Denver is the Mile High City: a golden dome exactly one mile above the sea, parks full of mountain views, and the Rockies rising twenty minutes from downtown. This guide gathers the best of Denver, with the places and tours our readers love most.
Red Rocks and the foothills
Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre is Colorado’s legendary natural stage — two giant red fins and the most famous concert bowl on Earth. Hear its story and hike its trails on the Red Rocks & Beyond tour, from amphitheatre to dinosaur tracks.
Downtown: the Capitol, the Mall and Civic Center
Stand exactly a mile high at the Colorado State Capitol, stroll the 16th Street Mall — Denver’s mile-long living room — and take in Civic Center Park, the city’s grand civic front yard, with the soaring Millennium Bridge and the book-lovers’ Denver Central Library nearby.
Denver’s parks and sunsets
Denver City Park spreads 330 acres of lakes, lawns and mountain views; Cheesman Park is the city’s most elegant sunset spot; Washington Park is the neighborhood favorite; and Confluence Park is where Denver was born, at the meeting of the rivers.
Rocky Mountain National Park
The essential day trip: the Rocky Mountain National Park tour delivers alpine lakes and elk in a day, the small-group RMNP tour adds waterfalls and wildlife, and the private RMNP tour makes the mountains entirely yours.
Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods and beyond
The Pikes Peak driving tour climbs America’s mountain to 14,115 feet; the Garden of the Gods & Manitou Springs jeep tour rolls through red-rock cathedrals; and the Breckenridge day trip trades the city for a storybook ski town.
Food, beer and Denver flavors
Eat the Mile High way on the Denver foodie tour of five delicious stops downtown, raise a glass on the LoDo wine walk, and see the creative side of the city on the cannabis and street art tour through RiNo.
Planning your days? Our Denver itineraries — from one perfect day to five — map out the city and the mountains hour by hour. And subscribe to the Happy City News newsletter for Denver’s best events, every week.
