A Weekend In Denver
Mile High Street Art
Being told that you should travel to a certain destination is like someone telling you what your favorite song should be. You don’t always trust the source and wonder if maybe there is a personal bias being upheld on the side of the person suggesting the song or destination. In a word, who knows me better than me? Being an advocate for outdoor activities, Denver or Colorado more generally, has been a place suggested to me time and time again. Based on my research I found that it was a place that I had to come up with reasons not to go, there wasn’t much to dislike.
I HAD to see this place for myself
Here’s my initial take for anyone spending a weekend or planning a short trip to Denver.
The City
Denver Skyline from the west near Empower Stadium, compliments of Lime Scooters
While there may be destinations in the form of museums, bars, landmarks and iconic history that you’re looking for when you travel, the city itself is worth discussing. Flying in from Texas, a relatively FLAT state, I was amazed at how much scenic nature I was able to view while on the train ride from the airport into the city. Coming up on Denver city itself was an experience, being in Denver and having a clear view of vast mountain ranges was worth the price of admission. One thing was clear during my time in Denver, the city itself is simply stunning.
Every time I travel somewhere, I normally opt for public transit. It’s easy to navigate nearly an entire city on a budget and it’s a great way to see the city in a different way and understand where things are. I’m also a fan of being able to take a well deserved nap while on the metro and/or in traffic while on the bus. RTD has things figured out, the central downtown area even has a free bus that spans the length of its “16th Street Mall” which spans clear over a mile. This bus also takes you to the iconic Union Station in central downtown which is a terminal that can take you most anywhere in the city as well as to surrounding areas.
If time is of the essence and you opt to not rent a car, I would highly recommend staying near downtown. It offers you the ability to have many bars I mean necessities nearby and you can reach nearly any edge of the city via public transit. Another way to look at it is that the average apartment in downtown Denver is about $1879 (according to Rent.com) so for a substantially lower cost, you can afford that experience without having to spend as much time commuting. By comparison, the hotels that are located near downtown aren’t substantially higher than those that are further outside although your mileage may vary depending on the timing, season and events happening.
Honorable mentions are Laramer Square and 16th or Mall Street, both of which have shops, family fun as well as street vendors for beer, food and wine.
Boulder, CO
Speaking of surrounding areas, I was able to take a bus directly from the center of downtown Denver or “LoDo” all the way to Boulder, CO which is a neighboring city about 40 minutes away by car. Similar to my ride from the airport, the ride to Boulder gave me a glimpse of Colorado’s true beauty. Highway 36 that we traversed came up close and personal with snow capped mountain ranges and sprawling landscapes. I felt like I was looking at a postcard through the bus windows, it was very surreal.
The goal in Boulder was to climb a massive rock formation called Flatirons located in Chautauqua park in south Boulder. While only a few miles in length, the climb to the summit can be challenging but this is exactly what I came for. The views are well worth it and if you do not like hiking highly populated trails then I would try this on a weekday or find a lesser travelled climb. However, for a quick day trip from Denver into the hills and hikes that Denver offers, Boulder is a great destination to spend a few hours.
Afterward, I found myself meeting some new friends in their popular town square located on Pearl Street. Through conversation I took an understanding of the vibe of Boulder as a city as well as the way many other major cities in Colorado are changing from a local’s perspective. It turns out I wasn’t the only traveller who thought Colorado was an amazing place and many outside investors drive up the cost of living for long time locals, forcing them outside of the city. Colorado isn’t unique in this revelation, this happens in most cities and states that attract others, however, it was interesting to hear it from a local’s perspective.
Denver Nightlife
Staying in downtown Denver and doing any amount of research will tell you that Denver is trying its utmost to be a city of neighborhoods, almost to a point of forcefully trying to accomplish this. An example of this was the highly gentrified area known as “RiNo” or River North, which was a largely industrial blue collar area just north of downtown. After speaking to a few locals, I realized this move by Denver to essentially manufacture an art district was met with mixed opinions. My biggest critique is the try hard mentality of any city to add culture to a specific area for the purpose of overcharging for goods/services based on artistic ambiance and creating additional tax revenue for the city. The trade off of city revenue can come to a cost to local long time residents in the form of reduced affordability. Gentrification isn’t at all unique to Denver, however, I felt a sense of culture being created by city employees based on other cities (i.e. Austin, Portland). This is NOT how genuine art is manufactured. On the contrary, city sponsored art events help cultivate culture, so it may be a necessary evil but like all things this can potentially come at a cost.
Laramer Beer Hall
Proud big city with small town vibes in each establishment
I highly suggest “LoDo” for a quick weekend trip to get a sense of Denver nightlife. I was able to meet a mix of very kind and open people within a 3 block radius, staying downtown is very much worth the price of admission. The is a strip of bars, music venues and even a theatre in the heart of downtown in the shadows of the beautiful Coors Field. What was interesting was the amount of high scale clubs and bars next to a hole in the wall watering hole, there’s a huge mix of socio economic classes downtown. I didn’t get that sense of diversity in RiNo. To illustrate I was able to
Mingle and smoke with a younger vibrant crowd at Laramer Beer Hall
Play video games at 1UP video game bar
Rub shoulders with a few professionals at Swanky’s
Catch amazing views from the iconic ViewHouse
Watch a live punk rock show at Herb’s HideOut
… then dance the night away at The Gin Mill all within a few hours by walking on foot.
Other areas were recommended and In have a few on my list for my next visit but downtown provided everything I needed for a quick trip and I recommend the same for anyone travelling to Denver on a whim without time to spare.
The Food
When I first asked a few native Denver friends of mine what food Denver is known for, I quickly realized that they simply do American food. I thought to myself that this couldn’t be true until every bar & grill I went to had a burgers, wings and sandwiches on their menu. To add, Denver loves adding “Mile High” to just about any food option to own a sense of culture. With regard to food, Denver doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It does All-American food VERY, VERY well. I would much prefer a run of the mill burger from Denver than I would from NY, since that is not what they are known for.
Slaters 50/50 - Swanky bar & grill that did the JOB!!!
By comparison, Texas has diverse eateries with American options in Denver, American food fare isn’t an option it’s the STAPLE and the street vendors round out additional diverse options for a more exotic experience. Having the option of beef shwarma pizza at 3AM was from a street vendor around the corner from where I had a burger for lunch earlier that day was clutch and illustrates Denver’s food options in the downtown area.
There aren’t many fusion options as I’ve seen in other major cities, this would be a huge entrepreneurial idea to implement diverse options between the different cultures in Denver. I have no complaints as Denver has found a way to trick out just about every traditional American food option (PB&J Burgers with bacon are a big deal in Denver).
The People
The people of Denver and the surrounding Colorado areas are one of a kind. A true sense of southern hospitality, east coast directness and midwest charm. The balance between these different mentalities mesh well with people I met who have uprooted their lives, visited Denver and decided to call it home. I met people from NC, MD, TX, IL, CA and AZ they all spoke more about Colorado than they did of home, which showed their appreciation for their newfound place of residence. I’ve been identified as a Type A extrovert, it’s common for me to walk up to a group of people and strike up a conversation, to which I was met with smiles, informative conversation and a lot of recommendations for places to go.
Colorado natives are proud of their state and have no problem helping tourists with solid recommendations, many of the locals went out of their way to provide insight into different venues and sight seeing opportunities. This was in stark contrast to what I experienced in Seattle, I’ll make a separate blog entry to elaborate on my time in the Emerald City 😉. The people of Colorado deserve a shout out for adding icing to an already mile high cake that complimented by the sheer environment and layout and of Denver.
Colorado is on my “to return” list and I suggest it for anyone who wants a balance of outdoors, nightlife, sightseeing and networking with others.
