Denver
THE AMERICAS · CITY · MILE HIGH
Denver is where the plains stop and the Rockies start, exactly a mile above the sea. It has spent the last decade turning old warehouses and rail yards into a serious food and drink city, and it is still the doorway to about a dozen ski towns and four national parks. Come for a couple of days at the front of a mountain trip, not instead of one.
The plan
Union Station and LoDo
The restored 1914 station is now the city's living room — bars, a hotel and trains, in the middle of the oldest blocks.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Thirty minutes west, a natural sandstone bowl and the best outdoor venue in America. Go for a show, or hike it at dawn for free.
RiNo art district
Warehouse murals, breweries and the city's best new restaurants along Larimer and Walnut.
Denver Art Museum
A Libeskind shard holding one of the strongest Indigenous American collections anywhere.
A brewery afternoon
Great Divide, Our Mutual Friend and Ratio are all walkable from RiNo; Coors in Golden is a half-day if you want the industrial version.
Book before you fly
Red Rocks
Check the concert calendar before your dates; the amphitheatre is free to walk when there is no show.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Timed entry permits in summer on recreation.gov, with a separate one for Bear Lake Road.
Coors Field & Ball Arena
Rockies tickets are cheap and usually available on the day.
Getting there
Fly Denver (DEN)
A vast United and Southwest hub with direct flights from six continents. The A-Line train runs to Union Station in 37 minutes for a few dollars.
Drive from the ski towns
I-70 west to Summit County is 90 minutes without traffic and three hours on a Sunday afternoon in February. Leave early.
Getting around
RTD light rail plus a walkable downtown covers most visits. You only need a car to head into the mountains.
When to go
Best time to go
September and October for warm days, cool nights and aspens turning an hour west, or March if you want spring skiing with city evenings.
Cheapest months
January and February midweek — cheap rooms, though everyone's in the mountains.
Priciest & busiest
Late June to August, when conference season and 35°C afternoons arrive together.
If you've got one day
Morning
Union Station and LoDo
Late morning
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Lunch
Denver Central Market
Afternoon
RiNo art district
Evening
Dinner at Tavernetta, then Denver Art Museum
If you've got a week
Day 1
Arrive, settle in around The Crawford Hotel, and take it slowly — Denver Central Market for dinner.
Day 2
Union Station and LoDo.
Day 3
Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Dinner at Tavernetta.
Day 4
Day trip — Boulder.
Day 5
RiNo art district. Guard and Grace at some point.
Day 6
Denver Art Museum.
Day 7
A brewery afternoon. Finish with Snooze, an A.M. Eatery.
Staying longer?
Nearby & day trips
Boulder
Forty minutes northwest — the Flatirons, Pearl Street and the best restaurant scene in the state.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Ninety minutes to Estes Park, with Trail Ridge Road over 3,700m in summer.
Four hours west over Independence Pass in summer, or a short flight.
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