fun activities in colorado
 

Any ideas of cool things to do around the denver area besides skiing. Taking 6 teenagers between 16-18 to denver between Christmas and New Years day. Looking for dinner ideas, skating, crosscountry skiing, sleigh rides, paint ball games, sightseeing ideas. I appreciate the input.

If you make it down to Colorado Springs area, here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Cog Railroad to the top of Pikes
Peak is pretty cool.

2. Ice Skating at Broadmoor Hotel lake

If you go to a ski area, snowmobile tours are always a hit

Hmmm, good question. We have teens and are always looking for fun things to do when we're in Denver. Our kids love wandering through the 16th Street Mall downtown (a pedestrian-only street with shops and restaurants. There's a free trolley/shuttle that runs the length of the mall). At one end is an ESPN Zone that my 16 year old son (and his father) could pretty well just move into and call home. There are horse drawn carriage rides (similar to those found around NYC's Central Park) that are especially fun at night.

If your kids like to hike, I'd take them to Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Golden. Seventy million-year-old red rock cliffs have been transformed into an amazing space that seats something like 9,000 for summer concers. It has hiking trails and great views of Denver year-around.

The Planetarium near downtown has laser shows at night (with music by Led Zeppelin, etc.)--we've been meaning to go there but never have.

If they want to shop, take them to either Park Meadows (in south Denver) or Cherry Creek Mall (near downtown). They'll love either one. Park Meadows is neat because it's built to resemble a Colorado ski lodge.

Teens ages 16-18 will LOVE Vesta Dipping Grill in LoDo (lower downtown). It's consistently on lists of Denver's best restaurants and is kind of pricey (not burgers and fries cheap) but not stuffy at all. In fact, it's pretty loud at times--perfect for teens! The menu centers around various skewers and entrees that come with a variety of sauces served in little pots. With or without kids, this is hands down my favorite Denver restaurant.

Have a great trip!

We live in Denver and have a 16 year old son and a 19 year old daughter. They whine all the time about how few things there are for teens to do in Denver! The only teen dance club downtown, Rock Island, they say is kind of sleazy, so we don't recommend it. But my daughter likes to go to the Grizzly Rose, for family country line dancing nights, which is good if you're interested.
The teens would like ESPN Zone downtown, and there's good food there, too, or at next door Cheesecake Factory. ESPN's loud and will drive you nuts, but teens love it. You can also spend a lot of money on games there.
An inexpensive but good local favorite is The Wazee 'supper club' downtown, for really great pizza. And the Wynkoop Brewery has good food that's reasonable, too. Or try Ted Turner's for good buffalo burgers. It's on Larimer Square, which is a nice block in downtown for shops and restaurants.
Search on the web for concerts-- there could be an all-ages show at the Fillmore, the Paramount, Boulder Theater, or even in Boulder at CU's Mackey auditorium. And a day visiting the CU campus in Boulder is fun for teens that age. The downtown Pearl Street Mall in Boulder is a fun, funky outdoor shopping street they'd like. Good, reasonably-priced restaurants, too.
You could contact Eldora ski area to ask about sleigh rides in that area, and cross country skiing. It's the closest little ski area that could offer those activities, but I'm not sure.
I also second the Red Rocks idea. It's beautiful there, very unique. Nearby The Fort restaurant offers wild game dinners in a cool wild west atmosphere-- though it's not cheap.
Also second the Cherry Creek idea. There's a small outdoor ice skating rink set up there every holiday season, where teens hang out. Lots of restaurants for a quick bite, like Noodles and Qdoba.
Enjoy Denver!

Thanks so much for the great ideas. I appreciate everyone taking the time to help me out. I am excited to check out Denver! Snowmama

Not sure if they like animals but the zoo has some great new exhibits and they also have wildlights at night (christmas lights all over the zoo) and hot chocolate to keep you warm. The museum is next to the zoo which has a pretty good traveling Egypt exhibit, 3 different Imax movies and the planetarium. Downtown they might like the Denver Pavilions outdoor mall which is off of 16th street. They also have horse-drawn carriage rides on 16th street and lots of restaurants. You could also take the winter park ski train from denver to winter park and cross country ski, downhill ski and snowmobile (possibly sleigh rides also). Park Meadows and Cherry Creek malls are great if you have shopaholics. There is a outdoor ice skating rink across the street from Cherry Creek mall. Make sure you bring some warm clothes (gloves, jacket...) because it is very cold here the last couple of days. You never know with the weather here, you could also see some warm days but be prepared for anything.