I had Denver on my to visit list for a long time! The last time I visited it was back in 2013 when my family was there for about 24 hours before we went up north to ski, so I thought it was about dang time! I booked the flight originally with no plans and was going to go solo, but an awesome friend of mine who works for Delta decided to hope on with her perks and join me for the trip and I am so glad she did! Here are the best things we did and how much it cost:
Friday Night:
We got into the Denver airport super late Friday night so we didn’t do anything, but I wanted to give you some tips about arriving at the airport. Compared to the large downtown area, the airport is very much in the middle of no where. You can utilize the public trains to get from the airport to downtown, but everything we wanted to see was right outside the city. Renting a car in Denver I think is a necessity for a darling weekend. We rented ours through my friends Delta discount for about $90 for the weekend. Always look to see if your company offers even a 10-15% discount because it can go a long way! For my teacher friends, a lot of time employee perks are offered as well. I know here in Gwinnett County we have a website that lists them all you can check out.
Saturday:
Breakfast at The Delectable Egg: We stumbled upon this place after the wait at the first place was too long, but this breakfast was delicious! I got the Idaho skillet which was very filling and a little too bacony for me, but still yummy. I also got one piece of the French toast and it was heavenly. They have something for everyone on the menu, and at the downtown location we went to, they even serve mimosas if you are craving the boozy brunch. What I loved most is how affordable it was. My giant skillet was only $10.50 right in the heart of the city. In the city, there isn’t a ton of free parking, but the meters are only a few dollars for a few hours so I just bring your coins you have been stashing and use them at this moment!
Roxborough State Park: We then hopped in the car and headed about 40 minutes south of the city to this beautiful state park. I knew I wanted to go hiking and had tons of place saved, but my mom’s cousin recommended this one and it was perfect for after breakfast. They only have a limited number of parking spots so if its a beautiful day and a busy weekend, you might have to wait ~10 minutes to get into the park. That’s about how long we waited and it worked out perfectly. It’s a $5 fee to get in and they take cash and card. We did the Fountain Valley Trail that loops around and is 2.2 miles and took us about an hour. It was very moderate will small inclines but it was beautiful. It wasn’t a busy day and we just talked and listened to a podcast and it was perfect.
Jagged Mountain Brewery: We hopped back in the car and headed back into the city and the first stop, of course, was one of the many Denver breweries. We stopped at Jagged Mountain because it was very central in the city. My friend enjoyed one of their lighter beers, but the best part for me is that they offered some Kombucha which was very refreshing after a hike.
Ignite Kitchen and Cocktails: After a quick sip at the brewery we were starved and walked over to Ignite to enjoy their rooftop area on a beautiful day. They had great frozen drinks for us to cool down, football playing on the tv’s for us to enjoy and delectable small bites to eat. Since we were there a little after the normal lunchtime, we hopped on their happy hour menu with some small tacos and Mexican street corn.
Exploring Downtown Denver Art Scene: We then had some time to kill before our next event, and heard great things about the art in Denver and decided to check it out. There are many known streets that have a focus on art, but honestly if you just walk through the downtown area like we did through the streets towards the resturants and breweries, there was art on almost every building and it was stunning.
Colorado Rockies Game: One of my main draws to Denver was the fact that there was a Rockies game that weekend and one of my bucket list items if you have been following along with me, is to visit every MLB stadium, so of course I had to hit one on this trip. Usually you can walk up to a stadium and get cheap tickets, unfortunately, their ticket system went down and we had to pay $20 cash but it was a beautiful night for a game with stunning city views with the mountains in the difference. It was a great atmosphere perfect for friends or family for a night out!
Sunday:
Red Rocks Amphitheater: Of course we had to hit this classic place in Denver and honestly Sunday morning was a perfect time. The only people at the park during this time of day were those who utilized the stairs at the concert hall to work out, but for a sunrise or morning walk, it was the perfect view. I love that you can see the city in the distance and that there are trails all around the park as well. If you can park at the top circle lot or upper north lot you’ll have a lot less of a walk. Cost to park is free!
Mount Falcon Park: Right next to Red Rocks is this beautiful park that my mom’s cousin recommended again and honestly it had equally if not more stunning views than the amphitheater. The hike is 2.3 miles but it creates a loop. They also have a shorter trail for those of us crunched on time called the Turkey Trot Trail. They have bathrooms, water, and free parking so it is the perfect place for a late morning hike. Cost to park is also free!
Denver Beer Co.: After a morning of small hikes it was time to cool off with of course another brewery. This place was located in the heart of downtown close to everything else we wanted to do in walking distance. Thankfully on Sundays, the downtown parking is free so that is a huge perk. This place had a great indoor/outdoor space and games for us to play as well. There was actually a Broncos game in town that day so there were a ton of fans out having beer so it was a great atmosphere. We went to Platte Street Taproom location.
Linger: Of course by this time we were starving so perfect timing to swing by for a late brunch at this lovely place downtown that was highly recommended to us. It is a huge place and they even have an awesome rooftop for drinking if that is your type of thing. I got bottomless mimosas beacuse for $15 that is not a terrible price. I decided on the chorizo’s tacos and they were phenomenal and the potatoes on the side were lovely as well. The Asian twist is what makes it a very lovely flavor combination and I can see why others love it as well. The actual brunch is a little bit pricey but worth it! I paid about $13 for my tacos but most of their other entres were between $13-$17.
Little Man Ice Cream: When walking up to Linger for brunch we saw a huge line outside this place and of course large lines = amazing place. The line was about 10 minutes wait, but it was worth it. I got the salted oreo and banana pudding in a waffle cone and the scoops are very generous so be careful. The best part, it is super expensive only about $5 for double the amount of ice cream you would get a Bruster’s.
Confluence Park: To walk off the ice cream we were eating and take one last stroll of the city before we headed to the airport we roamed around this park and it was the perfect day to do so. For any of my bachelor fans out there this park was on last weeks episode with Colton and it is just as beautiful as it looks. Since it was a hot day out we didn’t walk too far it also lovely to see children playing in the river enjoying the day. If this wasn’t our last stop I would have explored more of the park and potentially had a picnic there as well.
Being in Denver only one weekend gave me so much to look forward to on another trip back. It was a very affordable trip with may of the activites being very low budget, the only main cost of the trip was food. The hiking, the food, the activities of this city are perfect for anyone looking for a lovely weekend getaway. Comment below if there was anything you loved doing as well from this list!
