Colorado is a beautiful state full of nature, hikes, and all kinds of outdoor activities. It’s easy to make your Denver trip budget-friendly because there are so many free or low-cost options! In this Denver travel guide, I’ll share the best hiking spots, restaurants, coffee shops, brunch spots, places to watch the sunrise/sunset, and other things to see/do.
The Denver Travel Guide
In this Denver travel guide, I’ll be covering the following categories:
- Denver eats & drinks
- Hikes (in and outside of Denver)
- Red Rocks Park & Ampitheatre
- The Denver Central Market
- Union Station
- Larimer Square
Without further ado, let’s start exploring Denver…
Denver Eats & Drinks
Brunch: Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
With all the brunch options in Denver, we ended up going to Snooze TWICE, that’s how incredible it was.
Our waitress was so sweet and brought us out a free “appetizer” pancake both times we were there. The food was incredible! We all tried different options and everything tasted amazing.
We ended up trying a strawberry cheesecake pancake, pumpkin pie pancake, pumpkin spice latte, and more sweets.
For breakfast, I got a loaded sweet potato one day, and a fried egg bowl another day. Everything was delicious and the service was phenomenal!
I’d highly recommend checking out one of the Snooze locations if you’re in Denver. Make sure you get on the waitlist ahead of time so you don’t have to wait long for a table.
Coffee: Lekker COffee & Watering Hole
Since we were in Denver in the fall, I got an iced pumpkin spice latte from Lekker, and it was incredible!
You know how pumpkin spice lattes can be hit or miss, some are way too sweet, and some taste like nothing at all?
This was the perfect in between. I want one of these lattes every day!
dinner: McDevitt Taco Supply (rooftop)
One night in Denver after a fall festival, we headed to McDevitt Taco Supply for dinner. It’s on the rooftop of a hotel and has the BEST views of Denver. You can see the skyline all the way to the mountains in the background. It’s beautiful!
The tacos were so yummy too! You can get a giant platter and pick out different flavors of tacos.
I went with the beer-braised beef, braised pork belly, and honey chili shrimp. We also tried the house-made chorizo, steak, chicken, and more.
We didn’t get margaritas but they had delicious-looking drink options too, like a green chile jalapeno margarita, and a hibiscus margarita.
Dinner: Marco’s Coal Fired Pizza
I’m such a big fan of wood-fired/coal-fired pizza! This pizza joint was 10/10. Absolutely delicious.
My only complaint was parking. It was street parking only and we ended up having to pay for parking in a lot. Nothing you can do about that, but just a heads up so you know what to expect.
Dessert: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (Larimer Square)
I’d never had Van Leeuwen ice cream before so I was excited to try this out!
The ice cream was incredible. We got the peanut butter brownie honeycomb and it was one of the best ice cream flavors I’ve ever had!
We tried another seasonal flavor (brown sugar… something?) but it wasn’t as good. Clearly, since I can’t remember what it was…lol
Dessert: Izzio Bakery (Central Market)
GUYS. This bakery… I have dreams about it at night. These pastries were SO phenomenal.
Our Airbnb host introduced us to this place, because he was kind enough to leave us a box of pastries when we checked in at the Airbnb.
I couldn’t get enough! If you make a Denver trip, definitely make plans to check out Izzio at Central Market. At least once, if not every day. You won’t regret it. 😉
The Best Denver Hikes
While on our Denver trip, we hiked at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre and Rocky Mountain National Park. (This obviously includes the surrounding areas of Denver too, but making a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park is SO worth it if you’re in Colorado.
Red Rocks Park & ampitheatre
Red Rocks Park was so beautiful to hike! We did the Red Rocks Trading Post Trail, which is 1.54 miles. The hike is considered an easy hike on AllTrails, but it was still a little challenging.
This was the first hike we did on our trip and I’d definitely recommend taking it easy at first. Unless you’re already used to elevation, it can take a toll on you, especially when exercising. We all made it through with no issues, but especially when hiking or exercising, it does feel tougher to breathe.
The views at this park were absolutely stunning! The red rock formations and all the trees were so beautiful to hike through. We did this hike close to sunset so we got the best views!
Rocky Mountain National Park
Near the end of our Denver trip, we made the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park for our last hike. It was about an hour and 30 minute drive, so it does end up being a full-day trip. I’d say it’s 100% worth it because there are a ton of different hiking trails and the views/nature are spectacular!
We hiked the Bear Lake Nature Trail, which is an easy 0.82 mile trail. We could’ve done more but we wanted to explore Boulder that day too and were getting hungry. So after the hike, we drove to Boulder to get food.
There are a lot of other longer and more challenging hikes at Rocky Mountain National Park, so I’d recommend looking up different options before making the trip.
I will say, the service at the park was awful (to be expected since it’s in the mountains…) so be sure to have directions and anything you need ahead of time. You really can’t rely on your phone once you get into the park. We made the mistake of trying to use our phone GPS, getting lost and having to ask a worker at a random hotel how to get around.
I found the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers on our hike! This is one of my favorite pictures I took throughout the whole Colorado trip.
Pro tip:
Before heading out on your Denver trip, I’d highly recommend investing in quality hiking boots and hiking socks. Some of these hikes can be lengthy and you don’t want to end up with sore feet or blisters!
I bought these hiking boots from Amazon and a couple of pairs of Bombas hiking socks. I’m obsessed with Bombas original socks for running, so I knew it’d be worth the extra money for some high-quality hiking socks.
These boots and socks held up incredibly on my trip and my feet were comfy throughout all of our hikes!
Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre
Not only is Red Rocks Park great for hiking, but there’s a huge outdoor ampitheatre that’s perfect to watch the sunrise or sunset as well!
There are also shows and concerts all the time at Red Rocks Ampitheatre. While we were there on a hike one night, there was an electronic concert, and green strobe lights everywhere. It looked like so much fun and there were a ton of people there!
We watched the sunrise on our last day in Denver at the Ampitheatre. I have a hard time getting up early and am definitely not a morning person by nature. But this was 1000% worth it! I’d highly recommend getting up to see the sunrise even if you’re more of a night owl like me.
The Denver Central Market
The Denver Central Market is a big indoor marketplace with food vendors, bakeries, meat/fish markets, and more. We went here for lunch and pastries.
They have a ton of options for food, including pizza, salads, smoothies, sandwiches, fish, and more.
Not to mention the incredible dessert and drink options. One of my favorite places in Denver was Izzio bakery. The pastries were to die for and I could go back there every day!
At Denver Central Market, they also have ice cream, coffee, local beers, and cocktails. So there are options for everyone, depending on what you’re feeling.
Union Station
Union Station was one of the main areas I wanted to go in Denver. While it was neat to see, I wasn’t as impressed as I was hoping I’d be.
There are a few restaurants, and most of them are on the more boujee side.
We went to a bookstore that I was really excited about, but it was pretty much barren. There were only a few books left on the shelves and they were all overpriced.
There are a few other shops and a coffee shop as well.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t go back to Union Station if I made another Denver trip, unless it was at Christmas time because it’s decorated beautifully for the holidays!
If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth it to check out once. Or if you have a specific restaurant you want to go there, it could be worth it as well.
Larimer Square
Larimer Square is a historic area in Downtown Denver full of restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.
We stopped by on our walk to Union Station and it was all decorated with Broncos jerseys!
We walked through to see the sights and got ice cream at Van Leeuwen. We split a couple different flavors and it was delicious!
This was such a fun, scenic outdoor area with a ton to do. I’ll definitely go back my next time in Denver to hit up more of the shops and restaurants.
That’s all folks!
I hope this blog gave you some ideas for your upcoming Denver trip or inspired you to make a Colorado trip! Let me know in the comments if you have any other Denver staples that I missed.
Unfortunately, I had to disable open comments due to a ton of spam comments coming in, so comments will only be open for one month after a post goes live now. If you’re unable to comment but want to get in contact, feel free to email me. I’d love to hear from you! 🙂
If you enjoyed this blog, you’ll also like:
- London Travel Guide
- January Recap (exploring Tampa & Tarpon Springs!)
- 8 EASY healthy habits to make this your BEST year yet
Disclosure: This post isn’t sponsored, but it does contain affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you purchase an item through them (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support!
[…] Denver Travel Guide (Exploring Colorado on a Budget) […]