the car last week went to the Pro Shop after golfing this week and they had it ready for me in the drawer. Impressive links and impressive staff five stars.

IMHO - best 18 hole course the front range has to offer. Incredible views. Great greens. Challenging yet scoreable. Love this track.

Beautiful course, unique layout. Had a wonderful experience with the staff, not sure about the reviews that say the staff is rude.Please dont listen to Kevin Shop, his review reflects a low level understanding of the game, and course design. Yes, the greens can be tricky, as they have many undulations. Look at this as a fun challenge. Spend a moment to analyze the read, and give it a go!My only critique would be that the ball was bouncing around a bit on the greens yesterday (5/4/2017). Seems like they can use a little work in terms of condition. Ill be back a few more times this season and will adjust my review if the condition improves. The rest of the course was in pristine shape. Overall, wonderful experience.

One of 2 courses I bring clients from California to play. (the other one is Arrowhead). While the views at Arrowhead are amazing, I actually prefer the layout of Fossil Trace. The course is always in great shape and the holes are challenging but not impossible. The staff is very helpful and friendly and a special kudos to Adam Fitch - the best golf manager I have ever dealt with. And stay for lunch, the restaurant is fantastic.

My favorite course!!

Fossil Trace is beautiful but very quirky. There are some very unique holes and the tees and fairways are in excellent condition. Not so much the greens, however. And theyre ridiculously contoured for a public course. There are also several blind holes. They have kind of a strange arrogance about themselves. Not sure why they think the green fees need to be that high. Its like theyre a country club that always wanted to be but never was. Nice to play once or twice but not worth the bucks for a lot of rounds. $$$$orry.

Went for a lunch on the patio. Showed up and they had the roof being repaired. Patio was closed. Inside was absolutely hear-shattering loud from the hammering. Totally understand that works needs to be done, but odd that they kept the restaurant open for business. They even charged full price for some beers we had to chug due to the noise. No discount for the ridiculous eating environment. The managers need to consider that people are spending their money here and a lunch with a thunderstorm inside shouldnt be the same cost as a normal lunch!

Beautiful golf and a great twilight . I played today starting at 330. Still played the whole 18. I was walking and at first it was a bit odd. Pushing me to the second hole but I got paired with great people twice and had a great time . And that is saying nothing of the course. The whole thing is either tough or spectacular. And usually both . Great conditions and a great layout. Lovely course wish I could play again now

Staff and getting ready was great. Very nice practice range and greens. This course is one of the hardest I have ever played. No fairways are even if seems and the greens have different slopes with a high grade. Make sure you are on point and ready to be humbled.

The bartender Richard is amazing he has great customer service he knows how to please his customers. I am a regular and he knows what beverage I have and keeps it coming. I also love Stephanie she also is great. I live 5 min from here and I must say its my favorite bar.

Great public course. This par 72 has three par 5s on the back nine, so bring your big sticks. The course requires some precision play, and you will definitely want to avoid the greenside bunkers on #1 and #7 (Glaciers have shallower crevasses).The course tends to be crowded in the afternoons and on weekends, but I have rarely exceeded the 4 hr 20 min pace of play. Since you have five par 3s in a round, you can expect to spend a little time waiting at these spots.The restaurant has good fare for lunch, and there is a hot dog stand in front of the clubhouse.

I was driving through from Maryland to CAli. Made a Pit stop in Boulder to check it out and on my way out I passed this course and veered left immediately. Played 18 holes by myself and loved everything about this course. The layout, the views, everything was perfect. Easily one of my favorite courses ever

Wonderfully fun and unique golf course. The practice facilities are great as long as their isnt a tournament going on, but thats the case anywhere. The staff was friendly and were happy to have us at the course. Find a good deal through their website and play twilight or other discounted rates for the best deals.

One of the most beautiful courses youll find.

Most amazing course Ive ever played. They let me play with my daughter, Wich was a very hard thing to find. Thank yall from Texas with love.

Great course but very unfriendly check in staff. I have played here a few different times and the course was always great but every time I have played, both the person behind the check in desk and the starter have been very rude. Definitely worth checking out but this course could be a lot better experience if some of the staff had better customer service.

Great golf. Driving range was awesome. The sun sets behind you on the range so you dont have two worry about seeing the ball as the sun goes down.

One of my favorites if youre on the west side of town. Nice layout and usually in very good shape. Some call out a few holes as tricked out because of the obstacles in the fairway, but you know they are there so just need to play around them like any other hazard.

Nice municipal golf course. Check in staff great and friendly to deal with. On the down side expect to only get about 20 range balls without paying extra. As far as the course it is really tricked up with lots of blind tee shots and extreme slope on the greens. The course GPS system on the carts was weak and did not give you suggestions on how best to play the hole. This is needed for first time players. Pace of play was also on the slow side with the Marshalls doing little to speed up play. Based on the reviews I was expecting a better experience but it is certainly a nice municipal course

Stupid design. Who build greens like this??? Oh putt putt does. Lots of holes built in a valley form where the fairway is at the bottom and rough and cart paths are high above that. Several other blind shots and the annoying carts with GPS remind you of that.Staff was nice and the condition was great.64 million years in the making but I would play CommonGround or Green Valley 1st. Just did not like the way it played.

Fun course the play even in the Winter

Schnephs restaurant, Fossil Trace GC, Golden, CO. Wonderful, great service and excellnt atmosphere. Definitely will be back!!

Waited on the phone for 4 minutes. Nobody picks up. The normal call to just press 2 and then wait for for golf shop is 1:47. Why make it difficult to speak to someone??

Course was great. The food was good, but service was slow. Overall 4 outta 5

Had an awesome day playing golf at Fossil Trace. The food in the restaurant was delicious and the service was great!

The Pebble Beach of Colorado public courses.

Definitely the coolest course Ive ever played. The rocks and views right on the course are second to none.

Beautiful course, incompetent course marshall.Course Marshal Bob needs a refresher on how to treat guests. 1st, we visited from outta state and were not warned about rattle snakes until we removed a semi-dead one from the cart path IN FRONT OF BOB and disposed it in the public trash.Then, Course Marshal Bob met us on the back 9, made a snotty comment about something he accused our party of doing, which was untrue. Then, Before I could explain what he saw he drove off as I was speaking, which is very rude and unprofessional. In Bobs defense, the course was overbooked and that could have put him on the edge.I can only assume Course Marshal Bob is the brother or drunk uncle of the course owner(s). However, it was a beautiful and challenging course and the rest of the staff was very helpful and accommodating.

Beautiful course!

My absolute favorite course in Denver. I love the variety of terrain, the dinosaur theme, the non-stuffy vibe and the scenery. Hard to believe its a public course!

Good food, good service, great location, somewhat pricy.

Great food! Wonderful course! And great service!

Amazing. One of the best golf experiences in Colorado

There is a trail with amazing dinosaur footprints, just need to find it and thats not easy. Starts around the corner of 19th and 6th.

Great track! Staff does a really fine job!

Realy nice course watries in the restruan had a terrible attitude and was rude. Very offputting. At the end i was not givven my full change after i paid the bill and after i asked for it i was told she had rounded the bill up i asked agian and she said water ever dude and walked away. Very terrible to be told i was not going to begive my correct change.

I love oplaying this golf course. There are so many good reviews here on actually playing the course.The problem I have is trying to call to make a tee-time. After waiting and listening to what is perhaps THE most irritating on-hold message for 37 minutes, I gave up. Its not always like this, but if someone in Golden is actually looking at their phone statistics, this would tell them that they have a problem at certain times in the day; maybe a parttime person(s) to man the phones during busy periods - its what a normal business would do.Ugh!!!