Anyone been to Denver?

[Principessa21]

TooLiveBrew and I are taking a quick trip to Denver in the beginning of March. If anyone has gone, what are some dos or don'ts. Thanks!

[hawing]

Coors Field tour - since you won't be able to attend a game in March.

[pitchleague]

the zoo was pretty good. Not sure what it'll be like in March, of course. I just about had heat stroke in July when we were there.

 

A day trip to Estes Park is kind of nice, too.

[GAME05]

the Coors Brewery tour in Golden can be fun if you take the abbreviated tour--a self-guided trip through a few "in the beginning" posters and straight into the tasting room. i'm not a fan of Coors beer, but at the tasting room it was awesome. it's also best if you take their "limit four" rule as more of a suggestion.

 

the Denver Art Museum is fun.

 

just a simple drive up into the mountains is very beautiful, especially if you find a place to stop and take a quick trail. i prefer the non I80 roads, but all the ones along I80 are small and touristy (which isn't necessarily bad).

 

a trip to Boulder is nice, and is definitely a good place to walk around. it's a lot like Madison. Pearl Street=State Street.

[zurch1818]

I had a second interview out there once (didn't get the job)...but they did show me the Red Rocks natural Amphitheater the day after my formal interview to sell the area to me. They didn't have a show when I was there, but it was pretty awesome to walk up there and see a giant stage between two Red Rocks.

[GAME05]

sorry i can't remember where exactly it is, but there's a drag strip just a little west of the city. even if it's not exactly your thing, it's fun.

[tristarscoop]

I'd definitely rent a car and travel about a bit. We went up into Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park for a day, via Estes Park and loved it. Plenty of short little hikes to do - go around Bear Lake, its a short but gorgeous walk. We also took another short hike in that same area that was more elevation and when up a small waterfall. You can drive a bit in the park there - we saw an elk and some birds - it was totally worth it.

 

I'd second going to Boulder. Its a cool, walkable town. We also went to Bookcliff Winery and did a tasting and really liked that.

 

In re-telling, I guess we spent very little time in Denver proper. There's just too much cool stuff around there to stay still.

 

We went to three games at Coors, so we ate in that area a lot. There are a couple of breweries and we especially liked Wyncoop's food. There was a asiago dip appetizer that I still think about, it was so good.

[chadomac]

Red Rocks is pretty cool and so is Pike's Peak. I remember it was kind of crazy driving up it. In a fun way.

[Raw Biz]

Went in 2010 for August series. Loved the downtown area, especially the bars around Coors. There's a WI-themed bar called Swankys right by the stadium that I would definitely recommend checking out. Sveum was actually there serving drinks after one of the games.

[pitchleague]

another word about Estes Park . . . with your trip being in early March there is a VERY good chance that Rocky Mountain National Park will be closed to traffic.

 

The trip up through the Big Thompson Canyon on the way to Estes Park, though, is beautiful and should be open. And Estes Park, itself, will be there to do stuff. You will likely see animals and wildlife around the town at that time of year; no reason to go into the National park.

[Bikeage77]

My band played in Denver once. We didn't have much time to mess around because we were on tour, but the guy who set up the show got us pizza from a little dive type place called Two Fisted Marios, and it was excellent. It's in the uptown area.

 

That's all I got.

[Principessa21]

TLB and I just returned from Denver and had a great time. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Quick recap for anyone interested:

We did rent a car and spend a full day in Rocky Mountain National Park. We TOTALLY lucked out with the weather. Blue skies and in the 50s. (On Monday it hit 75 in Denver.) We couldn't walk around Bear Lake since we didn't have snow shoes but we did walk about 4 miles roundtrip on Old Fall River Road towards Chasm Falls. Gorgeous views. Just really humbling. And I saw elk! TLB was bummed though that we didn't see any big-horned sheep.

 

In Denver we stayed at the Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast. It was fantastic and the breakfast was delicious. We went during Denver Restaurant Week and tried The 9th Door, a tapas place not far from Coors Field. Love the food and the atmosphere. Otherwise, we just relaxed and explored the city. Definitely want to visit again. Great way to celebrate my 30th birthday.

[pitchleague]

SO. JEALOUS.

 

Glad you enjoyed RMNP. There is so much to see, it's pretty much impossible to take it all in. But you're right about the humbling part.

 

Kind of surprised the OLD Fall River Road was open, even to hikers, since it has so many unguarded (no guard rails) switchbacks and such. But bully for you that got to enjoy it!

[Baldkin]

With the series coming up in less than a month, just giving this a bump, and seeing if anyone has further suggestions.

 

I'll be in Boulder for the week, and hopefully attending all 3 games in Denver.... also hope to climb at least one 14er.

[theavrock]

Baldkin, what kind of stuff are you looking for? I was just there and did a lot of eating and drinking. Also did some rafting, but given the drought the season is pretty much over for that.

 

I'll second the RMNP suggestion. Since its going to be summer heading over to Wash Park and hanging out there is great just for the people watching.

[Baldkin]

Anything, really. A solid brewpub or two, hikes that could be off the beaten path, local eats, suggestions on where to sit at Coors field....

 

I'm only there for 6 days, so I'll be burning the candle on both ends and probably lighting it in the middle... but it'll be fun.

[adamds22]

Baldkin, I live in Denver and have hiked a few 14ers, it's a great place and if you've never hiked a 14er and are in somewhat decent shape I'd definitely recommend it. It's an experience like no other and the views are incredible. As far as Brewpubs there is a new one in the highlands called Denver Beer Co that is supposed to be good, Highland Tap and Burger is probably the best burger I've ever had, Ale House also in the highlands has really good views of downtown, Cherry Cricket in Cherry Creek has been featured on the food network for their burgers too.

 

There are Brewery tours pretty much anywhere you turn in Denver/Fort Collins/Boulder, I've heard of this Brews tour downtown that takes you around to a few of them which sounds cool, not sure what exactly it is called, tons of great golfing around here if that is your thing.

 

As far as where to sit, one of my favorite places is the pavilions in left field, tickets are pretty cheap about $15 a ticket gets you within 5 rows of the field, other than that if you're looking for cheap the rockpile is only like $5-$8 a ticket and I personally prefer those over any other upper deck ticket.

[chadomac]

Strange timing for this thread and what occurred last night. Just sickening news that put me in a very weird mood all day today. The Jessica Redfield thing with her tweets right before it happened were very disturbing to me. I feel very bad for everyone connected to the incident. Nice to see that they caught the guy, though... I always feel somewhat "cheated" when a horrible person like this kills themselves before the cops get a chance to take them in.

[adamds22]

Yeah it is a horrible situation a friend of a friend of mine was there and got shot in the leg, the person he was there with who I do not know was also shot in the arm.

[GormanHarvey]

Strange timing for this thread and what occurred last night. Just sickening news that put me in a very weird mood all day today. The Jessica Redfield thing with her tweets right before it happened were very disturbing to me. I feel very bad for everyone connected to the incident. Nice to see that they caught the guy, though... I always feel somewhat "cheated" when a horrible person like this kills themselves before the cops get a chance to take them in.

 

He didn't kill himself.

[chadomac]

Nice to see that they caught the guy, though... I always feel somewhat "cheated" when a horrible person like this kills themselves before the cops get a chance to take them in.

 

I never said he did.

[GormanHarvey]

Nice to see that they caught the guy, though... I always feel somewhat "cheated" when a horrible person like this kills themselves before the cops get a chance to take them in.

 

I never said he did.

 

Wow, totally missed that. My bad.

 

This was probably 10 years ago, but I ate at a really good Italian restaurant in Denver right by Coors Field called Il Fornaio. I would recommend it, but I'm not completely sure its still there just due it being 10 years since my visit.

[theavrock]

Anything, really. A solid brewpub or two, hikes that could be off the beaten path, local eats, suggestions on where to sit at Coors field....

 

I'm only there for 6 days, so I'll be burning the candle on both ends and probably lighting it in the middle... but it'll be fun.

 

Foodwise I would hit Biker Jims Gourmet Hot Dogs, Denver Biscuit Co., Tom's Home Cooking, Snooze, Euclid Hall, Stuebens (also has good cocktails and beer), I'll second the H Burger recommendation. Those are some of the standouts from the few times I've been to Denver.

 

Drinkwise I am more of a cocktail guy so I can't really recommend the brew pubs. If you are feeling having a cocktail I would highly suggest Williams and Graham (make a reservation). I had an absolutely phenomenal time there. Also THe cruise room, colt and gray, and TAG all made good drinks.

 

Have fun. I love Denver.

[Baldkin]

I'm so excited to go.... I wish I had more than 6 days there. I could easily spend a month and not see all I wanted to see.