Much of the town's history is tied into the Canadian Pacific Railway and the logging industry. Today, the town's economy still relies heavily on those two influences, but the development of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, along with other outdoor adventure companies, has allowed the town to diversify into tourism. Mount 7, which is just southeast of town, is popular with paragliding, hang gliding, and mountain biking enthusiasts.
Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge is the longest freestanding timber frame bridge in Canada. Planned as a community project by the Timber Framers Guild, volunteers from Golden were joined by carpenters and timber framers from the United States and from Europe. The bridge structure is 150 feet (46 m) long, with a 210,000-pound Burr arch structure. The bridge was completed in September 2001.
On March 26, 2009, then-Mayor Aman Virk died suddenly of complications after suffering a heart attack while vacationing in India
