A week ago, I hopped on a plane at 5:30am for a day trip to Denver, Colorado. If you've been keeping up with this blog, then you know I'm based on out Austin, Texas and not in Colorado. However, as I mentioned in my recent Washington, D.C. post, I have to take four total flights on Southwest to be A-list preferred for a year via perks through my job's corporate partnership. So, I looked at my schedule and booked a flight for a day trip to the most affordable place that I would have an interest in visiting -- which brought me to Denver. The trip would require me to fly to Denver and back to Austin on my last day of eligibility for this special corporate program. Conveniently, that day was also my work anniversary and the only day I could really manage to take time off from work!
Now that you know how this trip randomly came about, let me walk you through what I did to make the most of my 15 hours in Denver, CO.
Flights
As I mentioned earlier, I flew Southwest to get to Denver. They had nonstop flights super early in the morning and late enough in the evening for this day trip to even be possible. These are also weekday flights at obscure hours and that meant they would be very cheap compared to flying at any other times that day or during the weekend. Each flight was only $89! Additionally, this trip gave me an opportunity to gain a new sense of appreciation for the Denver airport. I had a couple of brief layovers there in 2010 during a family vacation and had been wanting to go back ever since to see more of the airport. It's actually nothing close to how I remember it, but some of the renovations that have been done on the interior and exterior are incredible and comfortable. In my All About Airports post, I highlight my appreciation for discovering what makes each airpot unique and was glad I had a chance to explore that in Denver's airport.
Transportation
RTD Trains & Buses
I really enjoy taking public transit when I travel to other places because it tends to be much more efficient than anywhere in Texas. In Denver, they have the RTD which stands for Regional Transportation District. The train system is really nice and gets you to several parts of the Denver metro area. In the months of July and August, the RTD is free to encourage people to use public transportation and help reduce carbon emissions. This meant I got to take the train for free to get around for the day, particularly between the airport and Union Station in downtown. When I was navigating downtown, I took the free Mallride bus to get back to the Union Station area for dinner with my cousins. This bus is always free and gets passengers up and down the 16th Street Mall with efficiency.
Rideshare
The train was not my sole method of transportation. I took Lyft rides to and from my tour of a local candy factory because it was significantly faster than the train due to some rail construction. I also had to get a Lyft back to the airport because I was a little late to the train station, but those things happen sometimes and luckily I have a cashback deal on Lyft rides through my bank.
Walking
With spending most of my time in downtown, did a lot of walking. Walking on any other day likely would've been just fine. However, there was a heat wave (which seems to be a regular occurrence when I travel during the summer) and that made walking around outdoors a bit more uncomfortable than I anticipated. That didn't keep me from exploring though. After all, I didn't travel all that way to a city I've never visited before for nothing! I was prepared for a warm, sunny day with with my sunglasses, sunscreen and comfortable shoes as I walked a total of 7 miles by the time I was back on the plane to go home.
Food
I was in town early enough and late enough for three meals and that gave me an opportunity to try some local restaurants rather than some of the Austin originals that are also in Denver. I can always get Torchy's Tacos in Austin and Denver has its own food scene that I needed to try out.
Breakfast
I got a delicious blueberry muffin and an iced horchata latte from Pig Train Coffee Co. as soon as I got off the A-line at Union Station. The morning was cool and perfect for eating out on the patio. I normally don't eat outside because in Texas there are bugs everywhere, but that wasn't much of an issue in Denver.
Lunch
Lunch was a bit unconventional. After finishing up a candy factory tour and getting to my tour at the capitol without enough time to get food beforehand, I had to just get a snack from the capitol cafeteria. That worked in my favor though because I was also able to get a Colorado keychain from the cafeteria that I will be adding to my keychain collection.
Dinner
For dinner, I met up with my cousin and his wife at Wynkoop Brewing Company where I had some tasty green chili fries and a very mild pale beer. This was my first time meeting them and they suggested this place because it's a Denver institution and was a casual place to relax and chat. With its location, it was a perfect spot for visiting Houston Astros fans to gather prior to the baseball game taking place that even. Wynkoop Brewing Company is just a few blocks away from Coors Field which is ideal if you'd rather have a shorter walk than the folks who were hanging out at Larimer Square. If I had more time in Denver, I would've gone to the game. Maybe in the future I will write a post about taking a day trip to a city just to catch an Astros road game!
Activities
If you have read other posts on my blog, you know that I like to find free and low-cost activities on my trips. This not only maximizes my budget, but it also has the potential to allow me to see more things in the cities I visit beyond what most tourists immediately think about. My focus was to only do free activities during this Denver, CO day trip and I was able to get a nice variety of things done.
Downtown Denver
I wanted to take some time to check out downtown before it warmed up. After breakfast, I took some time to walk over to Coors Field and then through downtown streets to see what was around as I made my way towards Confluence Park. However, it was starting to get warm and I decided to stop for some pictures and to charge my phone while on a bridge where there was shade. I was getting thirsty and walked over to Whole Foods to get a bottle of water before attempting walk back towards the park. I decided it was going to be too much work trying to see the park and called a Lyft from the edge of a different park to go to Hammond's Candy Factory.
Hammond's Candy Factory Tour
I've never toured a candy factory before and this free 30-minute tour was a sweet addition to my itinerary for the day. Tour spots can be reserved in advance online and I booked my tour about a week prior to my visit. All of the candy produced by Hammond's is made by hand and they even use some of the original equipment from nearly 100 years ago just to maintain consistent quality! The factory is small, but that actually made it a lot easier to see how skilled and detailed all of the candy cooks and other team members are in their candy-making work. If you've ever watched the Food Network show Unwrapped, it was kind of like watching a live recording of the episode. At the end, everyone got a peppermint candy cane while heading back into the store to cap off the tour with some shopping!
Colorado State Capitol Tour
Guided tours of the Colorado State Capitol are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis until maximum capacity is met. Only the guided tours go up the 99 steps to the dome of the Capitol, so you would need to arrive in time for one of the hourly tours to have the opportunity to check it out like I did. One important thing to note is that there is no air conditioning in the building whatsoever other than the attic where a small museum is located. Going on a hot day is not ideal unless you have plans to be in the basement where the cafeteria is or will be spending all your time in the attic. All of the air filters in from the dome, so that is where the airflow throughout the building begins. If it's hot outside, it's warm inside. However, if you love a tour and the opportunity to learn more about the history of Colorado then this is the perfect activity for you in any weather! There tour guide for my group was very knowledgeable and shared some cool fun facts with us, pointing out key similarities between the Colorado Capitol and Texas Capitol (they share the same architect) with a few of us in the group being from Texas. I would tour again on a cooler day because I like to visit capitols when possible.
Want to see more pictures from the day trip to Denver? Be sure to follow @kimistravelthoughts on Instagram where I post exclusive content that doesn't make it to my blog posts!
Wrap-Up
And that concludes my recap of my day trip to Denver, CO. Earlier this year, I took day trips to Dallas and San Antonio which were much easier to prepare for since they are close to Austin. This day trip to a completely different state and time zone required some careful planning and coordination that wasn't necessary for the other two trips. I had to find the right combination of flights, scheduled activities, and activities that could be completed in a flexible amount of time. I also had to factor in travel time for a place that was unfamiliar to me. In the end, it was all worth it and I had a great time. I would absolutely go back (with plans to stay longer and rent a car) to explore more of the metro area and even make my way up to the mountains!
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) to share your memories from trips you've taken to Denver or anywhere else in Colorado!