[Johnny]

I’m taking a trip with my wife to see a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre this July in Colorado (bucket list). We are pursuing FI aggressively but also trying to enjoy the journey as well.

We don’t think we want to stay in Denver. Can anyone recommend places to consider staying?

We plan to spend 3 full days there and love outdoors/hiking.

Any recs on favorite things to do?

[Kate]

Golden – 20 minutes from Red Rocks. It has great breweries, a walkable downtown, and access to hiking trails like North Table Mountain.

Morrison – Right next to Red Rocks,
Evergreen – mountain town
Boulder – A little farther away (~45 minutes)

Hiking:
Red Rocks Trading Post Trail (short and scenic, right by the venue)
Alderfer/Three Sisters Park (Evergreen, great variety)
Lookout Mountain (Golden, great views)
Chautauqua Park (Boulder, Flatirons trails)

Outdoor Adventures:
Clear Creek Whitewater Park (Golden, tubing or walking along the creek)

Evergreen Lake (kayaking, paddleboarding, or just a nice walk)
Golden Gate Canyon State Park (less crowded than Boulder trails)

Food & Drinks:
– The Fort (Morrison, historic Western-style restaurant)
– Sherpa House (Golden, fantastic Himalayan food)
– New Terrain Brewing (Golden, amazing beer with mountain views)

Other Fun Stops:
– Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave (Golden, nice overlook and history)
– Dinosaur Ridge (Morrison, fossils and geology)
– Pearl Street Mall (Boulder, great for people-watching and unique shops)

[Charlie]

We did an Airbnb at private residence and camped. Red rocks is the best acoustic musical venue I’ve been to.

I’m frugal in most things but bucket list items hold too much weight because of friends who have passed too soon.

Take the trip, enjoy it without guilt. You deserve it

[Maxi]

Golden or Lakewood are closer to hiking and Red Rocks. Golden is great with an adorable downtown.

Lakewood meh but has lots of options for restaurants and highway access.

[Tommy]

Rent a campervan with AC and a battery system to power it for the day time, and get a campsite with electricity for nighttime.

Hard to beat having a van while enjoying RR and hiking.

Will cost the less than a rental car, hotel, dinners out and way more fun if you can deal with close quarters living.

[Mariah]

I also recommend Golden. Check out dinosaur ridge for a fun hike. It’s right outside of red rocks.

[Lana]

Red Rocks is my favorite!
I’m would love to do yoga the day after my next concert.
I like to stay at the Best Western Denver Southwest.

The prices are great, it is very clean, nice pool, and great breakfast. It is only 15 minutes or so from Red Rocks.

Last year I stayed at a Best Western in Golden and I was very disappointed.

If you don’t mind the drive, the hot springs at Glenwood, CO are amazing.

I have only been to the hot springs at Iron Mountain, but have heard the other cheaper option is decent.

I also stayed at the Best Western in Glenwood. It also had a great breakfast, neat activities for families, great fire pits, but it is pricey.

If you make it to Glenwood Springs, check out the free music scene under the highway.
Enjoy!

[Ryan]

Which concert? Reserve a spot early (especially if you do an Air BnB) because they can fill up and get pricey.

I’ve stayed at the nearby Fairfield.

It was nothing special, but it wasn’t to expensive.

Since I live in Colorado, I was mostly interested in keeping the post-concert drive short (versus being in downtown Denver).

[Eliza]

Check out Highland Haven Creekside Inn in Evergreen. It’s a really beautiful inn right on the creek, and when you leave the concert you’ll be driving the opposite way from the traffic.

[Becca]

Golden or Boulder would be great places if you want to be relatively close to the city & Red Rocks, but still closer to nature.

If you don’t mind driving deeper into the mountains and therefore a bit far from the concert venue, there’s a lot of amazing mountain towns:

Idaho Springs, Georgetown, and Dillon are my favorites!

[Amy]

I’m from CO (live 15 minutes from Red Rocks) will you have a car? Public transit isn’t great but we do have uber/lyft.

Golden is really a nice choice- it’s the closest, they have a creek you can hike, golf courses, restaurants hotels..

There are several hotels that are in littleton(Ken Caryl) off of c470 and Ken Caryl that will put you close to uber,
Also backcountry of Ken Caryl will provide lots of trails for hiking, and there are good restaurants there too.

There are also a few trails in Red Rocks so you could hike in the AM and then go back in the evening for concert.

Morrison (the town that Red Rocks is in has lots of restaurants but they get crowded quick on concert nights)

You will also want to look at staying in evergreen- a bit more of a drive to the concert but it’s a great mountain town, there’s a downtown strip for shopping, a lake you can walk around and depending on the season you can rent lake equipment for activities.

[Megan]

Stay in Grand Lake one night, it is just outside Rocky Mountain national park.

There is a mom pop motel we have stayed at SUPER cheap, and nice for the price.

[Aaron]

We’re going to be there in July too seeing Incubus at red rocks. We’re renting a camper van out of Denver and using it to camp at local sites around the area.

[Robin]

If you have a car, head up to Winter Park for a couple of nights. Less than An hour from there gets you to Grand Lake and Rocky Mtn NP, but WP itself has tons of hiking trails, restaurants etc.

then pop down the hill for the show and just stay at a hotel near red rocks for that night

[Tonya]

Search natural hotsprings you can hike to around boulder. Eat at Efrains for Mexican, get the green chlie, also eat at Bubu in Denver on Larimer for lunch.

Stear clear of the big main hikes & ask a ranger for a better non packed trail.

[Author]

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