# Denver area attrictions???



## jcgill (Jul 20, 2010)

Hello, i am planning a trip to Denver and surrounding areas at the end of August (I will be there when the Pro Cycling Challange is going on and plan to watch a few stages).

Also i am going to try to make it out to SteamBoat Springs to check out the Moots factory.

What are some other good attractions/places to eat/things to see are around denver. I will have a rental car with unlimited milage so outside of denver is allright too. 

So far from looking at denver.org i came up with a few things that seem interesting: Whitewater rafting, gold mine tour, renting bikes and riding......anybody know of good reliable places to do these things at? 

Basically what are the must see and must do things for somone visiting the Denver area?

Thanks for any input,
Jon


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## Samadhi (Nov 1, 2011)

jcgill said:


> Hello, i am planning a trip to Denver and surrounding areas at the end of August (I will be there when the Pro Cycling Challange is going on and plan to watch a few stages).
> 
> Also i am going to try to make it out to SteamBoat Springs to check out the Moots factory.


If you make it to S-Boat you'll also want to check out Eriksen bikes, too and bring swim trunks and check out Strawberry Park Hot Springs.



> What are some other good attractions/places to eat/things to see are around denver. I will have a rental car with unlimited milage so outside of denver is allright too.


If you gamble check out Central City/Blackhawk casinos.

Denver Zoo is cool as is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

There are rent-a-bike kiosks all over Denver. You can rent a cruiser bike from a kiosk and ride the city's extensive trail system. If you want to rent something a bit more sophisticated that can be arranged from various sources. Bike Doctor near downtown will rent a road bike fore $40-$50/day.

It will be too late for rafting.

Gold mine tours are fun if you're not claustrophobic.

As far as "must-do" stuff goes, it kinda depends on what you like. 

Check out Westword.com and see if there's a concert that appeals at Red Rocks Amphitheater.



So far from looking at denver.org i came up with a few things that seem interesting: Whitewater rafting, gold mine tour, renting bikes and riding......anybody know of good reliable places to do these things at? 

Basically what are the must see and must do things for somone visiting the Denver area?

Have dinner at The Fort.

If you're downtown have a hot dog at Biker Jim's over by Coors Field.

Drive Colfax - the longest continuous street in the US - from one end to the other. See real, live prostitutes in their natural habitat.

Walk up the west steps of the state capital and have your picture taken on the step that is 5280 feet above sea level. It is The Mile High City after all. 

Check out the nightlife in LoDo, especially if the Rockies are playing @ home 

There are other Denverites that hang here that will offer their recs, too.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Do you want ride reccomendations, as well? 

A few ideas: 

Mount Evans is impressive as a ride or drive. 

There are lots of breweries in the area to check out.


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## indianhillsted (Apr 28, 2002)

The Mint is cool and right near the race finish.

I would skip The Fort...hundreds of better (and cheaper) restaurants around IMO.


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## Samadhi (Nov 1, 2011)

indianhillsted said:


> The Mint is cool and right near the race finish.



Mint's awfully noisy. If looking at Other People's Money is an attraction, the Money Museum at The Fed Reserve on 16th might be more interesting.




> I would skip The Fort...hundreds of better (and cheaper) restaurants around IMO


I dunno about better. The best NY Strip I've ever had was served up at The Fort. That said there are still lots of places that serve decent steaks at much lower prices - they just don't the ambience or the view. My go-to steakhouse is Cowbobas on Evans & Federal.

We had dinner with my niece from Omaha last night at Wash Park Grille. Still a best-in-class eatery.

If dead animals hanging from the wals has appeal, Buckhorn Exchange is cool. Liquor License # 1. Lots of trophys on the walls and Custer's sword. Good steaks and game meats. Sh!++y part of town tho.

How about Casa Bonita:idea:?


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## taralon (Sep 1, 2011)

Lookout Mountain at night/dusk is a nice place to catch a great view of the City from. You get to look pretty much straight down the continuous line of Colfax. I would +1 the idea of the Fort, though if you don't want to do the drive then you could substitute the Buckhorn Exchange which is much closer to Downtown. 

Some ideas of places to visit:
Molly Brown's House in Denver. The Boettcher Mansion, Buffalo Bill Cody's "gravesite", the Mining/Geology Museum on the CSM campus and Dinosaur Ridge, Red Rocks, and the Train Museum near Golden. Georgetown loop railroad. Rocky Mountain National Park & Saint Mary's Glacier. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. The Royal Gorge & trainride.


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

The Fort, Colfax and Buffalo Bill's grave... really? This is what you offer up to show our fine metro area. C'mon the Denver area is far more awesome than that.

Go to Red Rocks, stand on stage, hike the perimeter, tour the museum, climb the stairs.
Walk Pearl Street in Boulder, go to Vecchios and University Bikes. Stop at Cured and get a sandwich made by a Tour de France rider and stage podium finisher.
Drive up Mt Evans Highway or better yet bike it or take the train up Pikes Peak.
Taste wine and have a great outdoor lunch at Creekside Cellars in Evergreen.
Throw your bra in the rafters at the Little Bear
Have a beer overlooking the city skyline at Amato's beer garden.
Do a micro beer tour at Great Divide or a macro beer tour at Coors
Do a wiskey tour at Stranahans
Tour Wings over the Rockies flight museum at Lowry and have a beer and brat at the beer garden next to the hanger.
Hike Roxbourgh State Park and walk between the giant red boulders.
Hike Dinasour Ridge and see the ancient footprints
Tour the Air Force Academy
Ride or hike Deer Creek Canyon.
Hike up or 4WD around the Moffet Tunnel, Needle Eye Tunnel and Corona Pass.
See the headwaters of Cherry Creek at Castlewood Canyon.
Do the climbing wall at REI
Punt the Creek.
Take in a Rockies game.
Bike down 7th ave, look at the mansions and keep an eye out for Vaughters riding his bike.

I could go on. Just get out here and DO something.


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## jcgill (Jul 20, 2010)

Awesome suggestions so far guys!

Ill be there from the 19th to the 27th, so im gonna try to pack in as much as i can.


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## Samadhi (Nov 1, 2011)

jcgill said:


> Awesome suggestions so far guys!
> 
> Ill be there from the 19th to the 27th, so im gonna try to pack in as much as i can.


Maybe a little meetup would be in order?


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

+1 on all of Mootsie's stuff. 

The Golden Bike Shop in Golden, CO (just west of Denver) rents MTBs and one model of carbon road bike. If you're also into MTBing, rent one and check out the trails in White Ranch Park (near Golden) or the other Jefferson County parks. The guys in the shop can turn you onto some good rides. 

Wheatridge Cyclery, owned by former 7-11 pro Ron Kiefel and family rents a wide variety of road and mountain bikes as well. 

THE classic road ride near Golden is Lookout Mountain atop which is the Buffalo Bill grave and museum. Lookout was on the 2011 Pro Challenge route as well and can be turned into a route of almost any length you like after reaching the top. The record up Lookout is held by Tommy Danielson at 16:02. 

Just east of Golden at 6th & Simms is Simms Steakhouse which has about the best view of metro Denver anywhere and pretty decent food to boot. 

Check out the REI Flagship store near downtown Denver as well as Ocean Journey (yes, an aquarium in the Mile High City) which is just down the street from REI as is Elitch's amusement park and Coors Field baseball stadium. 

Two of our favorite restaurants Duo and Highlands Garden are in the Denver Highlands neighborhood, a short drive from the REI. The Platte River bike trail (paved MUP) goes right past the REI too and traverses the entire metro area from north to south and links up with the rest of the extensive bike path system in and around Denver. I *think* the REI rents bikes. 

If your family doesn't ride, you could combine a ride from Bergen Park over Squaw and Juniper passes to Idaho Springs where the family could meet you via car and take a gold mine tour. While in Idaho Springs, check out Beau Jo's pizza, an interesting take on pizza with gluten free options. Pretty sure they serve Tommyknockers microbrews too among which I recommend the Black Powder Stout. 

In Boulder, definitely check out the Pearl Street Mall (pedestrian mall not that other kind) that usually sports a variety of buskers. The classic ride near Boulder is Boulder->Lefthand Canyon->Ward->St. Vrain Canyon->Lyons->Boulder, a route used my many pros for training. You can shorten the ride significantly by parking at the base of Lefthand Canyon too. 

You could also check out Rocky Mountain National Park with a wide variety of hiking trails reaching lakes and mountain vistas as well as one of the highest paved roads in North America. 

TONS of good rock climbing EVERYWHERE around Golden, Boulder and RMNP too if you also participate in that sport (which I do). Check out Mountainproject.com for recommendations


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