travel blog, minus the bull$hit

Is it your first time visiting Denver? Here’s a little list of some things my friends and I checked out during our recent trip that you might want to incorporate into your plans:

Breweries

Denver is LOADED with 100s of gorgeous, top notch breweries. This city is known for their craft beers, and I do not doubt it!

Meow Wolf Denver | Convergence Station

Easily $50 entrance fee I’ve ever spent. Meow Wolf is a permanent art exhibit that is honestly incredibly trippy. Like if you were on shrooms you’d probably just have a panic attack and cry in a corner or something. There are so many different rooms to this exhibit, it’s easy to get lost in awe (and literally) at the different worlds you get to walk through! With 3 floors full of different types of immersive art, I guarantee you’ll have an amazing time here.

Tip: the bathroom is really hard to find so I’d recommend asking for help

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater

I did not realize this was a hike up a steep a$$ set of stairs! Red Rocks is a gorgeous open-air amphitheater built into naturally formed rocks. This is considered as one of the world’s best concert venues. What’s crazy is that the convenience stores in town actually sell canned air for out of town folks who aren’t used to higher altitudes.

Aside from experiencing the beautiful workout from visiting the Amphitheater itself, there are many other things to do here such as:

• Hike one of their two hiking trails:
  • Trading Post Trail, a 1.4-mile loop that circles the park’s trademark rock formations
  • Red Rocks Trail, a rough 6-mile hike
• Check out some fossils – apparently the natural 300 foot rock walls document the 16 million year old history of the region
• Red Rocks Visitor Center – located a bit below the entrance to the amphitheater, the visitor center sells souvenirs as well as a showcase of geologic + musical history of the area

Hiking

Aside from the hikes around Red Rocks mentioned above, Colorado is largely known for it’s natural beauty. Since we went in the peak of winter, it was a bit of a struggle to get in as many hikes as we had hoped. Here’s a list of hikes that my friends and I were considering for our trip, but will instead somehow go through this list…slowly…throughout the duration of our lives:

1. Mount Evans (Denver)
   • a popular 14er near Denver with stunning views. The hike to the summit is challenging, but there are also several easier trails in the area that you can opt to do instead
2. Chautauqua Park (Boulder)
   • offers scenic views of the Flatirons
   • this is a pretty high-trafficked attraction amongst tourists due to how easy the hike is
3. Flatirons Vista Trail (Boulder)
   • generally easy trail that rewards you with a view of the famous Rocky Mountains
4. Royal Arch Trail (Boulder)
   • a 3.4 mile out-and-back trail which is a serious workout
5. Three Sisters Park (Evergreen)
   • a variety of trails through a beautiful forested area
6. Deer Creek Canyon Park (Littleton)
   • several trails that wind through beautiful canyons and offer stunning views of the foothills
   • Meadowlark Plymouth Creek and Plymouth Mountain Trail Loop are highly recommended
7. Apex Trail (Golden)
   • Depending on the season, this trail is incredibly popular for mountain biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, etc. so you are very likely to come across a whole assortment of people on this trail
8. Mount Falcon Park (Morrison)
   • hosts several natural trails with some neat historical sites along the way