This blog is the third in a 3-part series about responsible travel, and how to be good stewards of the places we visit.

Appreciating the mountains, lakes and rivers is one thing, but not taking for granted the stuff that lets you enjoy them as a visitor is another. You might not stop to think about it at first, but were it not for the campsites, cafés, restaurants or resorts available, your trip here might never have happened. Golden is a small town, and the incredible infrastructure we have wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for visitors. Your support of local businesses is incredibly important. So when someone in our community really nails it and makes your visit all that much better, share your experience as far and wide as you can.

• The first and easiest thing you can do is leave reviews for the restaurants and activities you enjoyed. You can do this on Google by finding businesses like, say, the Golden Golf Club on Google maps, and then scrolling down in the window on the left to where it says “Write a Review.” And there are plenty of other sites, too, like Yelp, and Trip Advisor, to name a few.
  It makes a big difference to business owners to have good ratings online. But if on the flip side, you thought there was room for improvement, you can help with that, too. Whether those businesses have their own old-school, analog suggestion boxes, or online feedback forms like this one from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, filling them out lets them stay sharp and improve things for your next visit—and those of others. If you’re a fairly forward person, you can always deliver feedback directly to staff, too.
• Of course, the most visible and contemporary way to spread your stoke is on social media. Sharing images of your adventure helps showcase what the area, and its operators, have to offer. If you take an extra second to search for the online handles and tags of the people that made your visit shine, like @glacierraftcompany or #glacierraft, for example, you can help your favourite businesses and restaurants build organic followings that let them focus less on marketing and more on you!

• When sharing online, the elephant in the room is always “blowing out the spot.” We love these places because they’re secluded, quiet, and often times free of other people. If you want to keep the specific details of your picnic or camping spot your own little secret (and there are plenty of secrets worth keeping around here) you can use plenty of tact in your social posts simply by not geotagging. That way you can still show off how awesome Golden was to you without inadvertently being the Pied Piper to one specific locale. Besides, it’s nice to leave a little mystery and motivation for other people to make their own discoveries.

And lastly, don’t forget to thank people in person. Your server, your guide, the bike mechanic who bled your brake in 15 minutes and got you right back out on the trail, they all thrive on getting it right for you. Let them know how they did the old-fashioned way, whenever possible. While keeping business booming helps everybody, passion runs the program here, and the more of it Golden gets, the more it can give back. Support us to support you, and we all get more. And, of course, thanks so much for visiting!