fun things to do with kids in February

[emm74]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Don't get me wrong, I love Castlewood Canyon; it's like 25 mins from my house. The 2 best trails in the park are Inner Canyon and Rimrock, but both of those trails can hold snow and are sketchy if they're icy or snowpacked.

The East Canyon Preservation Trail is pretty lightly used, and is a great hike (when it's actually open).

If you got to Castlewood and only do the Canyon View Nature Trail you're missing out on what the park has to offer.

Are those appropriate for someone hiking with 2 four year olds?

[alloo66]

Elaine Wolfe Theater - Jewisn Community Center
Hammonds Candy Factory Tour
Wings over the Rockies
Denver Mint

[emm74]

Originally Posted by alloo66

Elaine Wolfe Theater - Jewisn Community Center
Hammonds Candy Factory Tour
Wings over the Rockies
Denver Mint

The Mint is for 7 and up only

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by emm74

Are those appropriate for someone hiking with 2 four year olds?

Thought I replied to this. May have forgotten to hit the ol' submit button, but I digress. Yes those hikes are doable by 4-year-olds when the trails are clear. I hiked at a DougCo Open Space not far from Castlewood Canyon over the weekend, and I encountered a fair amount of snow, ice, and mud in the shade. Based on that, a good chunk of the Inner Canyon Trail and the northern end of the Rimrock Trail will likely be icy and/or muddy.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I'll be visiting with two 4 year olds in late February and these are the places I intend to take them. Please let me know if I should add or remove something to the list.

Museum of Nature and Science
Children's Museum
History Colorado
Butterfly Pavilion
Museum of Transportation
Tattered Cover
Denver Puppet Theater
Casa Bonita
The indoor ski place
Wizard's Chest
Denver cat company
food halls and breweries

Are there kid friendly trails that could be nice this time of the year?

I thought I would give some feedback about the trip in case folks are interested.

Things that exceeded my expectations:
- Museum of Nature and Science (bigger than expected, not mobbed with people on the weekend)
- History Colorado
- The independent bookstores
- The puppet theater
- the weather (even though the temperature was mostly in the 40s I didn't need to bundle up as much as I expected. 45 degrees in Denver probably feels like the equivalent of 55 in Houston. Lack of humidity just makes you feel better.)
- Red Rocks - very cool. The kids loved it.
- The density of LoDo and Rino areas.
- The mountain view from even as far east as Aurora
- Some of the residential neighborhoods (liked that the driveway is in the back in some of them. Definitely more of a community feel)
- The people are very friendly and helpful, even by Texas standard.
- Biker Jim's
- Some of the playgrounds are very cool

Things that didn't blow me away
- The sun and the dry air were rougher on my skin than expected. Seems like if I live there I'll need to put on cream everywhere.
- Washington Park, City Park (small lakes, seems to offer few activities besides trails and open spaces.)
- The foodhalls (smaller than I expected, seem to have the same types of vendors)
- The Art Museum is much smaller than I expected
- A lot of businesses and restaurants outside of downtown seem to close early.
- Chinese/Korean/Indian food aren't that good. Did find great Vietnamese and Japanese places.

I made the mistake of trying to go to Casa Bonita on a weekend evening. It was too crowded and we didn't want to wait in line. Will have to check it out next time.
We do plan to visit again in the summer to check out Co Springs and other suburbs.

[bluescreen73]

Glad you enjoyed the trip. Were you able to take a hike and/or find snow for the kiddos?

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I made the mistake of trying to go to Casa Bonita on a weekend evening. It was too crowded and we didn't want to wait in line. Will have to check it out next time.
We do plan to visit again in the summer to check out Co Springs and other suburbs.

Two things to know about Casa Bonita - it's expensive, and the food is absolutely wretched. The sopapillas will be the highlight of your "meal." Just remember you're paying for the cliff divers, not the dog food they're feeding you.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I thought I would give some feedback about the trip in case folks are interested.

Things that exceeded my expectations:
- Museum of Nature and Science (bigger than expected, not mobbed with people on the weekend)
- History Colorado
- The independent bookstores
- The puppet theater
- the weather (even though the temperature was mostly in the 40s I didn't need to bundle up as much as I expected. 45 degrees in Denver probably feels like the equivalent of 55 in Houston. Lack of humidity just makes you feel better.)
- Red Rocks - very cool. The kids loved it.
- The density of LoDo and Rino areas.
- The mountain view from even as far east as Aurora
- Some of the residential neighborhoods (liked that the driveway is in the back in some of them. Definitely more of a community feel)
- The people are very friendly and helpful, even by Texas standard.
- Biker Jim's
- Some of the playgrounds are very cool

Things that didn't blow me away
- The sun and the dry air were rougher on my skin than expected. Seems like if I live there I'll need to put on cream everywhere.
- Washington Park, City Park (small lakes, seems to offer few activities besides trails and open spaces.)
- The foodhalls (smaller than I expected, seem to have the same types of vendors)
- The Art Museum is much smaller than I expected
- A lot of businesses and restaurants outside of downtown seem to close early.
- Chinese/Korean/Indian food aren't that good. Did find great Vietnamese and Japanese places.

I made the mistake of trying to go to Casa Bonita on a weekend evening. It was too crowded and we didn't want to wait in line. Will have to check it out next time.
We do plan to visit again in the summer to check out Co Springs and other suburbs.

Thanks for the follow up! I always love when people take the time to do this.

DMNS really is a great museum. I believe it’s the largest between Chicago and LA.

Our parks are pretty much playgrounds, trails and open space. They are more active as the tree canopies form and the weather warms up a little. The gardens at Wash Park are awesome in the summer.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I made the mistake of trying to go to Casa Bonita on a weekend evening. It was too crowded and we didn't want to wait in line. Will have to check it out next time.
We do plan to visit again in the summer to check out Co Springs and other suburbs.

No, you don't. Really.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Glad you enjoyed the trip. Were you able to take a hike and/or find snow for the kiddos?
.

We found enough leftover clean snow at Wash Park and at the trail near Red Rocks. Not enough for sledding but good enough for a small snowman. They had a blast. The hiking was actually pretty good considering it was February. Parts of the trail got muddy but you can step around them. Unfortunately we only had enough energy for one hike around Red Rock and a small one on Dinosaur Ridge. I'm sure the scenery will be 10x better in summer.