What to see in or around Denver...

[Feistygirl916]

My daughter and I are taking a short trip to Denver next month, and wondered what all there was to see and do there...

I won a family 4 pack of tickets to the Denver Aquarium, which looks amazing, but don't know what else to do. The American Girl store is on our list, but is there anything else in that area?

Also, when looking at hotels on priceline/hotwire, they come up with different areas. I do not want to get stuck in a bad part of town, and not knowing that city (or state!) I am a little nervous. What is "Tech Center"? Or "Stapleton"?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[IUTBAM]

Hello from Denver. I've only lived here a couple of years, but I can tell you what I know, lol.

The "Tech Center" is an area right off I-25 about 15 minutes south of town with a large concentrations of business parks and company HQ's...it is a perfectly acceptable place to stay (no crime issues), with lots of chain hotels in that area (and easy access to good restaurants). We stayed in that area during our corporate relocation. The Stapleton area is an area that has been redeveloped...it was the site of the old Denver airport. What I've seen of Stapleton is very nice...shopping, hotels, lots of restaurants. It is closer to downtown.

If you like to shop (or just people watch), plan to spend an evening walking around the 16th Street Mall downtown. There is a Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Denver as well, but we've eaten there, and the food/service were not great...the ones we have visited in other states were much better.

The Downtown Aquarium is cool, and the Denver Zoo is pretty nice as well, if you like that sort of thing (like we do). The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is right around the corner from the zoo, and it is a first-rate museum! And if museums interest you, there is an amazing nature and science museum in Parker (a southern suburb) called The Wildlife Experience (it's about a 5 minute drive east of I-25 on Lincoln on the south side of town). It's not as big as the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, but is architectually stunning, with interesting exhibits, and (believe it or not), the most amazing museum cafe food you've ever had!

Another place we like to go is Red Rocks... http://www.redrocksonline.com/ . We've never been to a concert there, but the scenery and views driving around the park are wonderful. That is near Golden. IIRC, Buffalo's Bill's gravesite is also in that vicinity, if you want to see him, haha.

If you have time to drive down to Colorado Springs, you should definitely check out Garden of the Gods... http://www.gardenofgods.com/home/index.cfm?flash=1 ... it is truly spectacular, and FREE!

And if you go to the Springs, you can either drive or take a cog railway (a bit pricey) to the top of Pike's Peak (weather permitting). We rode the cog railway last spring...it was COLD at the top...yikes! lol

Rocky Mountain National Park is about an hour to an hour and half northwest of Denver....spectacular scenery to say the least.

There is a free tour of the Celestial Seasonings factory in Boulder (and Pearl Street Mall in Boulder is an interesting place to walk around as well).

There are free tours of the Colorado State Capital and the US Mint in downtown Denver. And I believe there is a place called the Hammond Candy Factory that gives free tours.

As for shopping (I do a lot of that with a teenaged DD), Cherry Creek Mall is very nice...VERY upscale shops. Park Meadows Mall on the south side of town is also a VERY VERY nice mall (it's near the Tech Center, actually). Oh and if you do stay in the Tech Center, there is a GREAT restaurant on Arapahoe Road just west of I-25 called The Elephant Bar...it is my DD's favorite restaurant, and the food is YUMMY!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope that helps!

 

[Desert Dwellers]

My family spent a week vacation in Denver a few years ago. It has remained one of our favorite vacations.

We did many of the suggestions listed above - Aquarium, Denver Zoo, loved the Nature & Science Museum, toured the US Mint. We shopped at the Cherry Creek mall, spent a lot of time at the Tattered Cover Bookstore - recommend that.

We spent an afternoon at the Garden of the Gods. We also drove to Manitou Springs area and visited the North Pole amusement park and played at the arcade. We actually left Denver for a couple of days and stayed at a hotel in Colorado Springs for this portion of the visit.

We got a very good rate at the Loews Denver Hotel and it was very convenient to everything we wanted to do.

 

[Leilanie94]

Hello!

My family and I have visited Denver several times. My sister-in-law and her family lives there. These are the place we have been to:

*Downtown Aquarium

*Denver Children's Museum - This is located near the Downtown Aquarium.

*Denver Zoo

*Denver Museum of Nature & Science
http://www.dmns.org//url][/U][/B] ...llion [B][U][url]http://www.butterflies.org/

*Boondocks Fun Center - Northglenn, Colorado
http://www.boondocksfuncenter.com/public/northglenn/
My boys enjoyed the Go-Karts, miniature golf, Kiddie Cove (play area where kids can climb, jump, and swing.)

*Red Rocks Park

*Rocky Mountains National Park

In 2008, my husband had a conference in Denver. We stayed at the Hyatt. My boys were 3 and 5 years old at the time. They *loved* riding on the Free Mall Ride bus that runs through 16th street.

 

[curt01218]

Dear friends,
I have a experience to stay in Denver that,s really nice experience.MY grand son has been living here so MY favorite place is Denver Children's Museum - This is located near the Downtown Aquarium.
I think you should visit this tour and be confidence.

Thanks

 

[bmdmom]

If you do go to Colorado Springs be sure and visit the Air Force Academy, also free. It is really cool to see the Chapel and the cadets marching. They have a very nice visitors center. You have to go through the North Gate as a visitor the south gat reqiures a military ID.