Shae and I spent just over six weeks in Denver while in Colorado on our 50 state road trip. In reality, we didn’t spend all that time actually in Denver because Shae went to California for just over a week with a friend to celebrate their birthdays, plus we both went to Seattle for a few days for another friend’s birthday.
In addition to that, we had to spend some of that time working, so it’s not like we got to spend a month and a half gallivanting around Denver. However, we did have a lot of fun there, got to visit a bunch of places and went hiking several times.
Here’s everything that we got up to during our six weeks in Denver.
Where We Stayed
Element Denver Park Meadows
We spent about five weeks at the Element Denver Park Meadows as we found a great paid rate for a one bedroom suite which included a kitchen. Another benefit of booking there is that it would earn Shae enough elite nights to earn Platinum status with Marriott.
There were some things to like about our stay like the cost of our suite and the neighborhood. There were some issues too, particularly on the service side of things which meant it wasn’t as great a stay as we’d been hoping for. You can read my full review here.
Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center
After we got back from our international trip, we spent one more week in Denver as I had a ticket to see The Black Crowes and we wanted to visit Rocky Mountain National Park again. For that week we stayed at the Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center as I found another good paid rate.
We had a perfectly fine stay – it wasn’t spectacular, but one of the reasons we like staying at Hyatt Places is that we tend to have consistently good experiences. Here’s my full review of our stay at the Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center.
Where We Ate & Drank
With six weeks spent in Denver, we had a lot of opportunities to eat out and visit several breweries. So many in fact that I wrote a separate post all about that, so check out our list of 17 great places to eat and drink in Denver for more about that.
Where I Listened
One of the reasons we wanted to spend a little longer in Denver once we got back from overseas is because I’d discovered that The Black Crowes were going to be playing at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre.
They were touring to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut album Shake Your Money Maker. The tour was delayed by a year due to COVID, but that worked out well for me as it meant I was able to catch them at the iconic Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre.
Seeing as the tour was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album, they played Shake Your Money Maker in its entirety, along with many of their other top songs. It was a fantastic concert, so I’m glad I got to go.
Where We Hiked
Lair O’ The Bear Park
Truffles and I went hiking at Lair O’ The Bear Park a couple of times. It’s a beautiful setting, with Bear Creek running through the park and a castle along the way.
Our first hike up to Panorama Point was cut short due to a thunderstorm, so we returned another day and made it up there. It was worth the effort as there were some beautiful views. Here’s more about our hikes at Lair O’ The Bear Park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
On our second visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, Shae and I hiked the Glacier Gorge trail up to Mills Lake and Jewel Lake. The surroundings were stunning and the lakes were nice and peaceful, so we’d definitely recommend this if you’re interested in a moderate hike in RMNP. Check out this post for more about that hike.
William F Hayden Green Mountain Park
Shae went hiking at William F Hayden Green Mountain Park with a couple of different friends and liked it there so much she brought me along for her third hike. It’s a pretty hike with lots of wildflowers but zero shade, so beware of that if you’re considering going there in the heat of the day during the summer.
We hiked up the hill to take the Summit Loop at first, then hiked down the Rooney Valley Trail which ended up being a little longer than we’d anticipated.
What We Did
Tubing In Golden
Shae, Truffles and I took a day trip to Golden one day, a cute little city to the west of Denver. Almost as soon as we got there, we saw people tubing down Clear Creek which runs through the city.
We’d enjoyed tubing whenever we’d done it in the past, so a few days later we stopped at Walmart to buy our own tubes and met up with a couple of friends to go tubing down Clear Creek.
It was a lot of fun, with some mini rapids along the way to make it a little more exciting. Check out this post for more, including a video of one of my rides down the creek.
Breckenridge – A Troll, Moose, Museum & More
We took a day trip to Breckenridge one day as there were a few places we wanted to visit there. On our way there, we saw loads of cars stopped by the side of the road, so we decided to stop too.
The reason everyone had stopped is because there were some moose eating and drinking in a pond in the distance. We didn’t see as much wildlife in Colorado as we’d hoped, so getting to see some moose in the wild was a lot of fun.
Our first stop in Breckenridge was Isak Heartstone. He’s a troll created by Thomas Dambo, an artist whose trolls we’ve visited in Illinois and Kentucky and which I’ve also visited in Belgium and Denmark. Here’s more about Isak Heartstone.
Later on we visited Broken Compass Brewing (see this post for more) before stopping at Hoosier Pass which marks the Continental Divide.
We then made our way to South Park City, an open air museum in Fairplay, CO which has relocated dozens of buildings to create a reconstruction of a historic mining town which also contains tens of thousands of artifacts.
It was an interesting way to spend a couple of hours and it was particularly nice because it’s a pet-friendly attraction. Dogs are allowed everywhere there, including in all the buildings.
Rocky Mountain National Park
We visited Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of times during our stay in Denver. We were initially only able to get tickets for the park without access to Bear Lake Rd, so we went back a second time as we were able to get tickets with access to Bear Lake Rd.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most beautiful National Parks we’ve been to with some great hiking to go with it. Check out this post for more about our two visits there.
Sand Creek Park
Truffles was getting cabin fever one afternoon, so we went out for a walk at Sand Creek Park near our hotel.
We didn’t last too long because it was a hot, sunny day and there was very little shade along the trail in the park, but Truffles did get to enjoy having a quick paddle in the creek to cool down.
Hidee Gold Mine
One afternoon while I was working, Shae went out a couple of places in Golden so that she could teach about them for her virtual field trip classes on Outschool. The first place she visited was Hidee Gold Mine.
Shae: It was amazingly cool! You show up at an “old timey” looking mining ghost town and get your hard hat. I had a great tour with Shawn. He was knowledgeable, friendly and interesting since he’s an actual miner when not leading tours. You can tell he takes pride and has a lot of passion about geology and the topic of mining. You head into the mine’s adit (that’s not a tunnel – you go in and out of a tunnel at either end ,whereas with an adit you go in and out the same end – thanks for the cool fact Shawn!) and learn about the mine’s history and see artifacts from mining. You hear interesting mining stories and eventually head down to where the gold is/was actually mined. You get to do your own mining for a few minutes and keep whatever gold ore you chisel off the face (where the ore is).
Once back at the surface you can also partake in gold panning (there are two different tickets for this, so make sure to get the one that includes the mine tour and the panning if you’re interested) which was something I’ve not tried before. Learning the techniques behind panning was really interesting and again, whatever little sparkles of gold ore you find you get to keep.
If you arrive early enough you can tour the town row and see a few other mines and machinery nearby. Otherwise you can do it after your mine tour and panning.
This, combined with my next stop, made for a great day trip from Denver or just the mine is a wonderful place to stop, stretch your legs and learn some stuff on your journey.
Mines Museum of Earth Science
After taking a Hidee Gold Mine tour, she went on to Mines Museum of Earth Science.
Shae: This is a free museum offered by the Colorado School of Mines. It had a ton of interesting minerals, gems and mining information which make a great compliment to the Hidee Gold Mine experience which isn’t that far away (they’re not officially affiliated – this is just my recommendation).
You can see meteorites, asteroids, minerals from around the world, and fossils. You can also see the Miss Colorado tiara and all the 600+ gems that make it up.
That’s everything we did during our latest visit to Denver. We spent a few weeks there over Christmas and New Year in the first year of our road trip, so this is everything we got up to during that first visit.
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