Denver peeps
 

The wife and I are considering a trip to your fair city in late August for a concert at Red Rocks and some sightseeing. What should we see and do? Where should we stay?

I wouldn't go there without taking a crap in the investco stadium parking lot

If you want help, we can give it to you, but you need to provide some details:

Budget? Mtns or City? Interests? Age? Kids? Length of stay? Flying/Driving? Fat or Fit? First visit to CO, if not where did you go and did you enjoy it?

Don't want to be to prickly, but if you would like GOOD suggestions you should probably list this in your OP.

Budget, not looking to break the bank, but I'm not Guru either.

Mtns or City - City....we aren't into skiing or hiking. We do like scenery though, so we would probably want to do part of a day seeing nature.

We enjoy art, food, and music.

Age - mid 30s. Kid free trip.

Coming in Thursday morning, leaving Sunday.

First visit in many many years.

They still have Casa Bonita's in Denver?

Go to Estes Park 30 miles up in the mountains from Denver.

The entire park will be open then and it's just beautiful there.

You can stay at the Holiday Inn if you want real cheap then drive around.

Or get a cabin.

we must have a different map, mine says it's 70 miles and 90 minutes

I missed this, but bop me a PM if I forget about this. I'll try and respond this evening.

As a preview, I'm going to suggest you consider staying downtown if you can fit it in the budget, visiting the art museum and some of the other cultural attractions, and making one drive up into the mountains (because it's criminal if you don't).

Also, who are you seeing at Red Rocks?

FUN.

First order of business, visit a physician. Re: back pain ongoing for years.

stay as close as you can to the 16th street mall if youre staying downtown. maybe drive up to boulder for half a day. go walk around pearl street and then go up to Chautauqua park and walk around under the flat irons. Estes park is a good option if u want to make the hour + drive up there. Late August/fall time is the best time to be up there.

This is a pretty good suggestion.

There's some good stuff to do in Denver, but it's typical city stuff. We have a good theater company if you want to see a show. We have an art museum and a Colorado history museum and a symphony and a ballet, and you can walk to all of it if you stay downtown. (Brown Palace if you want a luxury experience, and maybe the Curtis if you want something more mod. Be aware that downtown is expensive, but it's really the only place you should stay as a tourist.)

If you want more of a Colorado experience, you could maybe spend a day or two in downtown Denver, but then beat it to the mountains and stay in Vail or Breckenridge or Frisco. Get a rental car that's got power, because you have to get over the pass at 11,000 feet. But that's really the stuff you want to do. I'm also a fan of going to Manitou Springs (south, no mountain driving) and taking the train to the top of Pike's Peak.

can someone point me to a map or explain what defines "downtown"?

Google map "Sixteenth Street Mall Denver", and zoom out. You want to stay between 15th and 17th for the most part, and anywhere from the Capitol to Wynkoop Street.

The Sixteenth Street Mall is the pedestrian mall that "defines" downtown. If you stay on the northwest end of the mall you're closer to restaurants and bars and it's livelier but more noisy. If you stay on the southeast side you're closer to the tourist attractions like the museums and the Capitol, but it's more business oriented. There's a free mall bus that runs the whole length, so it's not really a big deal on which end you pick.

I looked for a few images, and the annual zombie crawl route is a pretty good target for your efforts.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3481/...1f60582544.jpg

I work downtown, so if you see a hotel you like, I can give you the lowdown.

Cool - that's why I asked. I got the email today and was considering going as well. I've followed Nate since his old days with The Format and have seen Fun the past three times they came to town (including 1.5 months ago). So, as much as I'd love to see them at Red Rocks, I think I'm in for a breather on this one.

Anyway, as others have said, there's a lot to do around downtown Denver, so I'd try and get down there at some point if you can. However, you're going to be out late over on the west side of the metro area on Thursday night, so you might consider saving a few bucks by staying out that direction somewhere instead. There are lots of options, but if you're looking for something more than random chain along the highway, think about the Golden Hotel (in Golden). Golden's got a great little downtown area, and the scenery can't be beat. There are a number of cool restaurants down there as well.

If you're up for a mountain-y day, I'd do it on Friday to avoid the weekend crowds. Consider heading to Idaho Springs (about 30 minutes through a cool canyon on highway 6) for a mountain town experience (albeit a touristy one in the summer). If you're up for a bit of a driving adventure, you can head from there up Mt. Evans road. It's not for the faint of heart, but you can't get better views from a car in this state anywhere else except maybe Trail Ridge Road.

After that, you might think about making your move to downtown Denver (though you could just drive in instead if you'd rather not have to move locations while you're here). Friday/Saturday nights downtown are a lot of fun, and you're perfectly safe along the 16th Street Mall. It will be MUCH quieter down there during the day on Saturday, so I'd take that time to shop if that's your thing, or head to the Art Museum, History Museum, etc. If you're into good beer, we have a million microbreweries, so you could do something like tour Great Divide while you're downtown. If you're still not beyond your budget, you could even catch a show at the Denver Center (the broadway tour of Peter and the Starcatcher opens in Denver during that time if that kind of thing is up your alley).

There ya go. Vacation planned. :D

(Or at least I hope that helps to get your thinking going.)

I've gotta say, I do miss downtown Denver. :sulk:

You can drive to the top of Mount Evans.

Park in the North lot at Red Rocks when you go to your show.

Increase your water intake prior to coming here, and drink plenty of water.

Remember at altitude alcohol gets you quicker.

In that neighborhood, no one would think anything of it even if you were noticed.

rep for great tips. what time should we stop by for dinner? :thumb:

The one-legged beggar asks about you all the time. Would it kill you to drive down once in a while and give him a dollar when he shakes his cup?

Ha...you don't want me to cook. :)

Hell, I've got shoes that need shining!

Are you a lifetime member? If so, they're free.

I got the best Nerf gun in the world for Christmas, by the way.

Link?

I love shooting the shit out of my kids.
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It's not quite nerf, but it shoots similar missiles. You can do a 360 degree rotation, change elevation, and it's got a camera that you can use for aiming. While I haven't tried this part yet, you can also control it remotely over the Internet.

http://www.brookstone.com/usb-desktop-missile-launcher

Out of stock. Lol

My luck. I could have fun with that
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recreational

can't ****ing wait to move there. I wanna say, maybe 2 or 3 more years.

so, tell me about the following:

Mt. Evans - worth it?

The Curtis - decent hotel? I can get a good deal using points. Parking sucks though, but I imagine that's an issue anywhere downtown.

Mt Evans is ok, but usually very crowded. My favorite mountain day drive in the summer is to go up 70 to the turnoff to Leadville, then go south to the turnoff for independence pass and go to the top. Then turn around, come back down and drive to Buena Vista and take 285 back to Denver. It's a great view of a lot of the big peaks in Colorado and you'll avoid a lot of crowds and traffic by doing it that direction.

Don't know the Curtis, so can't really say much about it, sorry. Staying downtown is great though since there are so many bars and restaurants to try.

Mt. Evans is crowded and touristy, but the views really are spectacular. Here's one.

http://i.imgur.com/s2oQuAG.jpg

My wife stayed at the Curtis for a bachelorette party a couple years back and describes it as "trendy and fun." So there's that. It's directly across from the theater complex and half a block from my favorite diner in Denver - Sam's No. 3. Can't tell you much more about it, though.

Spent a few weeks in town about five years ago. Was thinking of taking a job in Littleton and living in Parker. LoDo is a lot of fun and energetic. My favorite restaurant in the area is The Fort in Morrison. Lots of game you can't easily find anywhere else. Bison steaks, pheasant, quail, etc.

I think I saw that place on tv last year...kind of like a cabin inside?

I know something you should do. Bring a flamethrower and rape house. Also smelt that Elway statue down.

Yes, very much. Nice view of the metro area too. It's up on a hillside in the foothills. Make a reservation. Worth the visit.

Yes and yes. Both are very good. Rent a car with power, though, if you're going to do Mt. Evans. As much power as you can get.

Hi Denver folk,

I will be flying into Denver Saturday June 8th and departing Mid-Day Monday June 10th.

My night is full on the 8th, but I will be getting there around 10 am that day. On Sunday June 9th I would like to go on some kind of day hike within maybe a half hour to hour drive of Denver at most.

What areas do you recommend for the hike, and what kind of cool stuff can I do in the city on that Saturday during the day?

I just need to be at The Oriental Theater by 7pm on Saturday.

The best thing to do in Denver is leave Denver and go do fun shit in the mountains.

Rain Man could probably use someone to do some yard work on Saturday afternoon. And maybe you can walk his cats on Sunday.

Yes, that's precisely what I want to do and am asking for advice on.

First off, do you mean June instead of July for all this? July 8th is a Monday.

Aside from that, can you give me an idea of how "big" of a hike you're looking to do in terms of how much time you're looking to spend and how strenuous you're looking for? Hikes can pretty much range from a walk in a field to climbing a 14er around here. :)

Also, how much time do you have on Saturday, and are you renting a car?

Go to mount Falcon if you want a good workout, and/or South Valley Park for a beautiful hike close to the city. Both are in the foothills close to Denver and can be done in under 2 hours.

Yes, good catch.

June 8th - June 10th.

As for the hike, I broke my ankle in January, so nothing that has anything I have to climb down more than 2 or 3 feet, I tried a hike like that already out here and reinjured my ankle.

3 or 4 hours would be a nice time. I'll be with my girlfriend who hikes a lot.

On Saturday I'll get into Denver at 10 am and have to be somewhere by about 6:30, and I'll have to check into a hotel somewhere in that time frame too. Probably will rent a car.

So the place I'm going on Saturday night is the Oriental Theater and it says its in the "bustling Tennyson Art and Business District and serves the broad interests of Denver’s burgeoning cultural scene."

Do any of you Denver folks know if this area has a good nightlife scene?

Since the show is there, I might try to grab a hotel room in that area to make it easier for Saturday night to watch the show then go on some kind of pub crawl and then get back to the hotel room easily.

Gather up as many donk fans as you can..you rape their first born before burning the city to ashes!!

I'm working on a bigger post with recommendations, but the short answer here from my limited prospective is...no it's not. Others may be able to correct me, but I think of that area as being a nice area that hit its prime about 30 years ago rather than a great place to hang out. If I were looking for nightlife, I'd make the drive downtown after the show. If you're just looking for a bar to hang out in, I'm sure you can find one around there, but it's probably not going to be anything special.

Given that you can't go very far during the day on Saturday, you'll probably want to stick with some of the main cultural attractions. The art museum, zoo, or science museum can all be fun, and there's always Elitch's amusement park. If your girlfriend is more into shopping/dining/people watching, the 16th Street Mall is always popular and can help you burn a few hours.

Those are all more central, and the Oriental Theater is more northwest, so all of those will be a bit of a drive. If you're into old amusement parks, Lakeside is literally right next to the Oriental Theater, so that's something you could do and be right there. That's definitely more of the "historical" kind of amusement park than "modern and fun," so don't go there expecting it to be the best roller coaster you've ever been on.

Regarding nightlife, I'd try to get to LoDo (lower downtown) if you can. There are a ton of little bars and restaurants down there, and the place doesn't shut down until well after I ever care to go to sleep. If you want something a little quieter, there are a variety of places scattered through the Highlands area (just across I-25 from downtown) that are all more quiet hipster kinds of places.

As for hiking on Sunday, there are a million little places you could go. If you want to stick within an hour's driving distance, you're going to be looking at either Jefferson County Open Space or Boulder County Parks and Open Space for trails. As mentioned earlier, Mt. Falcon is a cool set of trails that have views both toward the mountains and over the city, so check some of those out. (There's also a historic ruin up there for what was once supposed to be a "summer White House" if you're into that kind of stuff.) Golden Gate Canyon has some nice trails as well. I also like a lot of the trails in the Betasso Reserve up Boulder Canyon. All three of those areas have some moderate trails that shouldn't cause you too many issues.

I'll keep thinking about trails and let you know if I come up with any specific recommendations. In the meantime, feel free to ask if you look into a particular area and want the perspective of someone who knows the area.

Thanks for the help DaFace. Yeah I want to stay in a trendier spot. Sounds like that art district is the dregs.

This would work great for me.

Aside from that, stay downtown. Tennyson isn't going to be much fun compared to downtown.

Yeah, I've honestly never been in that area, but my wife who has lived here for years says it's way past its prime from her memory. Feel free to bop me a PM if you have any questions as you plan your trip.

Should've went to Seattle...

Quick weekend trip...don't even have to take PTO.

Still gonna go on vacation somewhere else.

go jump off the speer blvd bridge onto incoming i25 rushhour traffic...thatll be a nice enjoyable saturday afternoon for yourself

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...ighlight=evans

You're welcome.

If you and your girl are into outdoor activities, and trendy nightlife I will have a full schedule for you guys should you choose the Pacific Northwest. You'll love it. Just sayin'.

Loved Portland, Victoria, Vancouver, and even Leavenworth. Seattle wasn't bad, just liked the other places more.

Stop trying to steal our tourist dollars.

Buck, it rains all the time in Seattle and it's really close to Russia. I think they have tsunamis there, too.