What you actually need to know when visiting Denver

View fullsize

I am a researcher. When planning a trip somewhere, I read blogs, scour Google Maps, and make my own Google Maps to share the itinerary. That said, when planning my first trip to Denver, there was a lot of helpful information on the web. And there were some glaring things that I wish I had known before arriving.

The Denver Mint

Don’t make the same mistake I did. Tours are free and are available Monday - Thursday, 8 am - 3:30 pm. However, the kicker is that you cannot reserve a ticket online or in advance. Instead, you must visit the Mint in person and reserve one of the ~100 tickets for that day. There is a ticket window that opens at 7 am, and you have to be first in line to be lucky enough to get a ticket. I know what you’re thinking, I’ll arrive around 6 - 6:30 am. NOPE. Based on that information from the security guard, folks start lining up at 4 am — FOUR AM — to get tickets. The good news is they will distribute numbers to each person in line at 7 am, so you’ll know if you made the cut. So if this is on your list, be prepared to have a plan to get there early. You can get all the details on visiting the Denver Mint here.

The Coors Brewery Tour

Another failure of my planning that you get to benefit from. As of the time I’m writing this blog post on June 23, tours for the Coors Brewery are SOLD OUT through July 15. That’s how far in advance these tours book up. So plan ahead! Reservations are required for both tours OR if you want to sample the beer without the tour. Reservations for the tour are available to book 25 days in advance, and Sample-Only reservations are available to book one week in advance.

And even if you think that you want to skip both of these and visit the gift shop, make a call before you make the trip! We pulled into the parking lot, and the attendant told us that due to rain on previous days and the facility being extra busy, they couldn’t offer walk-ups the chance to visit the gift shop. Check out all the information for Coors Brewery Tours here.

Visiting Denver in 3 Days

Plenty of articles from Denver locals will likely give you the BEST information for what to do and eat in Denver, but while you’re here, I’ll share what we decided to do. Being in Denver for a few days is TOUGH because there’s so much to do. Our biggest priority was going to the Rockies game, so we chose our hotel, Hotel Indigo, based on its proximity to Coors Field. Hotel Indigo was lovely, and the ONLY con is that it’s on the opposite side of Union Station from LoDo. This means that we had to walk down a few blocks to walk around the train tracks to be able to access just about everything. Once we figured that out, we were golden.

Coffee Shops

I am a big coffee gal. I used to be more of a craft beer gal, but I stopped drinking during 75 Hard and never started again, so I’ve focused more on coffee. Plus, there’s something about sitting in a coffee shop to do anything that makes me happy. Here is a list of the shops I visited:

Leven Deli Co: This is located near the Denver Mint, and we did have to drive to it from our hotel. However, it is STUNNING inside, the iced vanilla latte was fantastic, and the service was spectacular. TONS of room inside and outside. And I mean, look at th

Huckleberry Roasters: There are a few locations around Denver, but we went to the one on Pecos because, let’s be honest, it looks so cute. I ordered an iced orange blossom and honey latte. It had quaint indoor seating and plenty of pup-friendly tables on the patio.

Vibe Coffee & Wine: I popped into this shop on a whim. I was taking a walk through LoDo, and rain was coming. They have a great bar that faces the outside. You can sit and enjoy the weather with the open windows. Plenty of other bar seating, tables, couches, etc. Super cozy!

Blue Sparrow: This was a recommendation from a friend that lives in Denver. There are a couple of locations, RiNo and LoHi. We decided to go to the LoHi location. Adorably decorated, with lots of indoor and outdoor tables.

Food & Drinks

Full disclosure, again, I don’t drink, so these are primarily spots I loved the food or places we stopped in for my dad to grab a beer, and all of them had mocktail or NA beer options for me!

Cart-Driver - The ‘Market’ pizza was to die for.

Cart-Driver
Market Pizza

I’m not being dramatic when I say I will think about this pizza crust forever.

Cherry Cricket - Get any of their award-winning burgers. 10/10. No notes.

Cherry Cricket
Turkey Burger

With peanut butter, jalapeños, bacon, and cream cheese.

Tom’s Watch Bar - Conveniently located right next to Coors Field. The buffalo wings were tasty.

ViewHouse Bar - Great before or after a Rockies game spot for a drink with a HUGE outdoor space.

Machete Tequila & Tacos - We only had guacamole here, but it was delicious, and the atmosphere was great.

Thirsty Lion - Again, we didn’t eat here, we just stopped for a drink. It was conveniently located near the hotel and a big, clean, friendly place.

Overall, Denver was one of my favorite trips. It took everything in me not to cancel my lease and sign one there. My only regret is that we didn’t spend enough time in LoHi and I have a feeling that would been my favorite area.

Thanks for reading! I hope this is helpful for you!

xo Shayla