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THE MAJESTIC Rockies are in view from just about anywhere in Denver. The Mile High City is a popular way station to skiing, hiking, and more mountain-centric activities. But what you may not realize is how much else there is to do—and how easy it is to get to all the fun.
Hop on the Red Rocks shuttle bus to get to the Denver area’s best-known music
venue. At Red Rocks Amphitheater, a National Historic Landmark, the atmosphere can outshine even top tier concerts. The site is open from just before sunrise to just after sunset for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Nearby, The Fort Restaurant is a local favorite whose fame was earned thanks to perfectly seared buffalo, elk, and quail. (Yes, you can get a traditional steak, as well.)
Denver’s light rail system has more than 50 stations, including one at the airport. That means easy access to the three major downtown sports arenas: Empower Field, home to the Broncos; Coors Field, where you’ll find the Rockies; and Ball Arena, where the Nuggets play. Attending an event at the Colorado Convention Center or the 14-venue Denver Center for the Performing Arts? Light rail will get you there, too. Or ride the rails in a different sense. Just 25 minutes from Denver, the Colorado Railroad Museum offers locomotive-pulled passenger car rides along with intricate model train displays. Once back in the city, stroll around Larimer Square, a neighborhood of international restaurants, lively bars, and swanky boutiques, as well as historic 19th-century landmark buildings.
IF YOU GO
- STEP BACK The Gilded Age–era Oxford Hotel, welcoming guests since 1891, boasts a stunning collection of Western landscape paintings.
- LOOK UP The Denver Astronomical Society hosts weekly and monthly stargazing events at the University of Denver’s Chamberlin Observatory.
PLAN AHEAD The largest ticketed beer festival in the country, the Great American Beer Festival takes place in October.
