3.5 days in Denver area
 

Planning a trip for July - flying in at 10a on a Friday. We have concert tickets for Red Rocks that night and plan to go early to hike the area. Any suggestions for the rest of our weekend? We are interested in hiking, possibly horseback riding, rafting and would also appreciate hotel/restaurant suggestions if you've got them! My travel partner flies out at 6am on Monday, I'm leaving 2pm that afternoon so we probably need to be back on the east side of town Sunday night.

We were in Denver over Memorial Day for a wedding, and we had two great meals at Acorn and Rioja.

http://www.denveracorn.com/

http://www.riojadenver.com/

Probably no rafting that time of year--just an FYI.

Hey - have you been to a show at Red Rocks before? Get ready for an absolute treat. It doesn't get any better. Are you renting a car? If so, I would recommend stopping at a grocery store to stock up on hike sustenance and more importantly, pre-red rocks concert tailgating supplies. If you have reserved seats for the concert, you can take your time tailgating until right when the show starts. If you have general admission, you might want to get up there earlier than later.

For rafting info (which is probably out) i'd check out www.coloradorafting.net.

A great day trip for Saturday or Sunday would be to Boulder if you've never been. There are tons of great hikes, an easier one being the flat-irons and a harder one being Sanitas. Get your hike in early and then head for Pearl Street for an amazing day of shopping, wandering, people watching and amazing food. Pizzeria Locale Boulder is a personal favorite, but there are tons of great places to eat in Boulder.

If you want to stick around Denver, check out the LoHi area (lower highlands) which easily connects to downtown. It's packed full of awesome lunch spots (masterpiece delicatessen) bars (linger/ale house/lola) and dinner spots (colt and gray, uncle, z cuisine, etc.)

Agree about the Highlands area above. Very cool. Go to Little Man ice cream store (is that the right name?)

Thanks everyone, great tips. For hiking/nature - Boulder sounds good and is certainly reduces drive time, but I thought that the best experience would be up in RMNP. No?

Yes, of course, but Boulder is much closer. A day in the Park would undoubtedly be lovely.