Explore Johnstown: five places in walking order

Johnstown has two halves: the I-25 and US 34 interchange, branded 2534, where the big attractions are, and Old Town, around Parish Avenue and Charlotte Street, which is the part to walk. Leave the car on or near Parish Avenue: the first four stops are in Old Town, and the fifth is an evening at 2534 that needs the car and a reservation.

01 · Coffee on Parish Avenue

Black Sheep Coffee & Crepes at 19 South Parish Avenue is Old Town’s coffee house: sweet and savory crepes, espresso, a rotating craft-beer tap and local makers’ goods on the shelves. Its site lists 7 am–2 pm Monday to Friday and 8 am–2 pm on Saturday and Sunday, so it is a morning or lunch stop, not an afternoon one. At the same address, Dominic’s Hometown Pizza, the family pizzeria on the block since 1986, opens daily at 11, and Santiago’s at 12 South Parish Avenue does breakfast burritos from 6 am Monday to Saturday; it is closed on Sunday.

Getting there: street parking on Parish Avenue. Best for: breakfast or lunch before the museum; Nicole’s Warehouse at the north end of the block for antiques, Wednesday to Saturday 10–5.

02 · The Parish House

The Historic Parish House & Museum at 701 Charlotte Street is the 1914 Craftsman bungalow that town founder Harvey Parish built for his family, kept by the Johnstown Historical Society with the Parishes’ furniture, clothing, photographs and letters on the main floor and, on the garden level, a piece of the meteorite that fell on the town during a funeral in July 1924. It is free, with donations welcome, and the hours are the thing to plan around: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday 9 am–12 pm, and Monday, Thursday and Friday by appointment only. During open hours the staff give tours of 30 to 60 minutes, with no reservation needed for small groups; groups of ten or more book ahead.

Getting there: on foot from Parish Avenue to Charlotte Street. Best for: a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday morning, which is why this guide starts with breakfast.

03 · The historic walking tour

The Society’s self-guided walk starts at the Parish House, where a free map is handed out, and takes in 25 numbered stops: Fairbairn & Parish Hardware & Lumber, the town’s first business in October 1902 and now the Senior Center; the 1904 Union High School and the 1922 high school used until 1967; the 1904 Methodist Episcopal church; the First Baptist Church of 1908–09; the 1928 Masonic Temple, now a residence; the W.H. McCormick Mercantile at 1 North Parish Avenue; and the site of the 1914 Giesler Opera House, now a gas station. Many of the stops are private homes, and the Society asks walkers to stay on the public sidewalks. The tour page carries the story of each stop, so a phone does the job on a day the museum is closed.

Getting there: begin at 701 Charlotte Street. Best for: the hour after the museum; the history article has the longer version.

04 · Parish Park

Parish Park is the town’s original park, at the corner of Charlotte Street and Raymond Avenue beside the museum: two picnic shelters with electricity, a playground, a sand volleyball court and walking paths under mature trees. The Town lists portable restrooms. The park is open daily 5 am–10 pm, and the shelters can be reserved through the Town with a refundable $250 damage deposit.

Getting there: next to the Parish House; the address is 11 Raymond Place. Best for: a picnic from Johnstown Lunch Box, the lunch counter at 111 South 1st Street, open Monday to Saturday 9–5 and Sunday 10–2.

05 · An evening at Candlelight

The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse is not in Old Town: it is at 4747 Marketplace Drive at the 2534 interchange, a 350-seat dinner theater with a Broadway-sized stage that serves a full dinner before each musical. The 2026 season runs Les Misérables from September 10 to November 15 and Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn from November 27 to January 17, 2027. Book seats before you plan the day around it. The box office is open Tuesday to Friday 10–5 and Saturday 12–5 and closed Sunday and Monday; those are hours for buying tickets, not show times, which come with the booking on the theater’s own site.

Getting there: by car, at I-25 and US 34, with the Johnstown Plaza lots around it. Best for: a reserved evening after an Old Town morning.

A simple first visit

1. Pick a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday, and park on or near Parish Avenue.
2. Breakfast or an early lunch at Black Sheep, from 7 on weekdays and 8 at the weekend.
3. Walk to the Parish House before noon and pick up the walking-tour map.
4. Follow the 25 stops at your own pace, then sit in Parish Park.
5. If you booked Candlelight, drive to 2534 for the evening.

Getting here

Drive times are estimates for normal conditions and vary with traffic, weather and construction; check a live routing service before you set out. The I-25 and US 34 interchange is on the west edge of town: about 10 minutes to Loveland, 15 to Greeley on US 34, 25 to Fort Collins and 50 to Denver. No official transit page was checked for this guide, so no bus service is claimed here. Parking rules and road work are set by the Town of Johnstown, and posted signs override anything written here.

Accessibility: what we can confirm

The Historical Society says the Parish House itself is reached only by a flight of stairs, and that its Visitor’s Interpretive Center shows a short film of the house’s interior and collections for those who cannot take them; it asks visitors with specific needs to contact it ahead. The walking tour is on public sidewalks, and the Society asks walkers to keep to them. The Town lists portable restrooms at Parish Park but says nothing about accessible paths or parking there. Neither Black Sheep’s site nor the Candlelight listing states anything about step-free entry, and Candlelight’s own site refused the request made for this guide, so none of that is claimed here. Corrections and additions to this section are welcome and published with their date.