Seeking Denver/Boulder area information
August 4, 2011 1:32 PM Subscribe
Denver filter: Please give me the scoop what to do in the Denver/Boulder, Colorado area. I'm a nature/are/salsa dancing/live music lover. Any ideas and suggestions?
I'm headed to the Denver area for about two weeks and would like ideas on what to do to make the most out of my trip. I will be in a training course from approx 9-5 during the day and then will have an entire weekend to do stuff. What are the key places, restaurants, neighborhoods and activities do you recommend I do? I'm interested in finding a group to hike with - do you know of a meetup group that hikes after work and on weekends and are open to newcomers/out of towners? I'd also like to check out the dancing scene so if you know of good weekly salsa lessons or parties, that would be great. I did find info on salsa in denver online but if you have any insight/recommendations, I love hearing those too. I'd love to get a few recommended hikes - looking for a challenging hike to do - are there any that I could do on my own?
I'm headed to the Denver area for about two weeks and would like ideas on what to do to make the most out of my trip. I will be in a training course from approx 9-5 during the day and then will have an entire weekend to do stuff. What are the key places, restaurants, neighborhoods and activities do you recommend I do? I'm interested in finding a group to hike with - do you know of a meetup group that hikes after work and on weekends and are open to newcomers/out of towners? I'd also like to check out the dancing scene so if you know of good weekly salsa lessons or parties, that would be great. I did find info on salsa in denver online but if you have any insight/recommendations, I love hearing those too. I'd love to get a few recommended hikes - looking for a challenging hike to do - are there any that I could do on my own?
not sure about the salsa scene but Red Rocks is a great place to see live music.
posted by seriousmoonlight at 1:42 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by seriousmoonlight at 1:42 PM on August 4, 2011
As an East coast guy who hiked (once) in Boulder, I would say it was 'brutal' only if you define 'brutal' as 'needing to stop every three minutes to catch your breath.' The people I was hiking with were understanding and accommodating, so for me the experience was more fun than beautiful. Just wanted to make sure that word served as fair warning rather than scared you off.
posted by troywestfield at 1:52 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by troywestfield at 1:52 PM on August 4, 2011
Oooh, go out to Brainard Lake outside of Boulder if you can. Hang out in the LoDo. Sign up for Denver BCycle. Go to Elitch Gardens. Don't worry too much about the elevation. I'm from New Orleans (below sea level!) and I hiked up to Isabella Glacier without trouble, albeit with frequent breaks.
posted by domo at 2:07 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by domo at 2:07 PM on August 4, 2011
Denver is wonderful. I don't know the first thing about Salsa dancing here, but there's fun swing at the Turnverein every week. There are several places around town to see good live music - check Westword for schedules. Fantastic food is getting easier to find: check out Fuel, Root Down, Potager, and a zillion places downtown.
For readily accessible hikes, I'd drive up to Boulder and hike the Flatirons. You can get some amazing views almost to Kansas, and there are hikes of varying difficulty to choose from. Plus, Boulder is awesome for food and people-watching when you're done with your hikes. Otherwise, I'd recommend getting up into mountain country for nature-related activities, but the drives on the weekends can be slow.
Have fun, and welcome to Denver!
posted by dilettanti at 2:12 PM on August 4, 2011
For readily accessible hikes, I'd drive up to Boulder and hike the Flatirons. You can get some amazing views almost to Kansas, and there are hikes of varying difficulty to choose from. Plus, Boulder is awesome for food and people-watching when you're done with your hikes. Otherwise, I'd recommend getting up into mountain country for nature-related activities, but the drives on the weekends can be slow.
Have fun, and welcome to Denver!
posted by dilettanti at 2:12 PM on August 4, 2011
Salsa at http://www.larumba.net/. I don't Salsa, but it's also the location of Lipgloss and that was a fun time.
There's no (good) hiking in Denver - but just go West and you have, you know, the entire Rocky Mountains at your disposal. There's a few meetups, like the Rocky Mountain Madness, but that may be a little too advanced. The selection is almost limitless.
I can't see going all the way here and not hiking a 14er. Bierstadt is easy enough - drink lots of water, bring clothing for ALL weather conditions, if you feel light headed go DOWN and if it looks like it's going to thunderstorm go DOWN. There's also Grays/Torreys - expect a conga line on the weekends.
For Boulder, there's tons of things right by the town, Hiking the Flatirons, or Bear Peak or South Boulder Peak or go to the Mountain Park or tons and tons and tons of little things. My suggestion would be almost to go to Chautauqua, park and look at the trail map and see what you want to do. Perhaps checkout Walker Ranch - nice loop, doesn't go to high, tons of little things to do off it - nice little scramble by the Boulder Creek.
I live in Denver - I'm very adept at swing (or... used to be), but salsa isn't something I've ever tried and I have a shoulder injury that may get in the way. Always up for a hike, though - just contact me on this, or whatever. There's some non-technical stuff I want to try in the James Peak Wilderness area that could afford some nice views if you have 10 - 15 miles of hiking in ya.
posted by alex_skazat at 3:37 PM on August 4, 2011
There's no (good) hiking in Denver - but just go West and you have, you know, the entire Rocky Mountains at your disposal. There's a few meetups, like the Rocky Mountain Madness, but that may be a little too advanced. The selection is almost limitless.
I can't see going all the way here and not hiking a 14er. Bierstadt is easy enough - drink lots of water, bring clothing for ALL weather conditions, if you feel light headed go DOWN and if it looks like it's going to thunderstorm go DOWN. There's also Grays/Torreys - expect a conga line on the weekends.
For Boulder, there's tons of things right by the town, Hiking the Flatirons, or Bear Peak or South Boulder Peak or go to the Mountain Park or tons and tons and tons of little things. My suggestion would be almost to go to Chautauqua, park and look at the trail map and see what you want to do. Perhaps checkout Walker Ranch - nice loop, doesn't go to high, tons of little things to do off it - nice little scramble by the Boulder Creek.
I live in Denver - I'm very adept at swing (or... used to be), but salsa isn't something I've ever tried and I have a shoulder injury that may get in the way. Always up for a hike, though - just contact me on this, or whatever. There's some non-technical stuff I want to try in the James Peak Wilderness area that could afford some nice views if you have 10 - 15 miles of hiking in ya.
posted by alex_skazat at 3:37 PM on August 4, 2011
I can't vouch for any of these groups, but there's seems to be a ton of meetup hiking groups in Denver/Boulder, like, The Daring Divas, etc, etc, etc
posted by alex_skazat at 3:42 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by alex_skazat at 3:42 PM on August 4, 2011
Go to the St. Julien hotel in downtown Boulder on a Friday night. They have live Latin bands from 7 to 10 and there are tons of people dancing.
posted by Fuego at 9:39 AM on August 5, 2011
posted by Fuego at 9:39 AM on August 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by FlamingBore at 1:41 PM on August 4, 2011