Walking Downtown (Denver, Colorado Springs, Center: to rent, crime, hotel)

[BSL63087]

I am going to be in Denver for a week in April and I will be downtown the whole time. The hotel I am staying at is on Speer Blvd. about 2 miles south of the Pepsi Center and it is called Townplace Suites by Marriot. The address of the hotel is 685 Speer Blvd.
I will mainly be around the stadiums, Coors Field, Pepsi Center/Invesco Field area. I am wondering how safe is it to walk around those areas both during the day and at night? I am likely going to get a schedule of the public busses that run in downtown and try to ride those as much as possible but I just want to know what to expect if I have to walk at night. Will I be in any dangerous areas walking from Coors Field to the hotel on Speer Blvd. or Pepsi Center to my hotel? I have never been to Denver but Speer Blvd. looks like a pretty busy area even at night so I would imagine I won't be in any danger.

Thanks.

[19Caroline72]

Downtown stays fairly busy, and it's quite pedestrian friendly. You'll find that there will be plenty of people walking around, especially if you're here during the weekend. The walk from Coors Field to Speer Blvd is right through the middle of LODO (Lower Downtown), an area with lots of restaurants and nightlife. The walk from Pepsi Center along Speer Blvd should be OK as long as you don't venture off into any dark alleys Downtown Denver is fairly safe. You should be fine, just use the normal precautions and stay in populated areas.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by 19Caroline72

Downtown stays fairly busy, and it's quite pedestrian friendly. You'll find that there will be plenty of people walking around, especially if you're here during the weekend. The walk from Coors Field to Speer Blvd is right through the middle of LODO (Lower Downtown), an area with lots of restaurants and nightlife. The walk from Pepsi Center along Speer Blvd should be OK as long as you don't venture off into any dark alleys Downtown Denver is fairly safe. You should be fine, just use the normal precautions and stay in populated areas.

Ok thats about what I expected. I don't plan to go on any side streets or alleys at all so I know I'll be fine. I have always heard Denver is pretty safe especially if you use common sense and all.

Thanks again.

[tfox]

You might enjoy walking along the Cherry Creek Trail. Speer actually straddles Cherry Creek for much of its length, and the Cherry Creek Trail will go nearby both your hotel as well as the Pepsi Center.

[2bindenver]

16th street shuttle goes east west - along the 16th street pedestrian mall.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

16th street shuttle goes east west - along the 16th street pedestrian mall.

I would highly recommend that the OP visit 16th Street Mall and make use of MallRide, but unfortunately MallRide isn't the most direct bus route to the Pepsi Center from the hotel at 6th/Speer. To use it, he/she would walk up to Civic Center Station at 16th/Broadway, a 10 block walk along broadway, which is doable but not the likely route for transportation's sake.

I've long thought that RTD could use a streetcar or trolley between Cherry Creek North and LoDo/Union Station. That route would serve the OP very well. Too bad it doesn't exist at this time.

[BSL63087]

I'm in the process of actually planning everything out now, as far as like how I will get places whether by walking or bus or whatever. I don't plan to rent a car as I don't think I'll need one. It would be nice to have one to drive out to the mountains but I'll save that for another time. My eventual goal is to move to Denver so I'll be able to actually go into the mountains another time. I think I can save myself a lot of money by not renting a car. It seems like downtown is very walkable and I can take the RTD a lot.

My biggest question is, what is the best way to get from DIA to downtown? I plan to take the RTD bus but is there any other ways that are just as cheap? The trip planner on rtd-denver.com is definitly a huge helper.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by tfox

I would highly recommend that the OP visit 16th Street Mall and make use of MallRide, but unfortunately MallRide isn't the most direct bus route to the Pepsi Center from the hotel at 6th/Speer. To use it, he/she would walk up to Civic Center Station at 16th/Broadway, a 10 block walk along broadway, which is doable but not the likely route for transportation's sake.

I've long thought that RTD could use a streetcar or trolley between Cherry Creek North and LoDo/Union Station. That route would serve the OP very well. Too bad it doesn't exist at this time.

I'm definitly going to visit the 16th street mall. I will definitly go to the ESPN Zone as well. I am going to be there for a week and it's basically a sports trip as I'm going to be there to see 3 Rockies games, 3 Nuggets games, and 2 Avalanche games. I will have plenty of time on my hands before the games and there is 1 day that I will be there that doesn't have a game scheduled for any of the teams. I will have to figure out some stuff to do during those times and I should be able to do a lot of walking. I would assume the whole downtown area (around Coors Field, 16th Street Mall, Pepsi Center, my hotel located on Speer Blvd.) is walkable and safe to walk?

[Mike from back east]

BLS...you ARE going to love Colorado.

We stayed a week in Denver, back in 2003, we now live in CO. I highly recommend you check out historic Oxford Hotel, which is RIGHT there in LODO, just ONE block from the 16th St Mall, or the RR station / RTD station... a SHORT 3 block walk to Coors Field... 5-6 blocks to Pepsi Center... a few blocks to Comedy Works... tons of brewpubs, eateries, shopping, just an amazing area to stay in and walk around, all of it safely too. You will NOT need to drive anywhere.

I'm not involved in the Oxford or any other biz of any sort...but I'm sure you'd have a much better trip staying at the Oxford. It's an old historic elegant place with a great deal of charm. Even if its a few bucks more than the famous-name hotel where you're now booked, the convenience will make it well worth it.

s/Mike
Colorado Springs

[tfox]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

I'm definitly going to visit the 16th street mall. I will definitly go to the ESPN Zone as well. I am going to be there for a week and it's basically a sports trip as I'm going to be there to see 3 Rockies games, 3 Nuggets games, and 2 Avalanche games. I will have plenty of time on my hands before the games and there is 1 day that I will be there that doesn't have a game scheduled for any of the teams. I will have to figure out some stuff to do during those times and I should be able to do a lot of walking. I would assume the whole downtown area (around Coors Field, 16th Street Mall, Pepsi Center, my hotel located on Speer Blvd.) is walkable and safe to walk?

It's safe -- take the usual precautions but you'll be fine. If you look at numbers, the higher crime areas are mostly outside of downtown.