Chapter 1: The Best of Denver, Boulder & Colorado Springs
The old and the new, the rustic and the sophisticated, the urban and the rural—you’ll find all these elements practically side by side in and immediately adjacent to the cities of Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs.
Founded in the mid–19th century by both East Coast gold-seekers and European and Asian immigrants in search of a better life, these cities on the Front Range of the majestic Rocky Mountains weren’t as wild as Colorado’s mountain towns (such as Telluride and Creede), but they did have their day. According to Denver’s foremost historian, Thomas Noel, in 1890 Denver had more saloons per capita than Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. But these Colorado cities soon became home to a more sophisticated westerner—the mine owner instead of the prospector, the business owner rather than the gambler.
Today, these thoroughly modern cities have virtually all the amenities you’d expect to find in New York or Los Angeles: opera, theater, contemporary dance, art, excellent restaurants, and sophisticated hotels and convention centers. You’ll also find historic Victorian mansions, working steam trains, and old gold mines. You can go horseback riding, hiking, skiing, or shopping; do the Texas two-step to a live country band; or spend hours browsing through a huge theater-turned-bookstore, a gigantic model-train shop, or the world’s largest hardware store. You might also join the locals at what many of them enjoy most: being outdoors under the warm Colorado sun—so don’t forget your hiking boots, mountain bike, skis, sunscreen, and sunglasses.
Although Denver is certainly a city, bustling and growing, it’s still relatively manageable and fairly easy to explore. Boulder and Colorado Springs call themselves cities, but I like to think of them more as big Western towns, where the buildings aren’t very tall, there is plenty of open space, and the wilderness is easily accessible. In all three places, the residents are friendly, relaxed, and casual.
In this book, I thoroughly explore Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. But I also look at some of the nearby attractions where the locals spend their weekends, including the state’s most-visited natural wonder, Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Front Range
The best Travel Experiences
• Hitting Lower Downtown and Larimer Square (Denver): Once neglected and even a bit dangerous, Lower Downtown (LoDo) and Larimer Square are now well-preserved historic gems, heavy with redbricks and activity of all kinds. LoDo is where you’ll find Coors Field (home of baseball’s Colorado Rockies), plus galleries, nightspots, restaurants, and Mayor (and, at press time, state gubernatorial candidate) John Hickenlooper’s long-standing microbrewery, the Wynkoop Brewing Company, right across from Union Station. Larimer Square is abuzz with commercial activity and has more good restaurants than any other block in Denver.
• Visiting the Denver Art Museum (Denver): With a striking recent expansion doubling its size, the Denver Art Museum now has one of the country’s top collections of Western art, ranging from 19th-century to contemporary works, as well as an excellent American Indian collection. The expansion features a jagged, avant-garde design by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind.
• Shopping for Duds at Rockmount Ranch Wear (Denver): The inventors of the Western snap shirt have gone into the retail business after sticking strictly to manufacturing and wholesale since 1946. Browsing the racks at their downtown store is something of an education on the history of Western wear. Rock stars stop by while in Denver; in fact, Bob Dylan regularly wears Rockmount’s dusters onstage.
• People-Watching on Pearl Street Mall (Boulder): This 4-block-long, tree-lined pedestrian mall marks Boulder’s downtown core and its center for dining, shopping, strolling, and loafing in the sun. It’s also the best spot in Colorado for observing your fellow humans. Here you’ll see students, local businesspeople, panhandlers, and tourists as they watch the musicians, mimes, jugglers, and other street entertainers who hold court on the landscaped mall day and night, year-round.
• Touring Celestial Seasonings (Boulder): The nation’s leading producer of herbal teas offers a tour that excites the senses as it takes you behind the scenes into the world of tea. The company, which began in a Boulder garage in the 1970s, now produces more than 50 varieties of tea from more than 75 different herbs and spices, imported from 35 countries. Guided tours move from a consumer taste test in the lobby to marketing displays, and finally into the production plant, where the overpowering “Mint Room” is a highlight.
• Watching the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder): Among the top Shakespearean festivals in the United States, this 2-month event offers more than a dozen performances of each of four of the Bard’s plays each summer. Actors, directors, designers, and everyone associated with the productions are fully schooled Shakespearean professionals. During the festival, company members conduct 1-hour backstage tours before each show.
• Hiking the Mills Lake Trail (Rocky Mountain National Park): Although it’s packed at first, this moderately rated trail usually becomes much less crowded after you’ve logged a few miles. At trail’s end (elevation 10,000 ft.), towering peaks surround a gorgeous mountain lake. The lake is an excellent spot for photographing dramatic Longs Peak, especially in late afternoon or early evening, and it’s the perfect place for a picnic. See chapter 7.
• Taking in Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs): There’s nothing like sunrise at Garden of the Gods, with its fantastic and sometimes fanciful red-sandstone formations sculpted by wind and water over hundreds of thousands of years. Although you can see a great deal from the marked view points, it’s worth spending some time and energy to get away from the crowds on one of the park’s many trails, to listen to the wind, and to imagine the gods cavorting among the formations.
• Riding Pikes Peak Cog Railway (Colorado Springs): Perhaps no view in Colorado equals the 360-degree panorama from the summit of Pikes Peak. For those who enjoy rail travel, spectacular scenery, and the thrill of mountain climbing without all the work, this is the trip to take. The 9-mile route, with grades of up to 25%, takes 75 minutes to reach the top of 14,110-foot Pikes Peak. The journey is exciting from the start, but passengers really begin to ooh and aah when the track leaves the forest, creeping above timberline at about 11,500 feet.
The best Hotel Bets
• Best Historic Hotels: From its spacious, well-appointed lobby to the richly polished wood of its elegant Victorian and almost whimsical Art Deco rooms, the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, 321 17th St., Denver (
800/321-2599; www.brownpalace.com), has an air of sophistication, refinement, and class. The Brown has operated continuously since August 1892.
A handsome downtown establishment, the Hotel Boulderado, 2115 13th St., Boulder ( 800/433-4344; www.boulderado.com), has been skillfully renovated and restored. It retains its original Otis elevator, lovely leaded-glass ceiling, and spectacular cherrywood staircase, which caused quite a stir when the hotel opened in 1909.
Designed by New York City architects in the Italian Renaissance style, the Broadmoor, Lake Circle, at Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com), opened in 1918. Colorado’s most elegant and best-preserved hotel of the era, it’s filled with objets d’art from around the world, including Oriental art from the Ming and Tsin dynasties and a huge carved wooden bar from an 1800s British pub.
• Best for Business Travelers: Rooms at Hyatt Regency Denver, 650 15th St., Denver ( 800/233-1234; www.denverregency.hyatt.com), are the biggest in downtown Denver and feature ergonomic workstations; the location, next to the Colorado Convention Center, is convenient to the light rail.
• Best for a Romantic Getaway: Ideal for overnighting theatergoers—it’s across the street from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts—the Hotel Teatro, 1100 14th St., Denver ( 303/228-1100; www.hotelteatro.com), is furnished with plenty of goods from the costume and props departments, and the luxurious feel helps make it the most romantic of all of the downtown properties.
In Estes Park, the old-world Della Terra Mountain Chateau, 3501 Fall River Rd. ( 970/586-2501; www.dellaterramountainchateau.com), features ambience, scenery, privacy, and private balconies with hot tubs. The hotel is also nearby Rocky Mountain National Park.
• Best Hotel Lobbies for Pretending You’re Rich: The lobby of the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa ( 800/321-2599; www.brownpalace.com) features walls of Mexican onyx and a floor of white marble. The elaborate cast-iron grillwork surrounding the six tiers of balconies draws your eye to the stained-glass ceiling. Lunch and afternoon tea are served in the lobby nearly every day.
When the Broadmoor, Lake Circle, at Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com), opened in 1918, the first guests were millionaire John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and his party. When surrounded by priceless 17th-century art, it’s easy to imagine yourself mingling with the wealthy, reading the financial news, and sipping a cognac by the hotel’s elegant marble staircase.
• Best Moderately Priced Hotels: The colorful Boulder Outlook, 800 28th St. ( 800/542-0304; www.boulderoutlook.com), is fun, fresh, and definitively Boulder, with such unique perks as two bouldering rocks (one is 11 ft. high, the other 4 ft.) and a fenced, 4,000-square-foot dog run. Best of all, the rates are typically cheaper than those of its chain counterparts.
Also in Boulder, the Colorado Chautauqua, 900 Baseline Rd. ( 303/952-1611; www.chautauqua.com), isn’t exactly a hotel, but its lodge rooms and cottages are midpriced, and it’s a National Historic Landmark to boot.
• Best Inexpensive Lodging: An apartment-turned-hostel near City Park, the Innkeeper of the Rockies, 1717 Race St., Denver ( 303/861-7777; www.innkeeperrockies.com), offers inexpensive bunks and private rooms a mile east of downtown.
The Foot of the Mountain Motel, 200 Arapahoe Ave., at the mouth of Boulder Canyon, Boulder ( 866/773-5489; www.footofthemountainmotel.com), is a nicely preserved relic with cozy rooms and easy access to the outdoors.
• Best Service: Dedicated to providing guests with the best possible service, the Brown Palace Hotel ( 800/321-2599; www.brownpalace.com) succeeds extremely well, and without pretension. Among other things, it offers 24-hour room service, concierge, and in-room massage.
Taking good care of its guests is a point of pride for the Broadmoor, Lake Circle, at Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com): It offers 24-hour room service, a concierge, in-room massage, valet laundry, a shuttle bus between buildings, and a multitude of recreational activities, as well as almost anything else you might ask for.
• Best Bed-and-Breakfast: A great location, striking art, and modern convenience make the Bradley, 2040 16th St., Boulder ( 800/858-5811; www.thebradleyboulder.com), one of my very favorite B&Bs on the Front Range.
In Denver, the Queen Anne Bed & Breakfast Inn, 2147–51 Tremont Place ( 800/432-4667; www.queenannebnb.com), has new ownership, introducing eco-friendly policies and contemporary style to the grand old pair of homes.
At Old Town GuestHouse, 115 S. 26th St., Colorado Springs ( 888/375-4210; www.oldtown-guesthouse.com), each room is delightfully decorated around a theme, ranging from Saharan to Victorian. This B&B also has just enough in the way of modern convenience.
• Best Views: The gorgeous St Julien Hotel & Spa, 900 Walnut St., Boulder ( 877/303-0900; www.stjulien.com), is the nearest hotel to Boulder’s even more gorgeous foothills. Rooms don’t come cheap, but the views rival those from the windows of Colorado’s ritziest mountain resorts.
The JW Marriott, 150 Clayton Lane, Denver ( 866/706-7814; www.jwmarriottdenver.com), the standout hotel in the tony Cherry Creek shopping district, looks out over the Denver Country Club and the creek itself.
The view from the Cheyenne Mountain Resort, 3225 Broadmoor Valley Rd. ( 800/428-8886; www.cheyennemountain.com) is actually better than the nearby Broadmoor, thanks to a little distance from the foothills.
• Best for Families: Two swimming pools, water slides, and a fabulous summer kids’ program at the Broadmoor ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com) will help keep youngsters busy while parents enjoy the golf courses, spa, and seemingly countless other facilities.
At the Hotel Monaco, 1717 Champa St., Denver ( 800/397-5380; www.monaco-denver.com), kids get a kick out of the colorful decor, the complimentary goldfish, and the “Director of Pet Relations,” a Jack Russell terrier named Lily Sopris.
The best Dining Bets
• Best Spots for a Romantic Dinner: Rioja, 1431 Larimer Sq., Denver ( 303/820-2282), is a quiet, slick, and dimly lit vehicle for chef-owner Jennifer Jasinski’s inspired dishes.
Frasca, 1738 Pearl St., Boulder ( 303/442-6966), has impeccable service and peerless cuisine, drawn exclusively from the culinary traditions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a subalpine region in northeastern Italy.
The Broadmoor’s snazzy Summit, Lake Circle, at Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com), is at once slick and romantic, with contemporary metalwork and a glassed-in, rotating turret behind the bar. The visual spectacle is aesthetically matched by the fare, which is innovative and adventurous.
• Best Spots for a Celebration: Owned by retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Elway’s, 2500 E. 1st Ave., Denver ( 303/399-5353), is a model of “New West” design, with a menu that melds swank and comfortable. The crowd is lively, and you might bump into Elway himself.
Colorado Springs locals splurge on a night out at the Cliff House Dining Room, Cliff House Inn, 306 Cañon Ave., Manitou Springs ( 719/785-2415). It offers an elegant Victorian atmosphere, superlative service, and innovative variations on old favorites, such as smoked-bacon-scented petite prime-rib roast, with vegetables and potato purée.
• Best Decor: Occupying the same premises as when it opened in 1893, the Buckhorn Exchange, 1000 Osage St., Denver ( 303/534-9505), still has a magnificent 19th-century hand-carved oak bar in the upstairs Victorian parlor and saloon. The downstairs features an amazing collection of taxidermy, a menagerie that includes everything from leopard to buffalo.
In a converted Victorian, the Tibetan/Nepalese Sherpa’s, 825 Walnut St., Boulder ( 303/440-7151), has no shortage of Himalayan relics, photos, and art to look at, especially in the cozy bar that doubles as a library.
• Best Values: There is perhaps no better value-oriented restaurant than the nonprofit SAME Cafe, 2023 E. Colfax Ave., Denver ( 720/530-6853), where there is no cash register: Customers pay donations of their own choosing for a healthy lunch. The socially conscious proprietors are committed to alleviating hunger and promoting healthy eating for all.
It can be a little rowdy, but you’ll have trouble breaking the bank on the creative burgers and sandwiches at Denver’s Paramount Cafe, 519 16th St. ( 303/893-2000).
You’ll get fine food at reasonable prices in a casual atmosphere at the Corner Bar in the Hotel Boulderado, 2115 13th St., Boulder ( 303/442-4560).
• Best for Kids: More a theme park than a restaurant, Casa Bonita, in the JCRS Shopping Center, 6715 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, west of Denver ( 303/232-5115), has practically nonstop action, with divers plummeting into a pool beside a 30-foot waterfall, puppet shows, a video arcade, and a fun house. Yes, there’s food, too: tacos and other standard Mexican fare, country-fried steak, and fried chicken, served cafeteria-style.
There’s something about trains that brings out the kid in all of us. Giuseppe’s Old Depot Restaurant, 10 S. Sierra Madre St., Colorado Springs ( 719/635-3111), has one parked outside the door and plenty more rolling by just outside the large windows.
• Best Burgers & Beer: Smack-dab on the pedestrian-only 16th Street Mall, Paramount Cafe, 519 16th St., Denver ( 303/893-2000), offers juicy burgers matched only by the people-watching patio.
The slider wars in Denver have heated up: Root Down, 1600 W. 33rd Ave. ( 303/993-4200), and Jonesy’s Eat Bar, 1970 Pennsylvania St. ( 303/863-7473), serve sliders made from everything from falafel to duck confit.
• Best People-Watching: With outdoor seating just 2 blocks from home plate of Coors Field in downtown Denver, Wynkoop Brewing Company, 1634 18th St. ( 303/297-2700), is the place to sit and watch the world stroll by.
Sitting inside or outside, you’ll get a great view of the Pearl Street Mall at 14th Street Bar & Grill, 1400 Pearl St., Boulder ( 303/444-5854). You’ll see all kinds of people passing by—students and families, old and young, and even street entertainers, from musicians to mimes.
• Best View: Perched on the side of a mountain above Boulder, with a wall of windows framing the city below and plains beyond, Flagstaff House Restaurant, 1138 Flagstaff Rd. ( 303/442-4640), offers extraordinary views, especially as the sun sets or the city gradually disappears in a swirling snowstorm.
Large picture windows at Charles Court, in the Broadmoor, Lake Circle, Colorado Springs ( 719/577-5733), give diners a splendid vista out over the Broadmoor’s lake. One of its sister restaurants, the Penrose Room ( 719/577-5773) provides those same breathtaking views, but from a higher elevation.
• Best Wine List: With more than 2,000 well-chosen selections, Flagstaff House Restaurant 1138 Flagstaff Rd., Boulder ( 303/442-4640), wins this category without question.
The rotating wine turret holds about 400 of the 1,400 bottles on hand at the Summit, Lake Circle, at Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs ( 800/634-7711; www.broadmoor.com), inside the Broadmoor.
The Palace Arms, at the Brown Palace Hotel, 321 17th St., Denver ( 303/297-3111), has one of the city’s most widely respected and award-winning wine lists.
• Best Desserts: Homemade desserts at the Kitchen, 1039 Pearl St., Boulder ( 303/544-5973), include house-made chocolate bars, sticky toffee pudding, and other delectable treats.
With all the fine restaurants that seem to specialize in desserts, the Craftwood Inn, 404 El Paso Blvd., Manitou Springs ( 719/685-9000), stands out, particularly for such delicacies as grilled pineapple with Colorado chèvre ice cream and the way it combines raspberries and chocolate.
While the wine list at Table 6, 609 Corona St., Denver ( 303/831-8800), is terrific, the desserts are equally praiseworthy, especially the chocolate and raspberry beignets.
• Best Fast Food: For burrito aficionados, the world’s first Chipotle is located near the University of Denver, at 1644 E. Evans Ave. ( 303/722-4121).
At Illegal Pete’s, 1447 Pearl St., Boulder ( 303/440-3955), you’ll get a similar choice of big burritos, as well as salads, chili, fish, chicken, and vegetarian tacos.
• Best Natural Foods: The Mile High City’s vegetarians flock to WaterCourse Foods, 837 E. 17th Ave., Denver ( 303/832-7313), for such specialties as meatless tamales and banana-bread French toast.
At the terrific new Black Cat, 1964 13th St., Boulder ( 303/444-5500), owner-chef Erik Skokan uses ingredients from his own 10-acre farm in Boulder.
Fresh and healthy are the key words at Adam’s Mountain Cafe, 934 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, outside Colorado Springs ( 719/685-1430), which serves interesting dishes with a decidedly Mediterranean flair.
• Best Sushi: Ask any Denver resident: The Sushi Den, 1487 S. Pearl St. ( 303/777-0826), is the place to go for sushi. Located in south Denver in the charming Old South Pearl Street retail district, the Sushi Den is one of two locations worldwide—the other is in Fukuoka, Japan.
• Best Italian Cuisine: Traditional and innovative Italian flavors blissfully meet at Panzano, in Hotel Monaco, 909 17th St., Denver ( 303/296-3525). Try the restaurant’s specialty, buridda, a Genovese seafood stew with mussels, calamari, and shrimp in a savory lobster broth.
• Best Seafood: McCormick’s Fish House & Bar, in the Oxford Hotel, 1659 Wazee St., Denver ( 303/825-1107), flies in fresh seafood daily. Choices often include salmon from Alaska, mussels from Maine and Florida, and yellowfin tuna from Hawaii.
• Best Vietnamese Cuisine: The original Vietnamese restaurant in Denver, T-Wa Inn, 555 S. Federal Blvd., Denver ( 303/922-2378), is the place to come for genuine Vietnamese cooking. The perfectly cooked and spiced entrees include several vegetarian plates, delicious shrimp and pork loin, and a number of spicy Thai dishes to boot.
• Best Continental Cuisine: Bone-in filet mignon with an imaginative wild mushroom and blue-cheese bread pudding at Walter’s Bistro, 146 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd., Colorado Springs ( 719/630-0201), is just one highlight of this chic eatery at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain.
• Best Mexican Cuisine: Amanda’s Fonda, 3625 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs ( 719/227-1975), is the handiwork of a family that has owned Mexican restaurants for five generations. Clearly they’ve honed the art of making remarkable chile dishes in that time: Their chile Colorado and green chile stew are excellent.
Everything at Jack-N-Grill, 2524 N. Federal Blvd., Denver ( 303/964-9544), has chilies in it, roasted by the Martinez family on-site. Both the green and red chile stew are top-notch, as are the Mexican dishes and the fresh homemade salsa.