Denver/Boulder - 4-Day Itinerary - HELP!
 

Hey, there:

As usual, my wife and I are making last-minute plans and so need help with a 4-day trip to the Denver/Boulder area August 2-5.

I've never been to the area, but have been trying to read-up here and elsewhere. Any suggestions would be most welcome, including:
- affordable ("cheap"!) places to stay
- things to see and do
- places to eat
- best towns to visit
- some hiking suggestions

We're in our early/mid-30's, enjoy basic day hiking, general scenic walking/people watching, and avoiding crowds if possible. I'm also into beer bigtime and plan on at least visiting New Belgium in Fort Collins.

My first attempt at an itinerary:
Day 1: arrive around 11 am; rent car; spend day in Denver, site-seeing and acclimating to altitude change (from Atlanta)
Day 2: driving up to Boulder area - do some hiking, site-seeing, maybe go to Ft. Collins
Day 3: go to Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 4: drive around during morning, maybe short hike; fly home around 3 pm

If it makes more sense to add another day, we can definitely do that. We're not much into shopping - although it sounds like it's cool to walk around Lo-Do in Denver and around Boulder - and have no desire to go to an amusement park or things like that.

Any advice is much welcomed - thanks!

-Mark-

Here's my feedback on your itinerary:

In Denver, some breweries you may want to visit (and eat at) are:

- Breckenridge Brewery - across from Coors Field
- Sandlot - in Coors Field - you may want to take the tour or see a game too
- Wynkoop - great pool hall upstairs
- Chop House - great food

These are all on the same edge of the city. There's also a fun piano bar next to the Chop House called Sing Sing which is a fun experience.

Day 2 in Boulder (don't drive to Ft. Collins, there's enough to see an do in Boulder):

Good Boulder breweries:
- Oasis
- Walnut

- Hike up to the flatirons from Chautaqua park
- Drive a little south to Eldorado canyon for some beautiful scenery and hiking - you'll see rock climbers here too

- If you want a really fantastic dinner with an excellent view - go to the Flagstaff House - it's pricey, but worth it
- The Med in town is also one of my favorite places to eat

- for margaritas, hit the Rio

The Celestial Seasonings factory is just outside Boulder and the free tour is great.

Day 3 in Estes Park/RMNP:
- drive up trail ridge road
- you'll get a map at the entrance and should be able to determine where you'd like to hike from that
- there are restaurants up and down main street

As a beer lover, you should visit Coors in Golden, CO (not far from Denver). It will be a contrast to all of the great microbreweries suggested in the previous post.

I'd suggest a drive INTO the mountains one day...you could head west on I-70 out of Denver, stop at Beau Jo's pizza in Idaho Springs for lunch, then drive onto Georgetown (enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery all the way) and ride the Georgetown Loop train for a nice scenic experience.

IMO, although you can see the Mts. from Denver, you need to drive into them to really get a true taste of their beauty. (Although RMNP will give you a lot of beautiful scenery, too).

RMNP has one of the tallest mountains in Colorado - Longs Peak (14,259')

You are definitely IN the mountains when you go there. I agree, if you have more time, driving INTO other parts of the mountains is nice, but do not miss RMNP on your first trip.

I also agree, that if you want to drive through Golden on your way to Boulder, the Coors tour is great. Stop at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison too. They have a new visitor's center which is fabulous.

I agree on skipping Ft. Collins. Not much to see there, really, no offense to FtC. You're better off focusing on Denver's downtown/LoDo area, Boulder, and then either Eldorado and Golden or Estes. If you go to Chautauqua Park, there's a great restaurant in the historic building there, that we have liked much more than the ridiculously expensive Flagstaff House (which is up the road from Chautauqua). You can sit out on the porch and watch the sunset on the Flatirons. Also great hiking there, and music concerts are offered in the old theater some nights. If you can add an extra day, I think you'd find plenty to do in Colorado. If you're flying home around 3p.m., that doesn't allow you much time to hike around RMNP first. It's about 1.5 hours' drive to DIA, and longer if the canyon traffic gets congested and/or Boulder turnpike is busy.

Mark why Denver? I live here and I like it allot but if I was coming to Colorado I would maybe spend a night downtown, "cheap" places the Comfort Inn Downtown is a great value a great location. Then I would head to the Mountains. Great hiking, biking some shopping in Vail or Breck. for "cheap" lodging look at www.askicondo.com also in Keystone is the http://www.hotels.com/property.jsp?p...7&PSRC=TAQ Arapahoe Inn pretty basic but new. Also you can sometimes find good deals at http://denver.craigslist.org/vac/

Beer...in Summit County there is the Dillon Damn Brewery, Great Northern in Keystone, Breckenridge Brewery in Breck, Backcountry Brewery in Frisco
If you want to avoid crowds Keystone is a bit more quiet than the other resorts towns. Breck is fun though can get really crowded in summer. All these towns are close to one another. I'd stay in Keystone but would definitely head to Vail for a day. Great people watching at the "up the creek" restaurant, get a table outside and watch the folks play in the river.

I forgot to mention that, if you choose to see Boulder, take a walk through the CU campus. It's very nice, with red rock and red tile roof buildings, the Flatirons in the distance. Then grab a beer and a sandwich at infamous, slightly sleezy "The Sink", on the Hill across from campus.

For Boulder, Oasis went out of business.
I would second the recommendation for the Med as a good place to eat. People watching on Pearl Street Mall can be fun, as well.

No more Oasis? Sad.

Wow - thanks for all the responses! Most of you seem to be looking at Denver for short visit and most of time around Boulder and RMNP, except for Coskier, who is saying to go further west.

Our trip is now "5" days - Aug. 6-10. I say "5", since we get in at 2:30 pm and leave at 3 pm - it's really 4 days total. Traffic may be better, though, as we'll be there during weekend.

As to "Why Denver?" - it was really, "Why not?"; we had a free RT Airtran pass for 2 and this was a city/area we had never been to. I've been reading about the history of the region and am very excited to check out the beautiful wilderness and the cities/people.

I'm struggling with hotels right now; thanks for the suggestions, Coskier. I actually found the Wyndham in Tech Center for $44/night (net special). Is this cool or should I really try to stay downtown? I figure we can handle a 20-minute drive after dinner.

Any advice in hotels in/near Boulder?

So - my new thoughts based on your feedback:
Friday - Day 1:
- check-in; go through Downtown and Lo-Do; maybe have dinner (or at least a beer) at Wynkoop

Saturday - Day 2:
Leave Denver:
- go to Golden for Coors Tour (scary!)
- Georgetown?
- Red Rocks in Morrison?
- Eldorado?
- Estes?

Drive to Boulder:
- dinner
- hotel

Sunday - Day 3:
Boulder:
- hike Flatirons
- Eldorado Canyon?
Dinner:
- the Med
- hang-out Pearl St. Mall

Monday - Day 4:
RMNP:
- Estes Ridge
- ?

Tuesday - Day 5:
- Morning in Boulder?
- go north to Ft. Collins, just to get exclusive beers at New Belgium brewery?
- Airport - 3 pm

Suggestions?

I would not stay at the tech center. If you are coming to Denver I would stay downtown (lodo) The tech center is strip mall suburb you could be anywhere USA. 20 min drive only if you are lucky.

Red Rocks yes, Georgetown no. But again I would head to Summit County.

You might also look at the
Executive Tower Hotel downtown, they often have specials. It is a good location.

Don't stay at the Tech Center-- I agree that it's "Anytown, USA". The Embassy Suites downtown is very nice: good-sized rooms, complimentary evening drinks and hors d'oeuvres (enough to make a meal, really!) and a nice breakfast buffet. Or splurge and stay at The Brown Palace or The Oxford, historic buildings. In Boulder, see what rates and availability you can find at The Boulderado. It's a classic historic building, right down at the Pearl Street mall. (Try to get a room in the hotel proper.) Then map your trips so you don't spend more time driving than you want to. For example, from Golden, you can take the highway to Boulder that goes right past Eldorado. Red Rocks wouldn't be too far out of the way, but is in the opposite direction. Probably not a good idea to drive up to Georgetown from Golden, then back down to Boulder. And you really want to go to Ft. Collins, don't you? (Don't mind me-- I went to Munich and thought our local beer was as good as theirs!)

Get the hotel through Priceline. I stayed at the Radisson in Aurora for about $38 a night.

I recommend going to the Western Heritage Black Cowboy Museum and,if you are lucky, Mr. Stewart the founder will be there and tell you lots of wonderful stories.

Thanks for the hotel suggestions and Maureen for the itinerary advice. In Denver: the Comfort Inn has no vacancies, the Embassy Suites was $159, and I couldn't find anything on Priceline or Hotwire under $90 (I'll try again next week). Right now I made a reservation at the Executive Tower for $74 a night.

Any Boulder or nearby city hotel suggestions?

Also: any ideas on what to do that last day in/around Boulder?

We're not going up to Ft. Collins for just the one beer that's only sold at the Brewery. And, yes, I too have travelled multiple times to Belgium just for beer and come back with a suitcase full of 40 bottles; try explaining that to Customs!

Thanks -

-Mark-

Mark Copy and paste this address http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/ext/dp...ac/leadpg2.htm

for day hikes near Denver. I like to hike Mount Falcon, it is off hwy 285 near Morrison, Take the hike to the planned site for the Summer White House. Was never built but you can see why they would have choosen the spot.

A note on the Executive Tower, pretty basic but the location is good, right by the performing arts complex and a short walk to Larmier Square. I think that the extra few dollars spent styaing downtown is worth it. Why drive after beers. :)

Definitely stay downtown, not in Aurora. The Executive Tower Inn is fine, especially for $74, you probably can't beat it. It's a safe location, too, and a lot of performers stay there because the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is across the street. You can walk a couple of blocks to Larimer Square, then on to LoDo. For good pizza in an old standby type of place, try The Wazee, at 15th and Wazee, below Larimer. For Boulder ideas, again I recommend the CU campus itself, Chautauqua Park and the drive up Flagstaff Mountain, Eldorado Canyon, the Pearl Street mall (lots of street performers if you like that, and good people watching).

Here are a few Boulder activity suggestions. The Colorado Shakespeare Festival will still be underway during your visit. It's hosted on the CU Boulder campus, and you can bring a picnic and have it on the lawn before the performance. It's a fun way to spend an evening and you can walk around the beautiful campus as well. I believe "Romeo and Juliet" is being performed on your last night there, here is the url:

http://www.coloradoshakes.org/

I try to take out of town visitors to the Boulder School of Massage Therapy. You can get an hour of shiatsu or swedish massage by the students for $20 - $30, a great deal. Appointments fill up fast, so if you are interested, contact the school ASAP:

http://www.bcmt.org/

Another fun an unique place is the Boulder Dashnube Teahouse, nice indoor/outdoor garden setting for lunch or a tea break:

http://www.boulderteahouse.com/

Pearl Street Mall is always a fun way to spend the afternoon, but I prefer to be there during daylight hours. Panhandlers tend to gather in large groups after sunset.

There are also some day hikes around Boulder and you could even rent bikes if you chose. Don't know if you are smokers or not, but just FYI, Boulder bans smoking in bars and restaurants and Denver does not. If you are nonsmokers who like to visit pubs, then Boulder is probably the better place for that.

Not to totally hijack this post----but does anyone know the name of a restaurant in Boulder that was brought over piece by piece from Russia and re-built on Pearl Street (I think that's the street). It's a Russian tea house and you sit on pillows on the floor, and in the center of the restaurant is a fountain and the ceiling is full of beautiful shiny mosaic tiles. I'm heading to RMNP tomorrow and just remembered this place---thought I'd like to go back, but can't really remember the name or exact location of the place. Think the name is quite foreign-sounding. Thanks.

My advice...listen to Coskier!