It’s been one of my goals this year to go on more weekend trips, and Denver has been on my bucket list for a while! Denver was a short flight from OC, so we caught a late flight on Friday after work. If you’re just staying in the city, you don’t need a rental car, if you want to save some money use rideshare apps and scooters, and exercise by walking! Here’s a little recap of our weekend trip — food, beer, concerts, and more.
Getting Downtown: If your accommodation is near Union Station, take the train from he airport! If it’s not walkable, then I suggest calling an uber/lyft. Make sure sure you take a look at surge pricing. We waited half an hour after our flight and the price went down about $30.
D A Y 1
1. Breakfast at Denver Biscuit Company
Guys, calories don’t count when you’re on vacation. Denver Biscuit Company has multiple locations, so plan according to your route. Make sure to stop by here to try their freshly baked, buttermilk biscuit sandwiches. They have an unlimited self-serve coffee bar, the hardest part was to pick which mug I wanted to use! Get the Franklin - fried chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese smothered in sausage gravy, and don’t forget an egg! For the perfect combination of savory and sweet, get the Lola with biscuit French Toast. This sandwich was stacked with fried chicken, bacon, honey butter, and covered in maple syrup!
2. Explore Colfax St.
After breakfast, walk around and explore some of the shops on Colfax Street. On your stroll, make sure to take a peek at the alleyways, you’ll find some murals that make an IG-worthy background. We visited some notable shops while waiting for our table at DBC. Check out Little Lula Rose, a cute flower shop that hosts workshops and also brews coffee! Across the street is a mystical store called Spirit Ways, where they sell all sorts of crystals and things of that nature. There’s also a dispensary called Groundswell on this street!
3. City Park
Take a short walk to City Park, if you have time there are plenty of things to do here like bike around the lake, or rent a swan boat. If you have kids, the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science are located in the park too!
4. Museum of Contemporary Art
Small open floor plan, but worth a visit! For those that appreciate different forms of art, you’re in for a treat. They have rotating exhibits, views of downtown Denver, and a rooftop cafe.
5. The Dairy Block
Located next to the Maven Hotel, the Dairy Block is a food hall marketplace that celebrates unique food, experiences, and art. Everywhere you turn, you find a different style of decor! We didn’t eat anything here, but it’s a fun place to take photos and window shop. Stop by the giant milk can art at the end of the alley.
Pro Tip: Scooters are everywhere in Denver. It’s almost the same price as taking an UberPool but 100x more fun. We decided to use them to take us to our next destination. Also on your way to Little Man, stop by REI, it’s HUGE!
6. Little Man Ice Cream
Look for a giant cream can and a long line, there you’ll find hand-crafted ice cream that you won’t want to miss. With plenty of outdoor seating, it’s such a cute place to hang out while you indulge in a classic dessert. Splurge and get a waffle cone (you can smell this from across the street) and double scoops! We tried 16th St. Chocolate and Salted Caramel.
7. Forest Room 5
Outdoor, forest, camping vibe done right. When you step into this magical bar, there’s plenty of seating inside with wood details and a rad collection of kitsch knickknacks lining the back of the bar. They also have a vending machine filled with old books, how cool is that? Stop by right when happy hour starts and order they huckleberry lynx and bear heaven cocktails for $6. Once your drinks are ready, venture to the outdoor section. Pick a seat next to the fire pits, on a wooden stool, or in the teepee as you enjoy the great outdoors in the middle of downtown Denver.
8. Linger
Finish your drinks and get to Linger 15 minutes before they open. There will be a line, but it’s worth the wait if you want a nice spot on the rooftop lounge. This spot used to be a mortuary before they gave it a new life and turned into a bar and restaurant! When you get to the rooftop you order from a little food truck, and bring your number to your seat. If you’re there on a hot day I suggest getting one of their frozen cocktails, like a prickly Pear Margarita or a Pineapple Whip. We also grubbed on some steamed bao buns and Korean bbq tacos while we enjoyed the view of downtown.
9. Red Rocks Amphitheater
We finally got to cross this off our bucket lists. Make sure to arrive before sunset so you can view the amphitheater and rock formations before it gets dark. Music just sounds better here, and with elevated rows, every seat is a good seat. If you’re in Denver, make sure you add a concert into your itinerary. Once the sun sets, you start to see the city light behind the stage, everyone is vibing, it's truly magical.
D A Y 2
1. Sam’s No. 3
We started our second day with a filling breakfast from Sam’s No. 3 right in the heart of downtown. They have a large menu and huge portions. You’ll be stuffed! So what to order…. when in Denver, get a Denver omelet. It’s made with 4 farm fresh eggs and comes with potatoes and toast!
2. Denver Central Market
Before starting our self-guided beer tour, we needed to eat as much as possible. So we headed to the RiNo district and ate again at Denver Central Market. It’s an open marketplace with gourmet food vendors and even a bar. If you’re traveling with other people, I suggest ordering from different stalls so that you can try a variety of dishes. I had a RINO morning bowl from izzio bakery, which included a piece of freshly baked bread. We also ordered a porchetta platter with fries and roasted vegetables from SK Provisions.
3. Brewery Hop in RiNo
River North district is filled with two of my favorite things… art and beer. Make sure to do some research and figure out which breweries you’d like to visit! We spent a good 4 hours on our self-guided brewery tour and we visited 5, so block off a whole afternoon for this. Since we traveled as a pair, we thought it would be best to just order flights or tasters at each location and share. By the end of the day, we had tried about 18 different brews! Here are the ones we stopped at-- 10 Barrel Brewing, Our Mutual Friend, Odell Brewing Co, Epic Brewing, and Stem Ciders. Pro tip: if you get hungry, carb up at shake shack before drinking at Odell. Make sure to collect stickers at every stop!
4. Super Mega Bien
After all that good beer, we were ready for dinner. We scootered our way to Super Mega Bien, a super rad Latin Asian fusion dim sum restaurant. After all that beer we needed something different and refreshing, so we both got a Tinto de Niro. To our surprise, we made it just in time for happy hour, which meant all items on their dim sum menu were only $6! We loved the concept of the dim sum cart. The server that came around to each table explained each dish and you were given a visual before grabbing your desired plate off the cart. Everything was absolutely delicious, but our favorite was the lamb carnitas steam buns (only available on Sundays.) They also change their menu up, so I hope they still have these so you can try them too!
5. Larimer Square
This street is lined with shops and restaurants, but what everyone comes to see are all the string lights. We got there before sunset so it was still light out, but it was amazing to see.
6. 16th St Mall
Unfortunately, we got there too late, all the stores close early on a Sunday night. So if shopping is a must on your list, go earlier! It’s still a cool place to walk around (the street is closed to regular traffic!)
7. FTW Denver
To finish off our Denver trip we had some fun at FTW, a large arcade where we got to play some skee ball, ticketed games and more. We ended up winning one jackpot and took home some stuffed toys for our dog.