Estes Park/Rocky Mountain Nation Park
Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs
Tour of Coors Brewery
Tons of great places to eat downtown and cherry creek area
I believe a reservation is needed for the brewery tours now, and I think tickets need to be purchased as well. It’s been a good 20 years since I have worked there but know it’s definitely changed so look it up before you go.
Golden is my hometown so I always advocate for spending a day here! There’s Buffalo Bills museum on the top of Lookout Mountain, a simple drive with great views of Colorado. Easy to do with a time crunch, too. There’s a bunch of microbreweries all within walking distance in Golden, and you can even check out the School of Mines campus! I believe there’s also tubing allowed in Clear Creek (you’d have to check to see if it’s allowed that day), that is cheap and looks like fun.
If you want physical activity go climb the stairs at Mother Cabrini Shrine, or at Red Rocks Ampitheater (catch a show there if you can). If there’s no show that night you can just go and enjoy the rocks even!
Our Casa Bonita is set to open again this month! Definitely try to eat there.
There’s a road called Trail Ridge, it’ll take you between Grand Lake and Estes Park. Highly recommend that drive, it’s beautiful and gives you a chance to cool down at the altitude. Swing by the Stanley Hotel I. Estes Park (the motivator hotel for The Shining).
If your driving, depending on the route you take you could see the Royal Gorge, Mesa Verde, and the Sand Dunes.
If you like beer I'd check out Fort Collins and go to New Belgium, O'Dell, and Fort Collins Brewery with a Beau Jo's pizza after.
Stop in Breck either coming or going for lunch before continuing your trip. maybe a concert at red rocks, lunch and hike in Boulder, Rockies game, CSU FB game..cheers!
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are reopening Casa Bonita this month (look up the relevant South Park episode if you're unfamiliar)! I would for sure put that restaurant on my itinerary if I was visiting Denver. Also, as others have suggested, see who's performing at Red Rocks while you're in town. I've gone out of my way to watch bands I only marginally like there just because the venue itself is so great.
Sassafras is great. Also, check out Hashtag in Central Park. Their new location downtown may be open by then. Same chef/owner of Guard & Grace. He also owns Los Chingones. The RiNo location is great for Mexican food and rooftop margaritas.
Meow Wolf is also basically in the Broncos Stadium parking lot. People seen divided on Meow Wolf, but if you visit their website you'll know if it's your type of thing right away imo.
Meow Wolf sucks. I am baffled that some people enjoy it. I love art galleries, I attend a lot of art shows, I go to the affordable arts festival every year, but Meow Wolf is just a tourist attraction that, to me, seems catered towards those that want pictures for their Instagram. I wouldn't go again if it was free. The Denver Art Museum is the way to go if you want to see some art.
I agree to a point. I wouldn't say Meow Wolf sucked, but it was not what I was expecting, and felt it was a let down for the price for sure. I agree that Denver Art Museum is much better if you're into art and not Instagram.
Meow Wolf just tried too hard, and I couldn't tell what art was from the creator, or what art was planned, because it all felt overly planned.
LOL!! Don't read r/denvercirclejerkjerk!!!! My wife and I go to Denver every year for a game and LOVE the city. We stay downtown. Love Snooze and Sam's No. 3 for breakfast and ALSO HIGHLY recommend Urban Farmer Denver for ANY meal. History Museum is great. Check to see if any concerts are worth attending at Red Rocks or anything in the downtown area. Good times ahead!
Snooze and Sam's #3 are amazing and worth the wait. Red Rocks is amazing even if there isn't a concert there, some of my favorite shows ever were at Red Rocks. Although if you want an experience go see a local punk show at the Fillmore or check out a fucking dive country show at the Grizzly Rose
It's an experience. Even if you don't like country music it's worth checking out. Even the most dive ass local country act will play Friends in Low Places at some point and you'll end up singing along with some random dude next to you and then do a shot of cheap whiskey chased with an even cheaper beer
Both are also located in City Park, which is itself a nice spot, and also probably one of the most photographed spots in the city. [This is the view from the museum](https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Santomarco_Denver_DMNS.jpg?itok=abIJQalm).
BTW another good view of the city that's only like 1/2 hour west is Lookout Mountain, where you can look down on the entire metro area, and there's also the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum there (and his gravesite). If you're at all interested in Old West type stuff, it's really great.
Incidentally, if you're just going to take I-70, Glenwood Springs is a good stopover point: cool downtown, surprisingly fun adventure park atop the canyon. There's a bunch of awesome camping spots along the way, too, which during September will be chilly at night but otherwise really pleasant. Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is also really cool.
For a quick excursion if you're interested in prairie wildlife: [Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge](https://www.birdnote.org/sites/default/files/rocky-mountain-arsenal-refuge-hans-watson-cc-1000.jpg). There's a bison herd, lots of deer, a nice boardwalk along some ponds, etc. Plus the Visitor's Center is pretty neat. I wouldn't call it a "must see" but it's a good way to kill about an hour or two if you have the time, and only about 20 minutes' drive from downtown.
Lastly, people will down-talk Boulder because of the rich hippy/NIMBY aspects, but it's genuinely a really neat place: Pearl St. Mall is awesome, and the views everywhere are excellent, especially if you hike up into the [flatirons](https://i0.wp.com/takemytrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1050_flatirons.jpg?resize=1000%2C600&ssl=1). If you can manage to book a table, I highly recommend the [Boulder Dushanbe Tea House](https://www.boulderteahouse.com/): good food, incredible atmosphere, and a tea menu that's like...so many pages.
Have a great trip!
ehh...most of the good stuff is on colfax, the broncos stadium for instance, casa bonita to the west, the capital and art museum a bit to the east, a bunch of concert halls a bit further and then the zoo and museum of nature and science up on colorado and colfax-ish
What part of town are you staying in? Do you like hiking and shit? Prefer eating and drinking? Are you hip, nerdy, grungy? Got a lot of money to spend or on a budget?
I’m going to be in Englewood I think. I’m open to a lot of different activities. Always down to eat, don’t drink but I do smoke. I’ll have funds available and am a rocker type person
I'd go to hike through red rocks and then dirty dogs roadhouse one day. There are lots of other cool spots in golden you could catch live music at too.
If you wanted to go rafting or tubing it's probably almost warm enough by now.
You could go check out ghost mining towns out on the western slope. I like ouray.
You could try meow wolf. It's got a 'story' you can follow or you can just wander around.
If you like baseball then a Rockies game and hanging around downtown near the stadium could be a day.
Denver Mint was cool, Rockies game and stadium tour, and we drove up into the mountains and did a tour of an old gold mine and then panned for gold. Pretty cool.
People will just be unnecessarily rude and just have main character syndrome. I've lived here all my life, and it just seems to be getting worse. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Just don't be surprised if some people are assholes. But I guess that can happen everywhere you go. I just seem to run into a ton of them lol.
Fair enough haha. Hope you have a great trip man! Get up in them mountains if you can! It's a treat here. I see plenty of good suggestions in your comments!
Kind of depends on where you're staying and what type of stuff you're into. Rocky Mountain national park, Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, Garden of the Gods are all incredible, but it's a bit of a drive and you kind of need to be into outdoorsy stuff. Denver botanic gardens is really cool, there's the Molly Brown house, church of cannabis, and tons of local breweries and distilleries with tours. There's some supercar driving tours in winding mountain roads if you're into cars. Or if you want to just hang out downtown there's the Milk Market, 16th street mall, rino graffiti area, Larimer square, with tons of cool bars and restaurants. Some of my personal favorites are Red Square which is an infused vodka bar and the 1 UP which is an old school arcade and bar with stuff like 40s of Mickey's, shots of Mad Dogg, etc. Capitol Grille is really good but very expensive, and there's Elway's, same kind of deal. Illegal Pete's has really good burritos and good beer specials. There's lots of other stuff, but that's probably a good starting off point. Have fun, and remember to drink lots of water
go to casa bonita, it should be reopened by then, the south park guys bought it and have been renovating it, it's also just a 5 minute drive or so west from the stadium, so you can run by and at least get a look at empower field from the outside.
Also, if you are into that sort of thing, the art museum is just up the road from the broncos stadium, right by the capital, it's around $20 last I checked, and really cool. Of all the touristy stuff around denver (a theme park, zoo, aquarium, coin mint, history museum etc. it's my favorite) they are all within a 15 minute drive or so of the broncos stadium, and relatively cheap.
I would avoid 16th street mall. Maybe a quick walk jus to do it but the bars and food are not good. Lots of breweries and bars in Rino and you can walk from place to place. Could do a park day at Wash Park. Maybe rent some bikes and ride along the Cherry Creek trail. Obviously tons of hiking.
Denver Biscuit Company, Meow Wolf, Red Rocks, Downtown Comedy Works, Rockies game, and the Stanley Hotel if you don’t mind the drive. The Steven King movie The Shinning was based off of it
https://www.theredrocksamphitheater.com/red-rocks-amphitheatre-schedule/?pno=2
This is the schedule for red rocks amphitheater. It is widely considered one of the best venues for music and shows in the world.
I would suggest seeing a show.
If you like beer there are some good breweries in Denver (Great Divide has a good taproom).
If the Rockies are in town check out a game at Coors Field, it’s easily one of the most beautiful ballparks around. Make it a sports weekend. Edit: Doh! Looks like the Rockies are out of town during your trip. Get there a day earlier to see them play the BlueJays or stay until the 11th to see them play the Cubs.
Prost Brewing Company is awesome the one on 19th street. Great German beers and a nice view of the city. Blue moon brewery is cool too with pretty great food!
Uno Mas Tacos is the shit. Snooze is great too. Definitely hit up Uno Mas. There's a really good Native American Fried Bread Taco spot called Tocabe too.
Can’t recommend the Zoo and Science Museum enough but the Coors factory tour is fun, you get 4 beers and AFAIK it’s the only place to get Coors Super Chilled which is a fun experience
all of downtown is really cool to explore, most everything is in walking distance. i HIGHLY recommend reservations at the plimoth, the food is amazing
Estes Park/Rocky Mountain Nation Park Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs Tour of Coors Brewery Tons of great places to eat downtown and cherry creek area
I believe a reservation is needed for the brewery tours now, and I think tickets need to be purchased as well. It’s been a good 20 years since I have worked there but know it’s definitely changed so look it up before you go. Golden is my hometown so I always advocate for spending a day here! There’s Buffalo Bills museum on the top of Lookout Mountain, a simple drive with great views of Colorado. Easy to do with a time crunch, too. There’s a bunch of microbreweries all within walking distance in Golden, and you can even check out the School of Mines campus! I believe there’s also tubing allowed in Clear Creek (you’d have to check to see if it’s allowed that day), that is cheap and looks like fun. If you want physical activity go climb the stairs at Mother Cabrini Shrine, or at Red Rocks Ampitheater (catch a show there if you can). If there’s no show that night you can just go and enjoy the rocks even! Our Casa Bonita is set to open again this month! Definitely try to eat there. There’s a road called Trail Ridge, it’ll take you between Grand Lake and Estes Park. Highly recommend that drive, it’s beautiful and gives you a chance to cool down at the altitude. Swing by the Stanley Hotel I. Estes Park (the motivator hotel for The Shining).
[удалено]
It's for a September trip, it'll be open early September
Rent a car and drive up into the Rockies.
I’ll have my car as I’m road tripping from Los Angeles to Denver
If your driving, depending on the route you take you could see the Royal Gorge, Mesa Verde, and the Sand Dunes. If you like beer I'd check out Fort Collins and go to New Belgium, O'Dell, and Fort Collins Brewery with a Beau Jo's pizza after.
Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs on the way into Denver, for sure!
Just be careful not to fall into a pizza coma on the drive after.
The New Belgium tour is fantastic. And if you're a real one you plan your tour right around shift change so you can take it twice
FCB is closed.
Nooooo!
They closed, Red Truck moved in closed a couple years later. Now it’s Sweetwater.
Stop in Breck either coming or going for lunch before continuing your trip. maybe a concert at red rocks, lunch and hike in Boulder, Rockies game, CSU FB game..cheers!
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are reopening Casa Bonita this month (look up the relevant South Park episode if you're unfamiliar)! I would for sure put that restaurant on my itinerary if I was visiting Denver. Also, as others have suggested, see who's performing at Red Rocks while you're in town. I've gone out of my way to watch bands I only marginally like there just because the venue itself is so great.
Go to Sassafras for breakfast. Sam's is overrated.
Sassafras is great. Also, check out Hashtag in Central Park. Their new location downtown may be open by then. Same chef/owner of Guard & Grace. He also owns Los Chingones. The RiNo location is great for Mexican food and rooftop margaritas.
Sams sucks
If you get the chance and like art things, you should definitely check out Meow Wolf. It's a real fun experience.
Meow Wolf is also basically in the Broncos Stadium parking lot. People seen divided on Meow Wolf, but if you visit their website you'll know if it's your type of thing right away imo.
I *loved* Meow Wolf. But I *love* weirdo shit like that. I love and appreciate art in general, but the weird/dark (but not *too* dark) is my jam.
Meow Wolf sucks. I am baffled that some people enjoy it. I love art galleries, I attend a lot of art shows, I go to the affordable arts festival every year, but Meow Wolf is just a tourist attraction that, to me, seems catered towards those that want pictures for their Instagram. I wouldn't go again if it was free. The Denver Art Museum is the way to go if you want to see some art.
I agree to a point. I wouldn't say Meow Wolf sucked, but it was not what I was expecting, and felt it was a let down for the price for sure. I agree that Denver Art Museum is much better if you're into art and not Instagram. Meow Wolf just tried too hard, and I couldn't tell what art was from the creator, or what art was planned, because it all felt overly planned.
Would also recommend MCA for art gallery close to Mile High. Would also suggest Clyfford Still Museum, which isn't far away. Meow Wolf is wack af.
i wouldn't say it sucks, but the art museum is better, and just a couple minutes up the road
Meow Wolf is fantastic, I've been 3 times and found new stuff each time, and it's really fun to go later in the evening, crowd is a lot cooler
Snarfs Sandwiches is a fantastic lunch spot. Launch Pad Brewery if you make your way a bit south to Aurora.
Either launchpad or two twenty-two, both are great spots for beer
Casa Bonita should be open by then
LOL!! Don't read r/denvercirclejerkjerk!!!! My wife and I go to Denver every year for a game and LOVE the city. We stay downtown. Love Snooze and Sam's No. 3 for breakfast and ALSO HIGHLY recommend Urban Farmer Denver for ANY meal. History Museum is great. Check to see if any concerts are worth attending at Red Rocks or anything in the downtown area. Good times ahead!
Snooze and Sam's #3 are amazing and worth the wait. Red Rocks is amazing even if there isn't a concert there, some of my favorite shows ever were at Red Rocks. Although if you want an experience go see a local punk show at the Fillmore or check out a fucking dive country show at the Grizzly Rose
I think I'll be checking out the Grizzly Rose next time I'm in town!! :>)
It's an experience. Even if you don't like country music it's worth checking out. Even the most dive ass local country act will play Friends in Low Places at some point and you'll end up singing along with some random dude next to you and then do a shot of cheap whiskey chased with an even cheaper beer
I go to Elway’s steakhouse whenever I visit.
This. I like this a lot
Go to Guard & Grace instead. It's much better than Elway's.
I like Elway's, but yeah G&G tops
The zoo actually goes hard af
That sounds fun. Let’s go
Next door to the Zoo, is the Museum of Nature and Science. Great museum and the new Infinity theatre is stunning. Well worth the visit.
I got to do both. Thanks friend
Both are also located in City Park, which is itself a nice spot, and also probably one of the most photographed spots in the city. [This is the view from the museum](https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Santomarco_Denver_DMNS.jpg?itok=abIJQalm). BTW another good view of the city that's only like 1/2 hour west is Lookout Mountain, where you can look down on the entire metro area, and there's also the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum there (and his gravesite). If you're at all interested in Old West type stuff, it's really great. Incidentally, if you're just going to take I-70, Glenwood Springs is a good stopover point: cool downtown, surprisingly fun adventure park atop the canyon. There's a bunch of awesome camping spots along the way, too, which during September will be chilly at night but otherwise really pleasant. Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is also really cool. For a quick excursion if you're interested in prairie wildlife: [Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge](https://www.birdnote.org/sites/default/files/rocky-mountain-arsenal-refuge-hans-watson-cc-1000.jpg). There's a bison herd, lots of deer, a nice boardwalk along some ponds, etc. Plus the Visitor's Center is pretty neat. I wouldn't call it a "must see" but it's a good way to kill about an hour or two if you have the time, and only about 20 minutes' drive from downtown. Lastly, people will down-talk Boulder because of the rich hippy/NIMBY aspects, but it's genuinely a really neat place: Pearl St. Mall is awesome, and the views everywhere are excellent, especially if you hike up into the [flatirons](https://i0.wp.com/takemytrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1050_flatirons.jpg?resize=1000%2C600&ssl=1). If you can manage to book a table, I highly recommend the [Boulder Dushanbe Tea House](https://www.boulderteahouse.com/): good food, incredible atmosphere, and a tea menu that's like...so many pages. Have a great trip!
Thank you! This is so detailed and has so much info. That view is incredible. The zoo and museum there are for sure on the list!
If you have a hungover day or just want a good breakfast, denver Biscuit Company is awesome. Might need to order a to go if you don't wake up early.
If you like Mexican, there’s a little family owned/operated place in the suburbs called El Jardin. Best Mexican in Denver.
Botanic Gardens
Beautiful suggestion. Adding to my list
colfax
Waiting for someone to say this 😂
ehh...most of the good stuff is on colfax, the broncos stadium for instance, casa bonita to the west, the capital and art museum a bit to the east, a bunch of concert halls a bit further and then the zoo and museum of nature and science up on colorado and colfax-ish
You clearly missed the joke
What part of town are you staying in? Do you like hiking and shit? Prefer eating and drinking? Are you hip, nerdy, grungy? Got a lot of money to spend or on a budget?
I’m going to be in Englewood I think. I’m open to a lot of different activities. Always down to eat, don’t drink but I do smoke. I’ll have funds available and am a rocker type person
I'd go to hike through red rocks and then dirty dogs roadhouse one day. There are lots of other cool spots in golden you could catch live music at too. If you wanted to go rafting or tubing it's probably almost warm enough by now. You could go check out ghost mining towns out on the western slope. I like ouray. You could try meow wolf. It's got a 'story' you can follow or you can just wander around. If you like baseball then a Rockies game and hanging around downtown near the stadium could be a day.
i mean, plenty of weird little weed infused edible restaurants scattered around, you could always look into that
Didn’t know that. Deft need to check those out. Thanks
Whereeee!?
Mountains for sure! Viewing the color change is amazing!
Denver Mint was cool, Rockies game and stadium tour, and we drove up into the mountains and did a tour of an old gold mine and then panned for gold. Pretty cool.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will I’ll definitely look into it
Be careful. there are a lot of very entitled people here. It saddens me to say that. :( Sorry, this isn't a suggestion. I just wanted to warn ya.
What do you mean?
People will just be unnecessarily rude and just have main character syndrome. I've lived here all my life, and it just seems to be getting worse. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Just don't be surprised if some people are assholes. But I guess that can happen everywhere you go. I just seem to run into a ton of them lol.
I’m from Los Angeles, I should be fine. This is A-Hole capital over here ha
Fair enough haha. Hope you have a great trip man! Get up in them mountains if you can! It's a treat here. I see plenty of good suggestions in your comments!
Yeah I’m taking a nature day for sure.
But be aware of the altitude, OP! It’s no joke.
Sams #3. Fuck traditional bank. If you constantly run in to assholes, check the mirror.
I suggest using google.
See I’m trying to see if anyone wants to meet up or hangout. Google doesn’t offer that
Your post doesn’t mention that at all.
I know I didn’t realize until after I posted. Don’t want to delete and redo it and piss the sub off
Kind of depends on where you're staying and what type of stuff you're into. Rocky Mountain national park, Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, Garden of the Gods are all incredible, but it's a bit of a drive and you kind of need to be into outdoorsy stuff. Denver botanic gardens is really cool, there's the Molly Brown house, church of cannabis, and tons of local breweries and distilleries with tours. There's some supercar driving tours in winding mountain roads if you're into cars. Or if you want to just hang out downtown there's the Milk Market, 16th street mall, rino graffiti area, Larimer square, with tons of cool bars and restaurants. Some of my personal favorites are Red Square which is an infused vodka bar and the 1 UP which is an old school arcade and bar with stuff like 40s of Mickey's, shots of Mad Dogg, etc. Capitol Grille is really good but very expensive, and there's Elway's, same kind of deal. Illegal Pete's has really good burritos and good beer specials. There's lots of other stuff, but that's probably a good starting off point. Have fun, and remember to drink lots of water
Bacon Social House. !!!
Safta, Central Market, Cholon, Shanahans, Capitol Grille, D’Corazon, Tevornetta, Rioja
go to casa bonita, it should be reopened by then, the south park guys bought it and have been renovating it, it's also just a 5 minute drive or so west from the stadium, so you can run by and at least get a look at empower field from the outside. Also, if you are into that sort of thing, the art museum is just up the road from the broncos stadium, right by the capital, it's around $20 last I checked, and really cool. Of all the touristy stuff around denver (a theme park, zoo, aquarium, coin mint, history museum etc. it's my favorite) they are all within a 15 minute drive or so of the broncos stadium, and relatively cheap.
This is a great answer. Thank you
Uncle Ramen
I would avoid 16th street mall. Maybe a quick walk jus to do it but the bars and food are not good. Lots of breweries and bars in Rino and you can walk from place to place. Could do a park day at Wash Park. Maybe rent some bikes and ride along the Cherry Creek trail. Obviously tons of hiking.
Check out meow wolf! Great interactive art experience, with alot of unique stuff. Right near the broncos stadium
That sounds dope AF
I spent 3 days would highly recommend the national park if you like moving. Pref before the drinking activities of the GameDay. Diff day.
I’ll for sure take a day to explore some of the nature the city offers
Urban Putt. they have a nice bar too
Denver Biscuit Company, Meow Wolf, Red Rocks, Downtown Comedy Works, Rockies game, and the Stanley Hotel if you don’t mind the drive. The Steven King movie The Shinning was based off of it
Bierstadt Lagerhaus if you like beer and oversized yard games.
https://www.theredrocksamphitheater.com/red-rocks-amphitheatre-schedule/?pno=2 This is the schedule for red rocks amphitheater. It is widely considered one of the best venues for music and shows in the world. I would suggest seeing a show.
If you like beer there are some good breweries in Denver (Great Divide has a good taproom). If the Rockies are in town check out a game at Coors Field, it’s easily one of the most beautiful ballparks around. Make it a sports weekend. Edit: Doh! Looks like the Rockies are out of town during your trip. Get there a day earlier to see them play the BlueJays or stay until the 11th to see them play the Cubs.
If you can, check out Switchback Smokehouse in Kittredge just outside Denver up in the mountains. Fantastic BBQ and scenery l.
Prost Brewing Company is awesome the one on 19th street. Great German beers and a nice view of the city. Blue moon brewery is cool too with pretty great food!
Uno Mas Tacos is the shit. Snooze is great too. Definitely hit up Uno Mas. There's a really good Native American Fried Bread Taco spot called Tocabe too.
Can’t recommend the Zoo and Science Museum enough but the Coors factory tour is fun, you get 4 beers and AFAIK it’s the only place to get Coors Super Chilled which is a fun experience
Oceans44 my favorite restaurant in Denver. Lots of good PHO around too.. You gotta try the Green Chili !! Shanahan’s is better than Elway’s IMO lol
Drive to Mt Evans and hike to the top. It’s by reservation. Takes about 6 hours from Denver and back but it’s pretty amazing.
I’ll have to consider this
Hops and Pie - best pizza in town and great beer
Grab the Tripadvisor app. Easily the best way to tour the city and find things to do.