Things To Do in Denver, Colorado + Rocky Mountain National Park
Hey y'all! My husband and I just got back from a trip to Denver and Rocky Mountain National Park and let me just tell ya - WE ARE OBSESSED. We loved the vibe, the views, the weather, the coffee shops, the bars, the restaurants, etc.
We spent 2 nights and 3 days in Denver and 2 nights and 2 days right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. In Denver, our Air BnB was in the RiNo art district. When we moved to the new Air BnB to be closer to RMNP, our cabin was in Allenspark (and like legit IN the mountains).
I wanted to do a post to go along with my YouTube video that breaks down what we did and what my favorites were!
DENVER
Coffee Shops:
Corvus Coffee and Co.
Crema
Hot Box
Sweet Bloom
My favorites were Corvus and Sweet Bloom! We drink Sweet Bloom coffee here in Florida so it was neat to go where they actually roast it and enjoy a cup there. Corvus makes their almond milk in house and I could totally taste the difference!
Bars:
Coors Brewery
Death & Co.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company
The 1up
The Refinery
The Infinite Monkey Theorem
Pon Pon
My favorite was The Infinite Monkey Theorem. It's an urban winery and all of their wine was on tap. SO GOOD. The 1up was a really cool arcade bar. My husband's favorite was Pon Pon because it was like an old record store. They even had a live DJ playing records.
Restaurants:
Shake Shack
Los Chingones
Sweet Cow
The Post
Illegal Pete's
Voodoo Doughnut
Work & Class
Snooze
I'd have to say my favorite food was from Work & Class. The food was so decadent and the restaurant vibes were so cool! Special shout out to Snooze, too - AMAZING breakfast pot pie! We really didn't go anywhere to eat that I didn't enjoy.
Hikes:
We headed over to Boulder and hiked the Royal Arch Trail. That was a fairly easy hike for us and I'd totally recommend it!
Then we went tubing in Golden and that was SO. MUCH. FUN!
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
We pretty much lived off of canned iced coffee + protein bars + PBJs when we were at the National Park so I don't have much to share in that regard. But the hikes...YOU GUYS. Beautiful!
Hikes:
The first day we did 2 hikes:
Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake was the first one. This was a longer hike but super easy. We made sure to take them slow since the altitude difference is so dramatic compared to Florida.
The second one was our favorite of the day: Ute Trail. It was absolutely breathtaking and had panoramic views pretty much the entire time. It almost reminded me of Ireland (not that I've ever been, lol - just based on movies).
The second day we also did 2 hikes:
Deer Mountain was the first hike we did and this was by far the most difficult hike we did while we were there. It wasn't horribly difficult, but it was just a struggle to get acclimated to the higher altitude for me. This hike wasn't as "pretty" on the way up, but the views at the top were incredible.
Our last hike was my favorite: Alberta Falls. It was a shaded hike and had more of a "foresty" vibe so it was cool and less sandy. And just look at the view:
We also saw a TON of wildlife while we were in/near the park. Elk, moose, bighorn - it was such a surreal experience!
If you want a peek into what our trip was like, you can watch my vlog:
Have you been to Denver or Rocky Mountain National Park? It's one of our goals to visit as many National Parks as we can. Our sights are set on Yellowstone for next summer's trip!
