Travel: Intrepid Journeys Into Colorado's Ghost Towns

Colorado’s history runs as deep as the silver and gold veins that once lured a surge of fortune seekers here during the late-1800’s mining boom. 

 

But when those rich resources went bust, dozens of towns were abandoned—leaving behind saloons, mercantiles and other hallmarks of Wild West life. Catch glimpses of this bygone era in the remains of ghost towns tucked amid high peaks and remote wilderness. Though you’ll have to drive a portion of the way to these deserted destinations, take an intrepid approach for the final leg.

 

1.  ATV/OFF-ROAD VEHICLE

 

Ghost towns in Colorado range from mere ruins to surprisingly intact hamlets—for the latter, venture St. Elmo, where a few lingering residents run a general store and a guesthouse. Seek the help of Buena Vista’s ATV Mountain Adventure Rentals, which will drop you and your rented ride off trailside (and pick you up later), leaving you to explore the dusty, straight-out-of-a-movie set streets on your own. An ATV also comes in handy for a bonus trip to nearby Tin Cup.

 

Set your sights on Animas Forks, located high in the San Juan Mountains. Just 12 miles away in Silverton, Rock Pirates Backcountry Adventures can hook you up with one of its rugged Tomcar OHVs for a bumpy-yet-scenic excursion up the Alpine Loop Scenic & Historic Byway. Check out nine remaining structures, including the two-story Duncan House with its impressive bay window.

 

2.  HIKE

 

The North Park area is home to Teller City, a former silver-mining camp that at one time boasted 27 saloons, hundreds of log cabins and more than 1,500 residents—not too shabby given its dense-forest location. Head southeast of Walden to the Teller City Interpretive Site, then hit the .75-mil loop trail that winds arounds scattered remains of cabins and other artifacts.

 

The high-altitude setting of Carson (almost 12,000 feet) makes it all the more rewarding for its views of massive peaks. Lake City, situated near the Continental Divide, is your base for this adventure. Hop on the Alpine Loop Scenic & Historic Byway to Wager Gulch Trailhead. The moderate-to-difficult hike is a steady, 3.4-mile climb leading through open meadows and aspen stands to the Carson site.

 

3.  BIKE

 

Eleven miles south of Aspen, Ashcroft is one of a few ghost towns that can be visited year-round. But it would be a shame to miss the vivid colors of wildflower season in late summer or fall’s brilliant foliage—both ideal times for a two-wheeled ride along Castle Creek Road. Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, Ashcroft is currently maintained by the Aspen Historical Society, and highlights include the still-standing post office, Blue Mirror Saloon and town jail.

 

Central City escaped a boom-to-bust fate, but hidden just up the hill is Nevadaville, which bustled with some 4,000 people in its heyday. Several original buildings and a few gravesites are left, in addition to the Nevada Lodge No.4, still used by Freemasons for monthly meetings. The route up gravelly County Road 1-S is just over a mile and makes for a nice mountain-bike jaunt.

 

4.  SNOWSHOE/CROSS-COUNTRY SKI

 

Wintertime doesn’t always mean you can’t visit—in fact the scene might have a more ethereal vibe blanketed in snow. South of Ouray lies Ironton Park, home to the slumbering remnants of the Ironton townsite. A local group maintains and grooms Nordic trails after fresh snows, including the roughly 2-mile Townsite Loop, which passes by a two-story Victorian house and the Larson Brother’s Mine.

 

Close to Summit County’s popular ski resorts is Mayflower Gulch Trail. Go six miles south of Copper Mountain to the trailhead, then strap on your showshoes for a four-mile round trip to Boston Mine. Your path follows a gently sloped wagon road through forest before opening up to a bowl peppered with old mining cabins and an ore chute at the base of Fletcher Mountain.

 

5.  JEEP TOUR

 

Sometimes it’s easier—but no less thrilling—to let the pros take the wheel. Telluride Outside guide service is happy to oblige with its 4WD tours in beefed-up Chevy trucks. The Imogene Pass itinerary departs from Telluride toward Tomboy on an intermediate road, meaning the tour is suited to all ages, but you’ll still get your kicks. Amenities like tennis courts and a bowling alley once graced the area where a collection of collapsed remains and foundations now exist.

 

Strike out from Marble on an expedition to Crystal City, courtesy of Crystal River Jeep Tours. Your guide will navigate the terrain while you enjoy dramatic landscapes. Just before the town entrance is the exceptionally picturesque Crystal Mill, perched above the river. Two shops and a dozen cabins are reminders of the once-thriving community, but a few friendly summer residents also carry on.

  

 

PIT STOP: HISTORIC COLORADO WATERING HOLES

 

Detour from the ghost-town quest and relive the Old West at some of Colorado’s oldest places to quench your thirst

• The Centennial State’s longest-surviving gold-rush-era business, Buffalo Rose Saloon in Golden, got its start as the international Bowling Saloon in 1859.

• Though established in 1862, the original building of The Mint in Silverthorne has been taken apart and moved three times.

• Inside Aspen’s historic Hotel Jerome, J-Bar has been slinging boozy concoctions to the likes of John Wayne and Hunter S Thompson since 1889.

• Not much has changed at the New Sheridan Bar in Telluride since its 1895 construction within a hotel of the same name, from the mahogany wood paneling to stiff pours.

• Dining and drinking venues have been operating in The Minturn Saloon’s Vail Valley location since 1901.

 

*Exercise caution around all sites and be mindful of rapidly changing weather conditions, especially at high altitude. Taking souvenirs is strictly prohibited, but snap all the photos you like.

Do You Like the View From the Top? Check Out Colorado's Scenic Waterfall Hikes

Sometimes the best satisfaction at the end of a tough hike, besides that “ah, I’ve made it!” moment, is being greeted with amazing views. And nothing quite adds to the views of stunning mountain valleys and peaks like a tall, cascading waterfall. Colorado is filled with beautiful mountain waterfalls that are not to be missed. From one of the state’s most visited waterfalls, Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, to the tallest free falling falls in Colorado, Bridal Veil Falls, check out a sampling of some local favorites that are well worth the trek after the jump.  

 

Drive with a View: Colorado's Most Scenic Roadtrips

Spending a long amount of time in the car for a road trip can sometimes be uneventful, but not a road trip through Colorado. The state is home to 25 Scenic and Historic Byways (11 of which are also America’s Byways) celebrating their 25^th anniversary in 2014 along with other roads and passes that offer amazing views. Summer through fall is the perfect time of year to travel the byways, roads and passes of Colorado. Following is a sampling of Colorado’s scenic drives with the best views and activities. 

 

12 places to visit that you never knew existed in Colorado

With a variety of landscapes to view, activities to experience and history to witness, Colorado is a state unlike any other. Adding to the draw of the state’s main attractions, there are also a number of lesser-known and unusual places that provide a different path for adventure and exploration in Colorado. Uncover the longest set of dinosaur tracks ever discovered or climb atop a UFO Watchtower; from bizarre to historical, the following is a sampling of some of Colorado’s truly unique places to visit. 

1. Bent’s Old Fort/Santa Fe Trail. Bent’s Old Fort in southeast Colorado was an 1833 fort built for the trade of buffalo robes. For its 16-year existence, the fort was the only major permanent white settlement in the region. It was destroyed in 1849 and a replica of the fort stands in its place today. The Santa Fe Trail, along which the fort is situated, tells the history of the old west with wagon ruts from trappers, traders and settlers.

2. The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Set in the Rocky Mountain Foothills of Boulder, The Dushanbe Teahouse was made by hand in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and gifted to Boulder, its sister city. A symbol of friendship and cultural exploration, the teahouse was sent to and reassembled in Boulder and now serves afternoon tea along with other fresh baked treats.

3. Camp Amache. Also known as the Granada Relocation Center, Camp Amache forcibly imprisoned over 7,000 Japanese from 1942 through 1945 as a World War II internment camp. Today, it is preserved by the Amache Preservation Society where visitors can learn about the history of the site and view the well-maintained camp.

4. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Set in central Colorado, the Florissant Fossil Beds are one of the most diverse fossil deposits in the world. The National Monument features petrified redwood stumps that are up to 14 feet wide, along with thousands of fossils of insects, plants and other creatures. Children can explore even more with the junior ranger program, led by the park’s rangers, and earn their own junior ranger badge.

5. The Grand Mesa. The largest flat-topped mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa covers hundreds of square miles near Grand Junction and stands more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Visitors can take the Mesa Scenic Byway to explore the area, which offers great fishing, camping and hiking in the summer and the Powderhorn Mountain Resort in the winter for skiing and snowboarding.

6. Kit Carson County Carousel. One of the fewer than 150 wooden carousels still in existence, the Kit Carson Carousel is on the county fairgrounds in Burlington. It is the only antique carousel in the country with original paint and the only surviving menagerie carousel made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.

7. Missile Site Park. Weld County is home to Missile Site Park where visitors can get a glimpse into the Cold War Era’s national defense. The missile site, constructed in 1961 and deactivated in 1965, was the location of one of four Atlas E sites that were equipped with nuclear warheads. Visitors can take a tour of the site and see the missile maintenance room, the command control centers and the living quarters.

8. National Earthquake Information Center. The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) in Golden has the mission of quickly reporting the location and size of earthquakes occurring anywhere in the world. The NEIC gathers and keeps a global seismic database on earthquakes and their effects on the Earth. Visitors can explore the center to learn more about this process and see the tools that accomplish the job.

9. Picketwire Canyon. Situated near La Junta in southeastern Colorado, Picketwire Canyon is home to the longest set of dinosaur tracks discovered to date. The tracks were made in mud, buried and are now turned to stone. Today, there are over 1,300 footprints visible at the site, as well as Native American rock art dating back 375 to 4,500 years ago.

10. The Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The highest train in the U.S., The Pikes Peak Cog Railway takes passengers 14,115 feet above sea level to the summit of Pikes Peak. The cog railway, which combines a historic, nearly nine-mile route offering unparalleled views, takes a bit over three hours round-trip. This includes a stop at the Pikes Peak summit where passengers can see 2,000-year old trees and one of the largest herds of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in the state.

11. The Real South Park. Bearing little resemblance to the TV show, South Park is home to the towns of Fairplay and Alma along with a variety of heritage areas and scenic sights. The area boats 14,000-foot peaks, a river valley, abundant wildlife and a rich history of mining and ancient trees. Gold prospectors flocked to the area in the 1860s when $1.5 million of gold was extracted in Park County in just three years.

12. UFO Watchtower. Take the Cosmic Highway just outside Alamosa to the UFO Watchtower. The attraction provides 360-degree views of the San Luis Valley with no light pollution, making for the perfect location to scope out the sky for UFOs. The area is known for strange occurrences and visitors regularly spot unusual lights and objects in the sky from the observation deck.

Colorado's Ultimate Summer Concert Season

From unforgettable shows at the legendary Red Rocks to a three-night stand from jam band legends Phish, Denver is the center of the live music universe during the summer of 2014.

Water Lovers Can Go with the Flow in Gunnison-Crested Butte

Experiencing high-country mountain streams and lakes is easy for hard-core athletes, weekend warriors and families in Gunnison-Crested Butte, Colorado. Not only is the area known for outstanding rafting and kayaking ranging from scenic Class I to fast-paced whitewater Class IV on the Gunnison and Taylor Rivers, there are options galore for taking part during Gunnison River Festival, enjoying premiere boating and sailing on Blue Mesa and Taylor Reservoirs and trying tricks at Gunnison Whitewater Park.

“The water levels this summer are ideal for rafting and kayaking. They will be favorable for fishing as well, once we are past the run-off period; even now the Taylor River is fishing well and we are guiding trips every day,” says Mark Schumacher, owner of Three Rivers Resort & Outfitting in Almont. “Taylor River Road construction is now complete, and there are all-new river accesses for fishing and rafting. It’s easier than ever to get on the Taylor River.”

Wake Up And Smell The Wildflowers With A Hike In Colorado This Summer

Coming off a winter season of heavy snowfall, vibrant wildflowers are replacing that blanket of white making this summer the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and lush flora of Colorado. The Colorado wildflower season has begun with peak flowers blooming in June and July. As the trails dry, a hike is one of the best ways to get up-close and personal with the state’s huge array of colorful blooms. Following is a sampling of Colorado’s wildflower hikes and experiences.

Alpine Loop Scenic Byway (Lake City, Silverton & Ouray). To view Colorado’s magnificent wildflowers in the state’s true wilderness, look no further than the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway. Accessible only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, this rugged country is the ideal growing grounds for an abundance of wildflowers. The route follows 65 miles of unimproved road with many hiking spots along allowing drivers the chance to get out and take a closer look. The Byway has a narrow window (June-September) in which it's snow-free, but it’s well worth the wait. Wildflowers such as tufted hairgrass, alpine timothy, bog sedge and bluebells can be found amongst the landscape of treeless tundra and mountains.

Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area (Fort Collins). This naturalist haven is a rare example of pre-settlement in an authentic display of what the first European settlers of the land saw – a perfect, unadulterated Colorado prairie. Not only will visitors encounter the untouched splendor of wildflowers, they may also spot a bald eagle or hawk on their hunt for prey, horned lizards or ground-nesting songbirds. An easily walked 2.4-mile trip through the prairie, the paved Fossil Creek Trail is ideal for meandering along while taking in flowers such as Nuttall’s violet, upright prairie coneflowers, beardtongues and milkweeds.

Cub Lake/The Pool Loop, Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park). When it comes to witnessing wildflowers in full bloom, the odds are in your favor for a memorable trip when you choose Rocky Mountain National Park celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2015. Often overlooked, the 6.2-mile Cub Lake/The Pool Loop has a tremendous variety of flora for visitors to enjoy. In fact, upward of 80 wildflower varieties can be found when hiking the terrain. Rocky Mountain hikers will also experience the beauty of Cub Lake. Ringed by the thick pine forest and a marshy shoreline, the lake is covered in lily pads and is an inviting spot for ducks to take a dip.

Colorado: Gunnison-Crested Butte is Bicycle Heaven

It’s no secret that the Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley is bike crazy. Crested Butte is one of only four communities in Colorado to have the prestigious gold designation from the League of American Bicyclists, and Gunnison is one of only seven towns with silver status.

Locals have an affinity for riding cruisers, mountain bikes and road bikes and hosting all sorts of cycling events from May through September. New for this are the Gore-Tex Grand Traverse Mountain Run & Bike from Crested Butte to Aspen and the five-day Crested Butte Ultra Enduro.

Exciting New Developments Take Shape This Summer In Colorado

New activities, festivals, culinary offerings and more are the buzz this summer in Colorado. Throughout the state, visitors and locals are invited to see and experience what’s new, from taprooms and distilleries, to museum exhibits and a variety of events, along with the opening of the much-anticipated Union Station in Denver, Colorado is the place to be this summer for all things innovative and fun.
 
Following is a sampling of what’s new in Colorado this summer. For more information on Colorado or for a free copy of the 2014 Official State Vacation Guide, visit www.COLORADO.com.

Get Active With Colorado's Culinary Offerings

Colorado is home to farms, ranches, breweries and wineries that have partnered up with active tours to provide one-of-a-kind experiences. From a jeep tour combined with a wine tasting and yoga followed by a locally-brewed beer, to biking from vineyard to vineyard and a mushroom festival featuring foraging hikes, experience Colorado-grown adventures across the state. Below is a sampling of tours and festivals that not only get the blood pumping but also stimulate the taste buds. For more information, visit www.colorado.com.

If There's Two Things Colorado Likes, It's Legal Marijuana and Gay Marriage

You go, Colorado!  

A recent poll finds that 57% of Coloradans support the legalization of marijuana and 56% support gay marriage.

 Meanwhile, a whopping 79% of Coloradans support at least some sort of legal recognition for same-sex couples such as civil unions. 

Nice! 

Stuff to Buy: Colorado Wilderness 50th Anniversary Poster

John Fielder, Colorado’s best known nature photographer, has contributed his stunning photographs to produce a beautiful commemorative poster for the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The poster includes each of the 43 Wilderness Areas in Colorado. There is also a limited edition version of the poster, personally signed by John Fielder.

Out and About Colorado: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site

Federally-recognized Arapaho and Cheyenne lands, 1851-1861.

Map courtesy of the National Park Service.

Whether it was for California's gold fields or Oregon's verdant farmland, pioneer families traveled the Oregon Trail in the 1840s, moving across traditional Native American lands to new domains. Settlers and American Indians competed over scarce resources, increasing tensions. The U.S. Army attempted to secure peace with treaty negotiations at Fort Laramie in 1851.

Negotiating with representatives from the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, treaty commissioners granted lands to the tribes stretching from the North Platte River south to the Arkansas River. This territory encompassed over 44 million acres. In return for allowing roads and travelers to pass freely, federal representatives guaranteed the Native Americans supplies along with protection from settlement.

However, discovery of gold near Pike’s Peak brought fifty thousand miners and traders to Colorado in 1859 alone, where they occupied the legal homeland of the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Many Coloradans started advocating for a revocation of the 1851 treaty, asking the federal government to recognize mining claims rather than removing settlers.

Subsequent talks with a minority of the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs produced the 1861 Treaty of Fort Wise. Under this treaty, tribal lands were reduced to an area between the Big Sandy Creek and the Arkansas. Tribal territory declined to less than 4 million acres. These reductions in tribal lands, along with continued incursions by settlers, set the foundation for conflicts over land, property, and survival.

To find out more about the 1851 Fort Laramie or the 1861 Fort Wise Treaties, go to www.nps.gov/sand or visit the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site outside of Eads, Colorado.

Valentine's Gay: Romance in the Rockies & Valentine’s Week in Gunnison-Crested Butte

Couples and singles looking for romance can find it during Valentine’s week and throughout the winter in the Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley.  With Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday and adjacent to President’s Day Weekend, there is plenty of opportunity to enjoy a long, romantic weekend in the Colorado Rockies.

Travel: Colorado's Authentic Old West Ghost Towns

Colorado is home to 150 recorded town sites and many more abandoned or ghost towns with storied pasts of mining riches, rowdy saloons and outlaw showdowns. Walk these main streets and imagine the former hustle and bustle of these towns in their heyday during Colorado’s mining boom frenzy in the late 1800s. Below is a sampling of some of Colorado’s best-preserved and most accessible ghost towns for modern-day visitors to take a step back in time and a peek at the Old West.

Denver Daytrip: Fall Colors - Four Times and Places to See Them

Denver has one of the longest periods of fall colors of any city in the country. That’s because there are five different climate zones within a two-hour drive of downtown Denver. Pick your elevation and you can find yourself at the height of fall colors for more than two months, from mid-September to Mid-November.

Adjust Your Altitude
Aspen trees in Colorado grow from 6,500 to 10,500 feet in elevation. Although many factors make leaves turn color, as a general rule, the higher the elevation, the sooner the leaves turn gold. That means that over a period of time, you can often see a variety of shades of color on one mountainside, with deeper golds on top at 10,000 feet, blending to pale yellow in the 8,000 foot range, while down in the valley or along the plains in Denver, trees might still be green.

There are 1.9 million acres of aspen trees in Colorado – over one billion trees that if placed together would cover an area larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Aspen leaves don’t just turn color in the fall, they positively glow in a luminescent bright yellow, almost as if they had their own light source. The leaves are small, delicate and tissue-thin, with an aerodynamic shape that keep them in perpetual motion. Even a slight breeze sends every leaf on the tree shimmering.

Although seasons can vary greatly, there are generally four distinct areas and time periods for fall colors – perfectly located to enjoy as a daytrip from Denver.

See 'em after the jump!

Early-Bird Ski Vacation Deals & Flights Announced by Crested Butte, Colorado

As summer begins to gracefully turn into the golden days of autumn, there are big benefits to planning ahead and thinking of blissful powder days, a fun-filled family vacation on the slopes and a romantic snowy getaway to Crested Butte, Colo. Three outstanding deals with early-purchase dates offer tremendous values to experience “Colorado’s Last Great Ski Town, and an expanded flight schedule for this winter features new Chicago air service along with direct flights from Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Denver.

The ski season launches on Nov. 23 for Crested Butte Nordic Center and Nov. 27 for Crested Butte Mountain Resort in this pristine mountain valley known for its friendly, free-spirited vibe and outstanding winter recreation that also includes snowshoeing, tubing, dog sledding, horseback riding, ice skating and hot air ballooning.

Finding winter vacation deals at properties throughout the Gunnison-Crested Butte Valley is easy all season long by going to www.GunnisonCrestedButte.com/packages. Check out a sampling of early-bird offers already posted after the jump.

Nice to See StevieB: Sky Fall

By StevieB

I have been lucky enough to see some amazing skies here in Colorado lately.

The open space offers great view of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.







This post originally appeared on Steven Bennet's website Nice to See StevieB. Republished with permission.

Denver's Best Day Trips

Denver's big backyard - the spectacular Rocky Mountains - is filled with scenic drives, historic mining towns, awe-inspiring natural beauty and plenty of adventure in the great outdoors. Click here for a list of Denver's Best Day Trips from VisitDenver.

MileHighGayGuys Love To Do It Outdoors!

The people of Denver love to be outdoors. Whether sipping a craft beer at a café, rafting down a river, biking from park to park, or listening to a concert at Red Rocks, few places offer more opportunities to commune with nature than The Mile High City.  And with 300 days of sunshine a year (more annual hours of sun than Miami Beach or San Diego), Denver provides them with plenty of time to do it.

Here are a few ways to enjoy the sun and Denver’s natural outdoor air conditioning.  Even more can be found at DenverDares.com.

Biking, Hiking or Jogging:

Denver has more than 850 miles of paved, off-street biking, hiking and jogging trails, one of the largest urban trail networks in America.  Starting right downtown at Confluence Park, you can bike or hike for more than 30 miles along the South Platte River Trail, or head the other direction for more than 40 miles of cruising beside the banks of Cherry Creek.

If you want to explore on two wheels, hop on a Denver B-cycle, the city’s enormous bike sharing program.  Sturdy, red Trek bikes are available at 83 convenient stations across the city.  Pick up one at the Denver Art Museum and drop it off near the Denver Zoo, then continue on to the Denver Botanic Gardens and Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

Outdoor Cafes:

There’s no better way to enjoy one of the 200 craft beers brewed in Denver every day than by sitting at an outdoor café or beer garden. There are lots to choose from. The mile-long pedestrian promenade off the 16th Street Mall has 42 outdoor cafes alone. The downtown neighborhoods of LoDo and LoHi are known for their outdoor rooftop cafes where you can sit and watch spectacular sunsets over the Rocky Mountains. 

Denver Beer Company, Prost Brewing, Mile High Spirits distillery and Infinite Monkey Theorem Winery are just a few places with outdoor patios where you can sit outside at picnic tables while snacking on delicious treats from an ever-changing array of food trucks. Or head to the food truck “roundup” in Civic Center Park every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., where up to three dozen food trucks offer tasty outdoor dining.

Golf Courses:

There are more than 90 golf courses in Metro Denver, including Arrowhead, consistently ranked as one of the top 10 public courses in America for its gorgeous scenery, which includes a number of holes set in between towering 400-foot high red rocks.  Whether you’re playing City Park Golf Course, with its sweeping panoramic views of the Denver skyline backed by 200 snowcapped peaks, or enjoying one of the many rolling courses, like Evergreen, tucked up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains – remember that in Denver’s mile high altitude, golf balls fly 10 percent farther than it would at sea level. Fore! 

River Rafting to Ziplining:

You can whitewater raft or kayak right through the heart of downtown Denver on the South Platte River.  Or head 30 miles west to the Adrenalin Capital of the Front Range – Idaho Springs. This old Victorian mining town has a quaint main street lined with colorful shops and flower baskets – but it’s also become excitement central. Here you can jump off a cliff on a zipline sailing high above the trees, or enjoy all classes of whitewater rafting on the rapids that flow through towering black rocks of Clear Creek Canyon.  Ride a horse up mountain trails to old ghost towns, or explore an old mine yourself, and then try your luck at panning for gold. If you dare, drive your car on the “Oh My God Road,” a twisting, turning dirt road lined with deadly drop-offs and old mine shafts. Or, travel to nearby Georgetown for a ride on the outdoor gondola cars of the Georgetown Loop, a steam railroad that crosses over itself on a 100-foot high trestle.

Cheer on a Team:

Denver has four outdoor stadiums with eight teams. Cheer on the Colorado Rockies from the row of purple seats at Coors Field and you are sitting exactly 5,280 feet above sea level – one mile high. The Colorado Rapids bring world class soccer to Dick’s Sporting Goods Field, while the Denver Outlaws play lacrosse under the lights of Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Of course, then there’s the city favorite – the Denver Broncos.  If you’re lucky enough to be visiting in August, head south to the Broncos training camp where for two weeks you can watch the team scrimmage in full uniform for free!

Listen to a Concert Under the Stars:

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre is on every music lover’s bucket list. Starting with the Beatles in 1964, Red Rocks has been home to some of the most iconic rock concerts in history, including U2’s legendary concert video, “Under a Blood Red Sky.”  But Red Rocks is just one of dozen outdoor concert venues. The Denver Botanic Gardens has a summer music series, as do Denver Parks, which feature free big band concerts at City Park, Washington Park and Clement Park.  Denver’s annual Irish Festival and Scottish Festival feature outdoor performances, and some of the biggest names in music perform at the 18,000-seat Fiddler’s Green. There are outdoor concerts nightly at Denver’s downtown theme park, Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park, and weekly outdoor concerts under twinkling lights on the patio along the 16th Street Mall at Rock Bottom Brewery.

Fly Fishing:

You don’t have to travel far to hook a rainbow or brown trout in Denver. There are a dozen spots within 30 minutes of downtown along the South Platte River, Bear Creek or Clear Creek, and travel an hour or so and you can fish some of the top Gold Medallion streams in the nation. The city is home to several fly fishing outfitters that will direct you on your river adventure, providing you with tips on where to fish, what flies to tie – and even guides for groups or individuals eager to learn the tricks of the reel. 

Hike a Park:

Denver has 200 named traditional parks within city limits, offering tennis and basketball courts, jogging paths, paddle boats and picnic tables. But there’s nothing traditional about the outdoors in The Mile High City. Denver Mountain Parks is a special division that operates 14,000 acres of rugged terrain in the nearby Rockies. Hike from Summit Lake to the top of 14,260-foot high Mount Evans, one of Colorado’s 54 peaks that soar to 14,000 feet. This difficult trail rewards hikers with views of rare alpine flowers, and often passes by herds of Rocky Mountain goats.  Although it is more than two miles above sea level, it is still technically within the City & County of Denver. Other Denver Mountain Parks with hiking trails include tranquil Echo Lake and Lookout Mountain, on the top of which is buried the famous frontier scout and showman, Buffalo Bill.

In addition to outdoor activity within city limits, Denver is a perfect home base for thrilling daytrip adventures throughout the spectacular Rocky Mountains. For Denver day trip ideas, head to visitdenver.com/daytrips.

Looking for great hotel deals while you’re visiting The Mile High City?  Go to visitdenver.com/hotels/specials to find special rates and packages all summer long.