Traveling to Denver on business and decided to book an earlier flight than the rest of my co-workers so I could do some sightseeing before we head to our hotel. So, I'll have the rental car and roughly eight hours free on a Sunday next month - what can I do to get the most out of this time?

If baseball season is underway, see the Rockies play, a great ballpark.
Not a baseball fan, head for Colorado Springs...garden of the gods, Pikes Peak, Air Force Academy.
Or, into the Rockies for places such as Breckenridge, Vail, Dillon, etc. Nice to visit even if you don't ski.

If you want to see Denver, there are things like the art museum with its new, very modernistic wing and modern art collection; the 16th St. Mall, the heart of downtown Denver and the free shuttles that will take you the length of the mall; a short drive to Red Rocks Amphitheatre which is open to the public and a very cool, scenic area; there is a guided tour of Invesco Field where the Broncos play; lunch at My Brothers Bar at 15th & Platte where Jack Kerouac was known to have a drink or two is always a good bet, or any of the many brewpubs in LoDo (Lower Downtown); you could rent a bike if the weather is good and go for miles on either the Cherry Creek or Platte River bike paths; take a short drive to Boulder to enjoy their pedestrian mall area, Pearl Street, or take a hike in the Flatirons from Chatauqua Park...

http://www.denver.org/ is the official website for visitors, so that should have some other ideas about places to visit that might interest you. You can really get a feel for Denver in eight hours - we're not so big, you know, but we're very cool!

I would also suggest the ballgame if the Rockies are in town.

Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I'll be arriving April 5, and it appears the Rockies won't be playing that day. I also seem to recall Denver International being fairly massive and a bit removed from downtown, so obviously I'll need to factor in time to get out of (and then back to) the airport.

I forgot to mention that I was in Denver about six years ago - we did Red Rocks, Breckenridge, and some of Colorado Springs (AFA and the USOC training center) and saw a DCI drum corps show at Invesco @ Mile High. So, I guess stuff downtown would be ideal - less driving around and there's plenty we didn't see. I'll poke around on the Denver website, though - thanks!

I happen to be headed to Denver in October so I was interested in this thread. The bike path links are great. I will be staying downtown and wondered if you Denver folks can recommend a bike rental shop which would be convenient to just hop on the paths? I don't ride on the road so would want to be very near an access point.
Thanks and sorry to hijack, PSM.

Denver Botanical Gardens, Natural History Museum, Denver Art Museum, shop at Whole Foods if you don't have one. Are you renting a car? DIA is about 30 minutes from town.

cmcfong: This is exactly what you want - http://www.bicycledr.com/bicycledr/ They are just blocks from the Cherry Creek path. October is usually an awesome time to bike around here (assuming we don't have a blizzard!)

If you have time, you can drive an hour outside the city and go white water rafting on the Colorado river...it is an awesome experience!!!

cmcfong: No worries!

Gretchen: Yeah, we're actually staying/working in Fort Collins for the week, and I'm picking up the rental car when I get in and then returning back to DIA to pick up the rest of my group when they get in.

Thanks for being gracious, Mark. Tekwriter, thanks for the link. They look like the right people for me!