Denver
Day One: Hiking tour and Great local Places
- Columbus has direct early flights to Denver and with a three hour time zone change, we land in Denver around 8:00AM.
- 9:00-10:00AM. Sam's No. 3 (1500 Curtis St). Great diner with huge menu and portions, see more below.
- 10:00-11:15AM. 16th Street Mall (16th Street Downtown). 1.25 mile long pedestrian only street with local and chain stores.
- 11:30-12:00PM. Union Station
- 12:15-5:00PM. Shared Half-Day Mountain in Red Rocks Evergreen and Echo Lake (1701 Wynkoop St). Great way to cover three locations in only a half day, see more below.
- 5:30-6:30PM. Check into Airbnb. We found a place in a nice appartment complex walking distance to Union Station.
- 6:45-7:45PM. Denver Beer Co Platte Street Taproom (1695 Platte St). Fun big place with ample beer menu. The Platte st is full of restaurants, bars and shops. You can spend a lot of time here.
- 8::00PM+. My Brothers Bar (2376 15th St). Denver's oldest bar with great burgers, see more below.
Day two: Graffiti Tour, Boulder, Breweries, Comedy works
- 8:30-9:30AM. Snooze. An A.M. Eatery (2262 Larimore). Feels like a local hip joint but it is actually a chain. Got a delicious breakfast burrito of course, very good, fresh and light version of my favorite, good green chili sauce.
- 10:00-12:00PM. Denver Graffiti Tour (2314 N. Broadway). See more below.
- 12:15 - 1:00PM. Drive to Boulder
- 1:00-2:00PM. Foolish Craig's Cafe (1611 Pearl). Giant breakfast and lunch menu, see more below.
- 2:00-3:30PM. Pearl Street. Street performers, shops, restaurants, check out Piece, Love & Chocolate or Rocket Fizz for a candy treat. You could spend a long time here if you want.
- 3:30-4:00PM. Back to Denver.
- 4:00-5:45PM. Larimore Street Breweries. Really like Old Mutual Friend (2810 Larimore), see more below. Ratio Beerworks (2920 Larimore), industrial atmosphere with huge outdoor space, great beer, try the Saison, see more below. Also, Odell Brewing (2945 Larimore)
- 5:45-6:45PM. RiNo Beer Garden (3800 Walnut). Probably over 50 taps, can get everything from very light to big ABVs. Huge Menu, we just had appetizers, Brussel Sprouts and Green Chili tator tots.
- 7:00PM+. Comedy Works, show at 7:30. We saw a good comedian in a small venue, close to stage.
Day Three: Hikes, Idaho Springs, Baseball
- 8:00-9:00AM. Lucile's Creole Cafe (275 South Logan). Nothing like a New Orleans style breakfast, see more below.
- 9:30-10:30AM. Bear Creek Trail at Lair o' Bear Lake (22550 CO-74, Idledale, CO 80453). Very easy hiking with families and dogs. See more below.
- 11:00-1:00PM. Saint Mary's Glacier (Idaho Springs). Sliding on Snow in August next to a Glacial Lake. see more below.
- 1:30-3:00PM. Idaho Springs. Lunch at Beau jo's Pizza (1517 Miner St, Idaho Springs). "Colorado Pizza", a bit thick with a big crust for dipping in honey. PIzza was great and in an old rustic mining town building (like Frontier land, except real). Idaho Springs has some shops, cool feel of an old mountain mining town, like Evergreen (also has a Beau jo's).
- 3:30-4:30PM. Back to Airbnb to regroup.
- 4:45 - 6:00PM. Great Divide Brewing Company (2201 Arapahoe St). Good beer selection in a cool old corner building near the ballpark. Good variety, IPA's and a Farmhouse Saison for me, Kristi had a non-sour Fruit Beer. Yeti is a solid stout, they have different versions at the taproom.
- 6:20-8:30PM. Rockies Game at Coors Field (2001 Blake St).
- 8:30PM+. Viewhouse Ballpark (2015 Market St). Crazy big and fun sports bar near Coors Field. Three stories of indoor and outdoor spaces with multiple bars. Huge food and beer menus, pretty good for a place that is more about atmosphere.
More tips for a Denver visit
- More Suggestions, maybe take several 3dayvacations: WIth the Rocky Mountains right there, you can certainly find more to do. We once went to Estes Park and visited the Stanley Hotel (inspiration for the Shinning). We also went to Rocky Mountain National Park.
- There was a biking tour we wanted to take and ran out of time.
- Oh, you have a never ending supply of breweries.
- Next Time, we will plan around a concert at Red rocks, need to experience one time.
Details & Descriptions
Sam's no. 3
Sam's No. 3 is a fun atmosphere diner with an Extremely large menu featuring a lot of American, Tex Mex, and even some Greek. Spero's Breakfast Burrito smoothered in Pork Green Chili was an easy and delicious choice. Good Coffee. Next time, going for one of the "Potato Stacker" choices. There is something for everyone on this menu.
Half Day Mountain Tour
Shared Half-Day Mountain Tour has three stops. Red Rocks is a famous concert amphitheatre carved into the mountain. Look for a show, we just missed Peter Frampton. Evergreen, charming mountain town where John Denver lived (check out LIttle Bear Saloon). Echo Lake is a glacial lake you can hike around.
Downtown Denver
Downtown Denver is lively with restaurants and shops. 16th street is closed to traffic.
My Brother's bar
Denver Graffiti Tour
My Brother's Bar is the oldest bar in Denver established in 1873. It also claims to have the best burgers in Denver (they are fantastic) and a good local beer selection. Lots of wood and brick in this big old corner bar, exceeds expectations on atmosphere.
Denver Graffiti Tour
Denver Graffiti Tour
Denver Graffiti Tour
Denver Graffiti Tour is a two hour guided walking tour in the popular RINO Art District. Tons of local and famous artists, Kristi pictured above with a Jules Muck. Incredible variety in a vibrant neighborhood, highly recommended.
Foolish craig's cafe
Denver Graffiti Tour
Denver Graffiti Tour
Foolish Craig's Cafe is a fun colorful place with a large menu for breakfast and lunch. Decided on the Corn Beef Hash, so good, the corn beef is chunky, the Reuben also has to be good.
Old Mutual friends
Old Mutual friends
Old Mutual Friend is a bright colorful taproom with a strong IPA line-up as well as Lagers, Sours, and some Strong Ales. Very relaxing place to drink a beer in the sun with Mutual friends.
Ratio
Old Mutual friends
Ratio Beerworks has an industrial warehouse feel with large garage doors to create a large open air indoor/outdoor patio. Fabulous beer line up, really liked the Maibock, Saison, and West Coast IPA.
Lucile's creole cafe
Lucile's Creole Cafe is a real deal New Orleans breakfast, always good (see Ruby Slipper on NOLA page and Kenny B's on HHI page). Cajun breakfast for me and New Orleans style french toast for Kristi. Picture is from Boulder
Beer Creek Trail
Bear Creek Trail at Lair o' Bear Park has easy hikes for all ages. Family and dog friendly. Short drive from Denver.
st mary's glacier
st mary's glacier
St Mary's Glacier is a "Day Hike" location only an hour outside Denver near Idaho Springs. About 1.5 mile round trip hike, fairly challenging rocky hike. Beautiful mountain lake, we slid down the glacier in shorts in August.
Rockies Game
st mary's glacier
At the Rockies game, we faced west to see the sun go down over the Rockies.