Denver Vacation!! What to do and see???? (Colorado Springs, Boulder: hotel, house)

[Daniel_T]

I am coming to Denver in March, (plane tickets and hotel reservations already purchased) and would like to know what there is to do in Denver? I will be in Denver from March 22-28th. I would like to know where some viewpoints are. I would love to get some unique photos of the skyline.

Can anyone recommend any cheap eateries in downtown denver? I don't want to spend an arm and a leg to eat.

I also want to check out Cherry Creek. What is there to do around there? I am thinking about taking a tour of the mountains but am not sure that is the best thing to do in March. Do you agree? Thanks and all answers and suggestions appreciated.

Daniel_T

[DenverAztec]

It is late and this is all off the top of my head - If you have not been to Denver before, you will enjoy it! I am in Phoenix every other month and our downtowns are night and day. It is easy to get around downtown and a significant number of places that are all within walking distance. Denver was just voted 4th most walkable city in the country. It will more then likely be cold in March but there is much to do downtown and some great photo opportunities. I will DM you some photos I have shot.

Must See in Downtown:

• Brown Palace
• Union Station
• State Capitol (enter on the north side of the building on the ground entry door - airport security screening)
• Denver Art Museum, the new and old section, new is Daniel Libeskind's first American structure. He is currently the architect on the WTC rebuild.
• Cathedral Basillica
• Saint John's cathedral
• Denver Mint
• 16th Street Mall
• Equittable Building on 17th, the tiffany glass windows inside are worth more then the entire building. 6 million hand placed tiles in the flying buttress ceiling. Built after the one in NYC.
• Civic Center Park, during the day as undesirables there at night
• LoDo for the night clubs, but also for the historical value and city views for photo shoots
• Museum of Contemporary Art, just opened in October
• Larimer Square
• Pavillions has a Gap, Hard Rock Cafe, United Artist Theater, Banana Republic, Nike Town, etc, if you forget something or just want to hang out and rest while people watching.
• Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the Paramount have concerts and shows continuously. Ticket sales are second only to NYC.
• Pepsi Center/Invesco Field and Coors fields are all easily reachable by foot/mall shuttle or light rail.
• use the free mall shuttle for downtown
• take the light rail to see the outer sections of Denver. Advise to take it from downtown to at least the Park Meadows Mall as you can see the Denver Technological Center area. It is another downtown in itself, if you like modern buildings, but not very walkable.

Capitol Hill:

• Mansions on 11th and 12th and Pennsylvannia
• Molly Brown's House
• Governor's mansion
• Denver Botanical Garden's (atarium is neat, but best for summer)
• Historic homes in Capitol Hill along 7th and 6th Avenue Parkway, Monaco Parkway, 17th Ave Parkway, Montview between Colorado and Monaco

Outside of Denver:

• Red Rocks Ampitheater
• Flat Irons in Boulder and the Pearl Street mall - outdoor pedestrian mall
• Lookout Mountain
• Central City and Blackhawk - old mining town turned into small stakes gambling.
• Roxburough Park
• Aspen 4 hour drive if weather decent, Glenwood canyon is fantasic, but expect delays on the weekends
• Vail 1.5 hours, weekends expect traffic
• Colorado Springs 2.5 hours, expect traffic heavy in the Denver Tech area and slow in Castle Rock, in the Springs, check out the Air Force Academy and the Garden of the Gods, not much to their downtown for having 600K in a population.

Cheap Eats:

• Tons on the 16th Steet mall downtown for fast food (from Wendy's to Chipotle)
• Personal favorite is Snooze for breakfast, on 17th Ave, not 17th street, but walking distance from downtown
• Dixon's and Racine's have many plates for under $10.00 and both are very tasty.
• Spicy Pickle
• Noodles
• Kokoro Bowl
• Benny's Mexican
• High End eating and shopping is in the Cherry Creek area

Best Photo Op locations of the skyline:

• City Park golf course
• The rear entrance to the Museum of Natural History in City Park
• Barnum Park, top of the hill at the circle drive
• Highlands - new pedestrian bridge over the highway, shoot from Lola's
• Speer bridge as it enters the Highland area, just south are some places to park. Some great eats in the 32nd and Lowell area but in the mid range for plates.
• Rotunda of the State Capitol, if it is open
• View from the art museum extension
• The view from the bar at the top of the Hyatt is great for seeing west Denver and the mountains, plus Invesco field and north of the city.

Check out www.9news.com for local news and weather, plus www.westword.com for entertainment.

[Daniel_T]

Thank you very much for all that info!! I appreciate. I have never been to Denver before and I am very excited to be coming. Visiting to also check out colleges. I look forward to seeing some of your city shots. Is it really still cold in Denver the end of March? I figured it would be warmer outside. I lived in AK for 14 years so I know cold. Should there still be some snow on the ground? Appreciate your answers. Thanks,

Daniel_T

[DenverAztec]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Thank you very much for all that info!! I appreciate. I have never been to Denver before and I am very excited to be coming. Visiting to also check out colleges. I look forward to seeing some of your city shots. Is it really still cold in Denver the end of March? I figured it would be warmer outside. I lived in AK for 14 years so I know cold. Should there still be some snow on the ground? Appreciate your answers. Thanks,

Daniel_T

The only month it has not snowed here is July, it can snow any month in the mountains. The snow falls in March have been significant and it is one of our snowiest months. But some years, March has been mild. It is hit or miss in March and even the first part of April. We are advised not to plant annuals outside until after the first week of May due to freezes.

You will want to check out D.U. and the Auraria Campus. D.U. is in south Denver, but the Auraria Campus is basically downtown. 1/2 mile from the 16th street mall and three schools share the campus, CU at Denver, Metropolitan State College and the Community College of Denver.

[MobyLL]

Hey there Daniel_T,

DenverAztec has provided some excellent info there... i will just add a couple things.

Downtown take a look at the Library right across from the Denver Art Museum... not so interesting as a visitor i guess, but if you are a potential resident it is a nice facility to have at your disposal.

Also downtown, if you are into skateboarding or trick biking (whatever it is called) check out the Denver Skatepark http://www.denverskatepark.com/ It's free and supposedly the largest in the nation. Even if you are not into skateboarding it's worth going over just to see the evel knievel death defying action.

For skyline shots Ruby Hill Park is also a possibility, but if you are short of time I agree with DA -- go with his list first.

I sort of doubt you are into antiques, but just in case, you can check out South Broadway between about Mississippi and Evans.

[denverian]

Regarding late March weather, when you hear that it's the snowiest month of the year, that doesn't mean you'll find 6' of snow on the ground. Every March I've spent here was characterized by a fairly long stretch of warm weather (early to mid March) followed by snow here and there that quickly melts. You can expect anything from wet snow to rain or sunny and mid 70s. Just check the weather a couple days before you leave - it'll be hit or miss.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by DenverAztec

The only month it has not snowed here is July, it can snow any month in the mountains. The snow falls in March have been significant and it is one of our snowiest months. But some years, March has been mild. It is hit or miss in March and even the first part of April. We are advised not to plant annuals outside until after the first week of May due to freezes.

I believe, in the city of Denver, snowfall in August would be unheard of. I've never seen snow in June either, but I've heard of light, wet snow mixed in with rain or something, but it's highly unlikely and I'm sure it wasn't like a blizzard when it did snow in June.

I've only lived in Denver 6 years total (not all together) and the latest I've seen snow was about the first week of May (it melted by 9 a.m.) and then nearly a foot on Sept. 20, 1995 that melted completely within 48 hours and then back to warm, summer weather.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by denverian

Regarding late March weather, when you hear that it's the snowiest month of the year, that doesn't mean you'll find 6' of snow on the ground. Every March I've spent here was characterized by a fairly long stretch of warm weather (early to mid March) followed by snow here and there that quickly melts. You can expect anything from wet snow to rain or sunny and mid 70s. Just check the weather a couple days before you leave - it'll be hit or miss.

Remember the March 17-19 2003 snowstorm? About 32 inches or so? http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...r/hazards.html

(TheDenverChannel.com). This (80.8 cm or 31.8 inches) was Denver's second biggest snowstorm ever recorded, and resulted in the snowiest March on record for the city. (The most snow ever recorded in a single Denver snowstorm was 116 cm or 45.7 inches measured during the blizzard of December 1-6 of 1913.)

[DenverAztec]

In March of 2003 our CEO from Houston was stuck here for a solid 4 days due to almost 3 feet of snow. It is rare but happens.

Check out the link to the national weather service about snow fall totals and their records since 1946 at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/den/cli/snowstat.php . This is for only Denver and does not include the snow fall amounts from 2006.

I have seen snow fall in May and June but as Denverian states, it is a mix of rain and snow and if there is any accumulation, it melts right away. Snow tracking has been around since the late 1800s and you can find pictures in the Denver Public Library of snow in August, rare, but not unheard of to us natives.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by DenverAztec

In March of 2003 our CEO from Houston was stuck here for a solid 4 days due to almost 3 feet of snow. It is rare but happens.

Check out the link to the national weather service about snow fall totals and their records since 1946 at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/den/cli/snowstat.php . This is for only Denver and does not include the snow fall amounts from 2006.

I have seen snow fall in May and June but as Denverian states, it is a mix of rain and snow and if there is any accumulation, it melts right away. Snow tracking has been around since the late 1800s and you can find pictures in the Denver Public Library of snow in August, rare, but not unheard of to us natives.

I found pictures once of snow on the ground in Orange County in an orange grove - with Model T cars in the photo. I think it was just a lot colder back in the 1800s. When I lived in Orange County (total of 13 years) it never even got below freezing, let alone snow.

The first year I lived in Denver, I remember spending an early March day outside for hours, enjoying the mid 70 degree temps. Considering it was technically still winter, I didn't think about sun block. I got quite a bad sunburn that winter day.