Cool things to do in Denver?

[QuickSilver]

@John_DiFool

…when you’re dead?

Unoriginal bastard beat me to it!

[Oredigger77]

If you’re going to be in Golden then you’ll be near two of my favorite distillery tasting rooms. The Golden Moon Speakeasy and The Corner Saloon both of which will show you unusual spirits that you can’t find in other places. The creme de violet at the speakeasy is literally world class and the extra Anejo at the saloon is probably my favorite tequila if they still have any in stock. They also do very cool cocktails and much better than a regular bar.

[Sicks_Ate]

@Doug_K

He was probably referring to the classic song by Warren Zevon, which predates the film.

…which I have never heard or heard of. And I’m already in negative cool-points :smack:

@RickG

If you just want a nice light hike in Golden, the Triceratops Trail is great. There are lots of fossils, tracks, and plant impressions exposed in the sandstone there.

I’ve lived in Boulder for the last couple of decades. It is a nice place to spend a weekend day walking around Pearl St, the Boulder Creek Path, or any of a number of hiking trails. There are also many craft breweries and distilleries-within a 45 minute walk of my house there are at least 4 breweries and 3 distilleries I can think of. Pearl St has several more, plus one of the best chocolate shops I know (Piece, Love and Chocolate).

I agree about Red Rocks, the Museum of Nature & Science, Lyons Classic Pinball, and RMNP. The Denver Art Museum is excellent. The Botanical Gardens are lovely, and are currently featuring a unique exhibition of Alexander Calder sculptures.

There is a doughnut shop near downtown Denver (Habit Doughnut Dispensary) where you can get your treat injected with a shot of whiskey or other adult beverage (I had an orange-rosemary doughnut injected with Jameson). Very delicious.

I like food, as you can maybe tell. Let me know if you want restaurant recommendations.

Ah thank you to another local. Yes, so many good things to do. Triceratops Trail is now on an after-work hike list, or maybe early before…either way, going to fit it in. At this rate I’m afraid I won’t have time to enjoy a nice sit-down dinner at a good restaurant! I might, however, take recommendations for good places for takeout or a quick bite for dinner.

I would like to hit a local brewery…Coors is an easy target, I’ve never been to a big brewery operation. I am going to find a local brewery or distillery…or two to visit. Which brings me to…

@Oredigger77

If you’re going to be in Golden then you’ll be near two of my favorite distillery tasting rooms. The Golden Moon Speakeasy and The Corner Saloon both of which will show you unusual spirits that you can’t find in other places. The creme de violet at the speakeasy is literally world class and the extra Anejo at the saloon is probably my favorite tequila if they still have any in stock. They also do very cool cocktails and much better than a regular bar.

I’m not sure if this would be over my head, spirits-wise, but it is on the table.
Also just figured out that the light rail stops 2 miles from my hotel. So I don’t have to drive downtown in the evening. Just cab over to the stop and hop on, reverse back.

[RickG]

@Sicks_Ate

Ah thank you to another local. Yes, so many good things to do. Triceratops Trail is now on an after-work hike list, or maybe early before…either way, going to fit it in. At this rate I’m afraid I won’t have time to enjoy a nice sit-down dinner at a good restaurant! I might, however, take recommendations for good places for takeout or a quick bite for dinner.

Not living in Denver or Golden, I don’t have a long list of takeout places, but I can recommend a few places with good takeout or at least very cheap eat-in.

In Golden, Ali Baba Grill has decent, cheap Middle Eastern food. Near the University of Denver (which is on light rail) is Jerusalem, which is similar, and the DU neighborhood is nice to walk around in (my son is just finishing his freshman year there).

There is a concentration of cheap Vietnamese restaurants on South Federal Blvd in Denver. We love New Saigon. They have an attached bakery/deli open until 4PM with awesome, extremely cheap banh mi sandwiches.

Maria Empanada has a huge variety of empanadas, both savory and sweet, suitable for takeout or eat-in. They are by nature very portable and amenable to later reheating.

In Lakewood, Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe [Note: link is to Yelp–sorry, I couldn’t find a home page for them], is a super-friendly, very casual, family-run place. Get the fried plantains and cafe con leche with whatever you order. Really tasty and cheap.

Finally, if you have time and like Japanese food, try Domo near downtown Denver. The food is rustic Northern Japanese style. Entrees are all served with an array of side dishes (7, I think, last time we were there), so you don’t go hungry. Large selection of sake. There is a Zen garden outside, and the place is like a museum of antique Japanese farm equipment. I’ve never been to a place like it, and I used to work with a guy from Hokkaido who said the food was like his grandmother’s (it was a compliment). Not a take out place, but it’s not really super expensive for what you get.

If you come to Boulder, PM me. I can give you a much longer list stuff up here.

[Sicks_Ate]

@enipla

See a concert at Red Rocks. Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Wikipedia

This is the last thing still on the itinerary that I’m actually going to make it to. Tomorrow or Wednesday are my only 2 chances, pack on Thursday and fly on Friday.

@Hilarity_N.Suze

June is one of the best times, weatherwise, to be in Denver. If you have a day to daytrip, Estes Park/Rocky Mtn. National Park is a cool experience (take a jacket if you want to get out of the car, in fact, take a jacket anyway).

Life changing experience.

I visited Colorado when I was in high school…safe to say that I didn’t appreciate or take anything away from it.

Yesterday, though, I went to RMNP and hiked 9 miles. Started at the Park+Ride, headed around Bear Lake via Bierstadt Lake, then back to P+R on the south side of the road.

Indescribable. I did not want to leave. I wanted to lay down and hug the ground and make them drag me back down to my car.

@Ludovic

But you would be passing through Lyons which has Lyons Classic Pinball, which has weird opening hours but a great variety of pinball machines to play. (I prefer it to the only other “classic pinball” place I’ve been to, the Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame, because Lyons Classic has a lot of stuff from the 60s and 70s, while the place in Las Vegas has a weird game there, concentrating on 50s and previous and 80s through the present. 60s and 70s machines, even ones I’ve never played on, have that classic feel to me that the others don’t.

I stopped on the way back from RMNP, unfortunately I was tired and ready to be back in my room. Still, dumped $5 into some really cool machines and had a lot of fun even though I’m a pinball novice. If I had had time to linger I imagine I would have been there for a while. I don’t know if it’s a regular thing, but I also appreciated the pretty hippie girls out front giving henna tattoos and selling stuff.

@shiftless

3rd Red Rocks. You don’t have to go to a show, the view is great during the day and it’s a park, so it’s open.

I like to drive and see the scenery when I’m there. If you have a day, I suggest a drive to Pike’s Peak via the back roads or a trip to the Collegiate range of mountains but any drive should be beautiful this time of year.

I did get in a pretty cool drive on Saturday, I did a 5k in Conifer, and took Foxton Road from there through Buffalo Creek to Woodland Park. Had lunch at a sandwich/pizza place in Manitou Springs, checked out Garden of the Gods, and headed back toward Denver.

Worst part of the whole drive was I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver. Hoooly cow, packed with cars and no open stretches the whole way.

[quote=“RickG, post:24, topic:787742”]

In Golden, Ali Baba Grill has decent, cheap Middle Eastern food. Near the University of Denver (which is on light rail) is Jerusalem, which is similar, and the DU neighborhood is nice to walk around in (my son is just finishing his freshman year there).

In Lakewood, Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe [Note: link is to Yelp–sorry, I couldn’t find a home page for them], is a super-friendly, very casual, family-run place. Get the fried plantains and cafe con leche with whatever you order. Really tasty and cheap.

QUOTE]

Winner, and winner. Had Frijoles last week and Ali Baba this evening. Both were outstanding, thanks so much for the recommendations.

I wish I had more time to see more stuff but I feel like, given the time I have, I did pretty well. Never could bring myself to go downtown on a weekday evening. Never made it to a brewery or distillery, either. I did make it a point to drink local beers!

Can’t wait to get back to RMNP. Next time, I’ll be in better shape and do some hiking deeper in to the park and camp. Oh, and I’ll actually be on vacation so I’ll be able to do what I want Speaking of which, funny anecdote this morning…eating breakfast at the hotel, a guy walked by and said something about all these poor guys having to go to work while he’s on vacation. I’m like hey man…I’m getting PAID to be here. So there is that.

Thanks again, everybody. Amazing trip.