Denver Vacation

Denver is really a great city. I live in a north Denver suburb. In downtown Denver there is the capitol building, which my boy enjoyed as early as 13 months.... it's big! The Denver Library has a huge children's room. There is the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Botanic Gardens, Children's Museum, a walk along the river is alway nice. My boy has enjoyed days in downtown with M. since he was pretty little, and really started to enjoy it when he could walk (he started late, at about 16 months).

Boulder is beautiful and in the foothills. Expensive! There is Chataqua park with wonderful, easy hiking trails. And El Dorado Canyon State Park also is gorgeous and has easy walking/ADA accessible trails. You can always see climbers at El Dorado also.

Go into the mountains on I-70 to Georgetown and take the train up to Silverplume. Great little train ride and Georgetown is a fun walk down an old mining town main street. Cool specialty shops and a couple of great ice cream parlors.

Estes Park is the gateway city for Rocky Mountain National Park and it is a really neat little town. We like to stop in Estes Park for a walk on our way into the national park. Of course hiking/walking opportunities at RMNP are wonderful. It is about an hour drive from the Denver/Boulder area.

Hope this helps just a bit.

Yes, TwinMama is right. You absolutely MUST drink LOTS of water when you are here. Altitude sickness will give you a head ache, make you dizzy, and because it it hot here, you'll overheat fast. Even in the mountains, the summer time is HOT. Yes if you are in a shaded area things are fine, but just don't neglect your water.

We just came back to Denver after vacation in the midwest. I never notice the time difference that much but do notice the altitude for sure. Stay well hydrated and slather on the sunscreen each day. If I was staying somewhere other than a home I would go for Boulder since it is closer to the mountains and has restaurants that serve kid friendly fare as well as good food for adults. Our aquarium here is more expensive and less exciting than ones I have seen in other towns so you may want to skip it. If you do go the cheapest time to go is Friday evenings when you get in for a discount if you eat in the restaurant and kids eat cheap then too. The zoo and science museum here are both good and little kid friendly including an Elmo movie in the Planetarium now. They are also attached to each other by the same park.The botanic garden here is good and has an awesome childrens garden too. When we travel we google places that kids eat free or cheap as our kids appetites are always so off on vacation that they do not make a $6 kids meal worthwhile. If you are in the Denver area check out Cherry Creek North where there is a great unique toy store and some great restaurants for families There is even a place called Second Home (I think that is the name) where kids eat Sunday brunch free if they are in pjs and there is a kids room to eat and play so Mom and Dad can eat at a reasonable pace. We also like Stapleton Northfield off of I-70. There is a Bass Pro there and fountains that kids play in throughout the summer. Estes is probably the easiest Mountain town to get to. If you want to say you have been on a 14.000 foot peak the road to Mount Evans is paved but not fun for any white knuckle driver. Well worth the drive if you can handle it. Relatively short drive, great views, up close non-scary mountain goat encounters

The Denver Zoo is amazing if you stay in that area. The Aquarium is a lot of fun too. 16th St mall is fun to shop at.
Boulder has Pearl Street Mall--which is a great outdoor street with tons of shops, street performers etc. Boulder is basically the base of the mountains. You can go to Chataqua park and go hiking. Take a drive up Baseline Rd. That will take you up to some great lookout spots.
Personally I would do Boulder over Denver, but if you are renting a car they really arent that far away from each other.
Denver is another big city, Boulder makes Colorado what it is. Have Fun!!!

Denver is not cool like the mountains. It can be hot. If you are going to cool off I'd choose Boulder or a mountain community, like Estes Park. We spend our summers in Evergreen where there is a small lake, paddle boats, hiking, golf. Denver is a big city. You might want to see a Rockies game. They have a wonderful Art Museum.

For the altitude I would recomend drinking lots of water, and make sure you rest. Altitude sickness is a lot like the flu. It will be hot, but make sure you bring an unbrella for the late afternoon rain. Both Denver & Boulder are awesome cities, Leah A. had an excellent compariason. Denver is more city like and Boulder is more of an experiance.