The Best Things to Do in Denver, Colorado (and one to skip)
Denver is one of my favorite places to visit any time I'm craving a trip out west. The Mile High City is not just a gateway to the Rocky Mountains — it's a great city, with a walkable downtown, plenty of things to do and enough great restaurants to fill a long weekend without leaving the city limits. As a travel advisor, Denver is a popular destination for my clients and a place I've spent enough time in to have some strong opinions about what's worth your time. One thing that surprises a lot of first-time visitors: Denver isn't actually in the mountains — it sits at the edge of Colorado's Front Range, about an hour from the Rockies. So, Denver itself isn't quite the mountain town most people imagine it to be. It's more a big, walkable city where the mountains are the backdrop.
Below are my picks for the best things to do in Denver, plus the one popular attraction I think you can skip.
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My Experience in Denver, CO
We visit Denver every couple of years — like I said, it's one of my favorite destinations any time we are headed out west. I love the mountain scenery paired with a world-class dining scene, beautiful murals, great weather and easy access to outdoor adventures. On most trips, my husband and I are in Denver for an extended weekend of 4-ish full days, which gives us plenty of time to make a couple of day trips to the mountains and spend time exploring neighborhoods and taking in the dining scene. I love that you don't have to trade the amenities a big city can offer for remote backcountry to have incredible experiences outdoors. These are my top picks for things to do while you're in town.
Things To Do In Denver, Colorado
Professional Sports
Game day in Denver is its own kind of fun.
Denver is a great sports town, and catching a game is one of my favorite ways to spend an evening here, whatever the season.
Colorado Rockies
Every season, we try to plan a trip around an Atlanta Braves away game, and the Colorado Rockies series is one of my favorites to catch whenever they're on the schedule. Even as a non-Rockies fan, this remains one of our favorite ballparks. The Rockies aren't known for being the best team in baseball, but Coors Field has a fantastic atmosphere, tickets are some of the most affordable in the league (we sat front row for a fraction of what it would cost in Atlanta), and — most importantly — the stadium food is actually good (I highly recommend trying a "Tornadough"). The Rooftop area in center field is a fun, casual spot to watch a few innings if you want a break from your seat, and it happens to have one of the best views of the Rocky Mountains in the distance of any spot in the ballpark.
Address: 2001 Blake St, Denver
Season: April – September/October
Tickets: Start as low as $10–15 for upper-deck seats on weeknights, which makes it one of the most affordable pro sports outings in the city
Denver Broncos
If you're visiting in the fall, a Denver Broncos game at Empower Field is a bucket-list experience for football fans. The energy in the stadium — and the tailgate scene in the parking lots beforehand — is hard to match. Tickets can be pricier and harder to come by than the Rockies, so I'd recommend booking as early as possible if a Broncos game is the centerpiece of your trip.
Address: 1701 Bryant St, Denver
Season: September – early January
Colorado Avalanche & Denver Nuggets
For visitors heading to Denver in the winter months, I often point clients toward a Colorado Avalanche (NHL) or Denver Nuggets (NBA) game — both play at Ball Arena in downtown Denver, just a short walk from Union Station. It's an easy way to build an evening of entertainment into a winter trip when outdoor activities are more limited, and both venues are well set up for visitors who want a true big-city game day experience without needing a car.
Address: 1000 Chopper Cir, Denver
Season: October – April, longer with playoffs
Live Music
No list of the best things to do in Denver would be complete without Red Rocks Amphitheater. It's a bucket-list location to catch a concert, and it's easy to see why once you take in the backdrop of towering red sandstone millions of years in the making. It's worth checking to see if any of your favorite bands are playing. If you can build your trip around a show here, do it.
Even if you can't catch a concert during your visit, Red Rocks Park is open to guests on non-event days and is worth the short drive from downtown Denver. It's a beautiful spot for a morning walk, and the famous amphitheater stairs are a favorite (if punishing) local workout — plenty of Denver locals treat it as a free outdoor gym. There's also a small visitor center and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame on-site if you want to make a longer morning of it.
Address: 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Hours (non-event days): Roughly one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset
Cost: Free to visit the park; concert prices vary by show
Getting there: About a 20–30 minute drive from downtown; there's also a seasonal shuttle if you'd rather skip parking on a show night
If Red Rocks doesn't line up with your dates, Denver has a great music scene, so it's likely you can still catch a show while you're in town. A few venues worth checking: Mission Ballroom, Ogden Theatre, Bluebird Theatre, and Larimer Lounge.
Day Trips
Denver's proximity to the Rocky Mountains makes it the perfect basecamp for outdoor adventures, and I always encourage clients to build in a day trip (or two) no matter how short their visit is. Here are a couple of my favorites to get you started — for a longer list, check out my full guide to day trips from Denver.
Rocky Mountain National Park
The Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is about an hour and 45 minutes from downtown Denver, and it's the day trip I recommend most often to clients who want to actually experience the Rockies, not just look at them from the city. For those hoping to hike the iconic Emerald Lake trail, plan ahead — a timed-entry permit is required during peak season (typically late May through mid-October), and reservations go quick. It's worth checking the permit website as soon as you have your dates locked in. If they are already sold out, you can reserve a permit at 7 p.m. MDT the night before your visit. This day trip pairs great with some time in Estes Park, CO. It's the perfect place to grab lunch after your hike, pop into a gift shop for an RMNP souvenir, and swing past the iconic Stanley Hotel before making your way back to Denver.
Entrance fee: $30 per vehicle for a single day (or a $80 annual park pass if you'll be back or plan to visit multiple parks in a calendar year)
Timed-entry permits: Required for certain corridors in peak season — book on recreation.gov as early as possible. $2 permit fee
Colorado Springs
Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak make Colorado Springs another one of the most popular day trips from Denver. Garden of the Gods is free to visit and one of the most striking rock formations I've seen anywhere in the state. It's easily walkable for most fitness levels and has tons of interconnecting trails, so you can make your day of exploring as short or as long as you like. Pikes Peak, meanwhile, is one of the most accessible 14,000-foot summits in Colorado — you can drive up yourself or take the historic cog railway to the top, which makes it a great option if you want a high-altitude experience without a full-day hike.
Garden of the Gods: Free entry; visitor center open daily, roughly 8am–5pm (seasonal hours vary)
Pikes Peak Cog Railway: Departs from Manitou Springs; tickets typically run $70–90 per adult and should be booked in advance, especially in summer
Driving Pikes Peak Highway: An alternative if you'd rather go at your own pace; there's a toll and the road is well maintained but has a lot of switchbacks, so it's not for the faint of heart
→ More Denver Day Trip Ideas
Art & Food in RiNo
RiNo (River North Art District) is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city for an afternoon of wandering — a great mix of historic architecture, some of the best street art murals in the city, and some of Denver's best restaurants. It's a great place to build a food tour or self-guided walking tour around. For food, some of my favorites in this area are Cart Driver and Mister Oso. If you want everything under one roof, the Source Market Hall — a converted 1880s ironworks building — is worth a stop for coffee, a butcher counter, small-batch bakeries, and a brewery, all in one spot, roughly 7am–11pm most days.
World-Class Museums and Art Experiences
Denver has an excellent museum scene, and it's an easy way to fill an afternoon regardless of weather. Meow Wolf Denver is the interactive exhibit I recommend most — it's an immersive, art-meets-funhouse experience that's a favorite with clients traveling with teens, though adults tend to love it just as much.
For a more traditional museum day, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is great for families, with a planetarium, an IMAX theater, and rotating exhibits. It's open daily, roughly 9am–5pm, with adult tickets typically running around $20.
The Denver Art Museum downtown has one of the best collections of Native American and Western art in the country, housed in a striking piece of architecture in its own right — open daily 10am–5pm (later on Tuesdays), with adult tickets typically around $18, and free for anyone under 18.
If museums are your thing and you have an extra afternoon, the History Colorado Center is worth adding to the list — it's a well-done overview of the state's history with rotating exhibits, and the Molly Brown House Museum (yes, the Unsinkable Molly Brown of Titanic fame) is a small but interesting stop if you're downtown near Capitol Hill.
Denver Union Station
Denver Union Station is a historic landmark in the truest sense. It opened in its current form (after an earlier station burned down) in 1914 and reached its peak train traffic in the 1940s, welcoming over 50,000 passengers a day. It's still a functional train station today — Amtrak and the regional rail lines both run through it — but the building has been beautifully revitalized into a mixed-use development that also houses boutique accommodations, world-class restaurants (we loved our meal at Mercantile Dining & Provision), and shopping. A fun detail I always share with clients: there are working beehives on the roof, part of Denver's urban beekeeping program.
Even if you don't plan to stop and dine or shop, it's worth visiting just to see the historic architecture and grand hall up close, especially in the evening when the Great Hall lights up.
Address: 1701 Wynkoop St, Denver
Getting there: Central to nearly everything downtown, and a hub for the free 16th Street shuttle and light rail
Parks, Gardens & Free Tours
If you want a lower-key day between the bigger attractions, Denver has a handful of spots I try to work into my clients’ itineraries:
City Park is the largest green space in the city and home to both the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, plus tennis courts, picnic areas, and two small lakes — an easy way to combine a museum stop with some downtime outdoors. Washington Park is a bit more residential and less crowded, with walking and biking trails around a lake that's popular for kayaking in summer.
The Denver Botanic Gardens are another favorite — 24 acres including a traditional Japanese garden and a public amphitheater that hosts summer concerts. Open daily, roughly 9am–5pm, with adult tickets typically around $15.
And if you're interested in the history and architecture of the city, the Colorado State Capitol offers free guided tours on weekdays (typically 10am and 11am, first-come first-served, capped at 20 people per tour) that take you into the House and Senate chambers, plus an optional climb to the gold dome — which sits at exactly one mile above sea level, the source of Denver's nickname.
Skip It: 16th Street Mall
Honestly, after hearing the hype for this area for years, I was underwhelmed. If you're looking to shop from large corporate brands, then you'll enjoy the stroll, but otherwise, there are other areas — some literally just blocks away — that offer a lot more personality and locally owned shops. I'd recommend checking out Larimer Square instead. Established in the late 1800s along Larimer Street, it's the oldest block in the city and recognized as Denver's oldest surviving commercial district. It's full of 19th-century architecture, strung with hanging lights, and lined with the flags you've probably seen in Denver's most iconic photos. There's plenty of good dining and a lively evening scene, so if 16th Street Mall was on your list for a night out, this is where I'd send you instead.
FAQs
How many days do I need in Denver?
For a first visit, I'd recommend at least three to four days — enough time to explore downtown, catch a game or a show, and still fit in at least one day trip to the mountains. If Rocky Mountain National Park is a priority, I'd lean toward the longer end of that range so you don't feel rushed.
What's the best time of year to visit Denver?
Denver sees over 300 days of sunshine a year, which makes it a great year-round destination, but late spring through early fall is the sweet spot if you want easy access to the mountains and a full concert calendar at Red Rocks. Winter is a great option if you're planning to ski or catch an Avalanche or Nuggets game, and tends to be less crowded downtown.
Do I need a car to get around Denver?
Downtown Denver, Union Station, RiNo, and Ball Arena are all very walkable and connected by the free MallRide and light rail, so you can skip the rental car if you're staying in the city center. That said, a car (or a tour with transportation included) is essential if a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park or Colorado Springs is on your list.
Is a Denver CityPASS worth it?
If you're planning to visit two or more of the paid attractions on this list, like the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, and Denver Museum of Nature & Science — it can save you a meaningful amount versus buying tickets individually. If you're mostly focused on free things (Garden of the Gods, the Capitol tour, Red Rocks Park), it's probably not necessary.
Note: some of the recommendations above — the professional sports venues, museums, and day trips — are drawn from what I regularly recommend to clients planning Denver trips, alongside my own visits. If you're planning a Denver itinerary and want help booking any of this, reach out here.
Hi, I’m Jess
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