Denver and surrounding area

[sarahsays]

I will be in Denver for a conference at the end of June and will have a couple of extra days (2.5) afterwards to explore, plus some evenings during the conference. My partner is coming with me and neither of us has ever been to Colorado. 

We enjoy light hiking (although I'm concerned about the elevation change), food, music, and just generally exploring new places.

Should we stay in Denver for our extra time or go somewhere else? If so, where? I'd also love any lodging and restaurant suggestions! 

[mrspez07]

You can easily find enough to do in/around Denver.
Roxborough State Park, any of the Jeffco Open Spaces or Red Rocks (on a non-concert day) are good close hiking options.
In Denver itself there’s a lot to do downtown or nearby.
In addition, Golden, Boulder and Fort Collins are fun places to spend the day.

Here’s a few recent threads as well.
pandce.proboards.com/thread/641370/denver

pandce.proboards.com/thread/640178/denver-march

[egishere]

You should see if there is anyone playing at Red Rocks that you like because its an amazing concert experience!

[osumelissa]

Another idea is Colorado Springs to drive up Pikes Peak and/or visit Garden of the Gods.

[mccallister84]

Apr 24, 2024 12:08:56 GMT -5 osumelissa said:

Another idea is Colorado Springs to drive up Pikes Peak and/or visit Garden of the Gods.

If you are concerned about elevation sickness I would just caution that this is a big change from Denver.

My in laws live in Denver. We live at sea level. We have never had any problems going to Denver or going up around 10,000 feet or so. We all had a rough time heading up Pikes Peak.

Breckenridge is my absolute favorite.

[lynn07]

There is lots of great hiking close to Denver. I always suggest everyone go to Red Rocks, whether for a show or just to hike around the area. I also love walking around Golden and up and down Clear Creek right there. Go see a Rockies game one evening if there is one! Tickets are cheap and it's a great ballpark. If it were me, I would sight see around Denver while you're at your conference and then I'd go stay in Boulder for the extra 2 nights. Hike Chautauqua Park and walk Pearl Street. Stay at the St. Julian or Hotel Boulderado. Where area are you staying in Denver? There's lots of restaurant recs depending on where you'll be.

ETA - for 2 nights, I'm not sure I would use the extra time to go all the way to FoCo or the mountains just because I would want to save some time. I've also never been a huge fan of Colorado Springs besides The Broadmoor. The closest/prettiest/biggest mountain town would probably be Breck IMO if you did want to make the trek.

[sarahsays]

May 2, 2024 13:13:13 GMT -5 lynn07 said:

There is lots of great hiking close to Denver. I always suggest everyone go to Red Rocks, whether for a show or just to hike around the area. I also love walking around Golden and up and down Clear Creek right there. Go see a Rockies game one evening if there is one! Tickets are cheap and it's a great ballpark. If it were me, I would sight see around Denver while you're at your conference and then I'd go stay in Boulder for the extra 2 nights. Hike Chautauqua Park and walk Pearl Street. Stay at the St. Julian or Hotel Boulderado. Where area are you staying in Denver? There's lots of restaurant recs depending on where you'll be.

ETA - for 2 nights, I'm not sure I would use the extra time to go all the way to FoCo or the mountains just because I would want to save some time. I've also never been a huge fan of Colorado Springs besides The Broadmoor. The closest/prettiest/biggest mountain town would probably be Breck IMO if you did want to make the trek.

Sadly, the Rockies are away the entire week we are there. We will be at The Inverness Denver for the conference but I'll have a car so we can drive into the more downtown Denver area.

Thanks for the Boulder hotel recs!