What should we do in/or around Denver?
 

My husband has a business trip to Colorado Springs in a few weeks and I'm tagging along for a few days for a short vacation. We're flying into Denver on Wednesday and I'm flying out on Saturday while he continues his business trip. Neither of us have ever been to Denver or know anything about it really, so tell us what to do!! We're planning on renting a car, but that's really all we have planned so far. Should we stay in Denver, go to Boulder, Colorado Springs, Rocky Mountain State Park? What are the must sees that we can fit in in only 3 days! Any advice would help greatly! Thanks so much!

Oct is an in between time in Colorado. In terms of city life, we have a good selection of restaurants. There is the US Mint, Red Rocks Park is quite nice, we have a natural history museum and an ok aquarium. If the weather is good, there is a good variety of golfing. Since you will have a car, you could drive into the mountains -- go right out I-70. We have several gambling towns (Black Hawk, Central City). Boulder would be a nice drive. Also, Colorado Springs has a number of sites (air Force Academy). Some folks like to go to the Coors Brewe

Go to Boulder for breakfast, then continue the drive loop northwest into Rocky Mountain NAtl PArk..really if you like woods, wildlife don't miss this chance and it is easy to fo in one day with early am stop and reasonable breaks. If city people you have lots of suggestions above: I would add tour Celestial Seasonings tea headqtrs.

RMNP is a great day trip from Denver.

I spent a week in Denver visiting my DS in Sept and spent a few days exploring the open spaces:
http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/openspace/

I especially liked the Three Sisters area. Easy to get to from Denver and really, really nice for a day hike. I wish I'd had more time to explore more areas.

A day or evening in LoDo is a must do in Denver. Urban lifestyle done right with a wonderful pedestrian mall and tons of fun restaurants and people watching.

Have fun!

I think you would really enjoy Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. Take a bit of a drive into the park and get a suggestion for a little hike if you like. You should see elk and possibly big horn sheep. Be sure and dress warmly because it will be colder than the lower elevation. Of course while there visit Estes Park and you might even drop into the Stanly Hotel, the scene for the Shining. YOu can also do a tour. Visit Boulder and go to Pearl St. Have fun.

If you are near Boulder, a visit to Celestial Tea Company is a treat. You can tour the factory, a rather small operation; I went on Sunday when the line was shut down but it was still great fun. Call for directions; it is located in an office/industrial park. The gift shop is terrific; look for the birthday cards which enclose a teabag and the dress made of teabags.

If the weather is good, I would vote for outdoors activities as we found Colorado to be really beautiful...not just the specific destinations we went to but many of the drives we took to get places.

We based our stay more in Colorado Springs last summer. Click on my name to find my trip report.

If you're coming in a couple of weeks, hiking might not be that great unless you're an avid outdoor enthusiast. Of course, we might have a couple of fine weather days, but there are plenty of nice hiking/walking trails in and around Denver. The Cherry Creek Trail runs from downtown Denver in both directions and further than you'll probably want to go. Boulder has almost 200 miles of hiking trails many leading from downtown right up into the mountains. Red Rocks makes for a nice visit and also has a short trail you can easily walk.

Rocky National Park is always a good excursion, and you could easily include a stop in Boulder to visit the Celestial Seasoning Tea Company. I would highly recommend lunch at the Dushabe (sp) Tea House. A unique place with good food. Walk along the pedestrian Pearl Street Mall with its shops,galleries etc.The Leanin' Tree Museum has an excellent collection of contemporary art.

Denver has an excellent art museum along with the Colorado History Museum, and you might also want to visit Molly Brown's house.If you have a serious interest in art, there is the Kirkland Museumm of Fine & Decorative Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art. There are plenty of restaurants and shops in the Lodo/Larimer Square area. Cherry Creek North is really the place to go for upscale shopping with its number of spas, art galleries, boutiques,shops and restaurants, and it's only about 10/15 minutes from downtown Denver.

If you want to go further afield, I'd suggest a trip up to Breckenridge or maybe Vail although parking at Vail is a hassel unless you beat the ski season opening.