Denver Colorado Travel Guide – Best Things to See and Do in Denver

Oh Denver! Denver, Colorado had been on our list for awhile and we were super excited, pumped, thrilled (you pick your favorite adjective and apply it here) kinda feeling. We traveled to Denver during Thanksgiving break and truly were amazed by how fun, active, outdoorsy & dog-friendly Denver was. I had even made a comment that if only we had brought our pup, Shiloh, and my Subaru then we would have fit right in. So this list is our top ten must-sees and dos for Denver, Colorado.

Denver Rules graffiti art along the Cherry Creek Trail. (Make sure you look both ways both getting back on the sidewalk after your photo session, because you may come really close to colliding with a cyclist)

Now, before I get to the list, I must give a quick shout out to a friend, Kelly Perkinson. Her and her husband have been living in Denver for two years now and she had a lot of really great recommendations. Not only does her and her beau (& cute pup) have really great ideas on Colorado living, BUT she also has quite the eye for interior design and you can check out her AH-mazing work at Woveninteriors. So go and check them out, plus you can follow their exquisite work on insta at @woveninteriors 

Wanderlust Ten – Hey There, Denver

Top Ten List of Must Sees and Dos in Denver, Colorado

1. Rent bikes & explore all Denver has to offer on the Cherry Creek Trail, 42 miles of paved trails for all of your biking, running, walking needs. Denver has a great bicycle sharing program called B-Cycle that allows you to rent and ride from 87 different bike sharing stations all throughout Denver. The Cherry Creek Trail is one of your best options for riding as the trail is very scenic, as it rides along the Cherry Creek and travels throughout downtown Denver. We only had a few hours on our last morning in Denver set aside to bike the trail, I wish we were able to spend more time riding bikes and exploring because you could easily spend a day riding and exploring so much of the city. 

2. Rent a car or Uber to Red Rocks Amphitheater and hike/climb/explore/work-out. Red Rocks is beautiful and if you are really winning at life and are able then see a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We will definitely be going back sometime in the future to experience a concert at this iconic venue. (Also, no matter how physically fit you may think you are, have fun climbing the stairs to get to the top… :))

3. Hiking. Seriously. You are in Denver, Colorado so please do yourself a favor and explore some of the most scenic hikes in the USA.

• St. Mary’s Glacier – you wanna have one of those days where you feel like you are living an absolute dream and walking in a pure wonderland. Well, then head to St. Mary’s Glacier where you can hike a little less than a mile up to a glacier and experience pure beauty. The actual adventure we embarked on to find enough change for the $5 parking pass and the effort it took to get our photo despite phones shutting off due to the cold, we managed to have a pretty remarkable day.

St. Mary’s Glacier

Views along the hike to St. Mary’s

• Garden of the Gods – head about an hour and ten minutes south to Colorado Springs where you can find the Garden of the Gods. An excellent park full of unique, an awesome rock formations. Such a fun place to hike and explore. There’s also a lot of other really cool things to do in Colorado Springs so you can definitely make a day out of it, including Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, and Red Rock Canyon.

Sometimes you take a really great picture… standing next to a pile of horse crap….

• Flatirons in Boulder – we personally didn’t have a chance to make it to Boulder (will be making sure we add that to our agenda next time, but there are a lot of really cool flatirons to explore and hike in Boulder.

4. Indulge your hoppiness. Explore the many, MANY breweries Denver has to offer. Seriously, if you have been following my posts for awhile now, you may have noticed that each Wanderlust Ten List includes a mention of breweries. Well, this girl is in fact a craft beer lover (or snob) and one of my favorite parts about traveling is getting to taste all the different varieties of hops. And Denver definitely DOES NOT disappoint. One of the things that definitely surprised me the most about the breweries in Denver is that they know how to make a sour. This IPA-loving GA born gal left Denver with a admiration and appreciation for sours. We enjoyed lots of different brews all over including the following

• Crooked Stave (best sours ever)
• Great Divide Brewing Company 
• Wynkoop Brewing Co.
• Cerebral Brewing
• Mockery Brewing 
• Bonus: Weldwerks Brewing: by far our favorite. This one is a little out of the way, about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Denver, but most definitely worth it because the beer here was the best out of anywhere in Denver. So, so good. Not to mention the actual drive to the brewery and back was scenic with the Rocky Mountain skyline off in the distance running parallel to the highway. Pretty incredible.

Weldwerks Brewing Company in Greeley, CO. Super amazing beer (IPA lovers rejoice) and fun environment.

Crooked Stave Tasting Room.

5. Brunchin. Wake up early, enjoy the crisp air and grab yourself a table at Snooze, an AM eatery. Seriously, the best breakfast meal I have had in awhile. So many different varieties of entrees and great drinks. Plus, they have complimentary coffee while you wait for your table. Go early because it does get crowded quickly. 

6. Coffee Shops & Parks & Dogs: You wouldn’t be in Denver if you didn’t spend most of the time outside exploring. Enjoy a nice cup of coffee, while strolling in one of the many parks (City Park, Washington Park) while your heart bursts with joy in looking at all the dogs around everywhere. All of the following coffee shops are definitely worth checking out: 

• Wash Perk Coffee
• Corvus
• Steam
• Novo
• Thump

Washington Park.

7. Walk & Shop along Larimer Square, get lost in aisles of books at the Tattered Cover, explore your way through the many different shops.

Larimer Square.

8. Dive into the Denver Cultural Scene. Explore Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Art Museum.

9. Eat: Linger (great roof top for happy hour) and Root Down, Tomayo, Euclid Hall. So many great restaurants to choose from.

10. Is it baseball season? Go to Coors Field and check out a game. Before hand head to Tap Fourteen Rooftop Beer Garden for a legit draft list and fun yard games, all while enjoying a stellar view.

If you made it all the way through this post, thank you for your support. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Wanderlust Ten!

xo. Haley