Fun Things to Do in Denver
We love Denver, have visited many times, and indeed Donna used to live there and has written a guidebook to the city. We go back as often as we can. There are lots of fun things to do in Denver, some of them obvious, some of them not so obvious, but here are a few of the fun things we’ve found to do in Denver.
Eat Buffalo where Buffalo Bill used to Eat
Buckhorn Exchange
1000 Osage St, Denver
Sample a Unique Beer in a Brewpub
Wynkoop Brewing Company
1634 18th St, Denver
The Wynkoop was Denver’s first brewpub, and was a big factor in turning a part of the city that was essentially Skid Row into the fashionable LoDo (Lower Downtown) district. Among the Wynkoop’s many exciting beers is one you’ll find nowhere else in the world: Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout. The beer is flavored with rocky mountain oysters, otherwise known as bull’s testicles. It was initially introduced as a one-off novelty but it proved to be so tasty and so popular that it’s now a fixture on their beer list. The brewpub was founded by John Hickenlooper, who went on to become Mayor of Denver, then Governor of Colorado, before running for President in 2020.
Go Jogging at a World-Class Concert Venue
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
18300 W Alameda Parkway, Morrison
Red Rocks has been voted one of the world’s best music venues. A natural amphitheater, you don’t have to see a show there to get in. A daytime tour will take you behind the scenes, or you can join in their regular yoga classes, or join the locals and go jogging there. Obviously the best thing of all is to see a concert there, as it has great acoustics and wonderful visibility from its steeply-banked stone seating (a cushion helps). Some of music’s biggest names have played on this stage, with its backdrop of the city of Denver.
Stay where the Presidents Stay
Brown Palace Hotel and Spa
321 17th St, Denver
Photo Courtesy of The Brown Palace Hotel
The Brown Palace opened in 1892 at a cost of $2 million (about $55 million in today’s money), and is where many presidents of the USA have stayed. If you stay as a guest you get a free hotel tour, or if you’re not staying there you can pay to join the public tours. If you don’t want to do a tour, at least step inside and look at the grand and spacious atrium, which is eight floors high.
Bike to the World’s Biggest Brewery
Coors Brewing Co
13th St & Ford Street, Golden
Denver’s B-Cycle scheme is a neat and cheap way to get around the city. You can pick up a bike from dozens of docking stations, and a neat app tells you in real time how many bikes and how many empty parking places there are at each station. Biking trails lead to the neighbouring town of Golden, and will take you to the gates of Coors, the world’s biggest brewery, for a tour. Beer lovers will have a fabulous time in Golden, where there are many brewpubs and breweries to visit in addition to Coors, and you can read about some of them here on a piece I wrote for Chilled Magazine, Golden is Booming with Beer.
Discover the Truth about the USA’s Longest Main Street
The Colfax Museum
6851 W Colfax Ave Unit C, Lakewood
Denver’s Colfax Avenue has been described as ‘the longest, wickedest street in America’. It’s certainly the USA’s longest main street, and you can find out the truth of the rest of it in this unusual museum, devoted to this one street.
Visit the Grave of a Western Icon
Buffalo Bill’s Grave
987 Lookout Mountain Rd, Golden
A few miles outside Denver is the grave of the old west legend, Buffalo Bill Cody, who died in Denver. The residents of Cody, Wyoming, the town he founded, wanted him buried there but his own wish was to be buried here on Lookout Mountain. His body is buried in an extra-deep shaft, covered with concrete, after threats to steal his body and take it to Wyoming. There’s also a terrific museum all about the west, making it well worth a visit.
Take a Selfie One Mile High
Colorado State Capitol Building
200 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Denver is Mile High City and on the steps up to the State Capitol you’ll find one step which confirms the fact, although the actual mile-high step is the one with the golden circle on it, a few steps higher, where Donna’s sitting in the photo.
Don’t Miss the Blue Bear
Denver Convention Center
700 14th St, Denver
If you’re not at a convention you might think you can skip going to the Convention Center. You’d be wrong. One of the city’s most iconic images is a piece of public art, a giant blue bear staring into the center. Everyone calls it the Blue Bear but the proper name of the sculpture is I See What You Mean. It’s 40-foot (12 meters) high and was created by a local artist, Lawrence Argent. It’s typical of the numerous examples of fun public art that make walking around Denver such a pleasure.
Picnic in a Former Cemetery
Cheesman Park
A hundred years ago Cheesman Park was a cemetery, and the mayor paid a friend to remove the bodies so the city could have a park here. The friend was paid by the body so ended up chopping bodies in pieces to make more money and some bodies still remain buried under the grounsd. Enjoy your picnic!
See your Money Being Made
Denver Mint
West Colfax Avenue and Delaware Street, Denver
Denver is one of only two US Mints which lets the public inside on a tour. There are six free tours every day from Monday to Thursday, with tickets available on a first-come first-served basis.
More Information
See the website of Visit Denver.