I absolutely love my home state of Colorado and I think that if you’ve never been to the Centennial State, you should make an effort to stop by sometime. Living here my entire life, I would say that I’m comfortable giving suggestions on what you should come do.
10. The Cherry Creek Mall. The Cherry Creek area of Denver is definitely a more upscale area and it’s always fun to wander around the Cherry Creek Mall. They’ve got a variety of great stores to shop at and some really great food places at the mall and around it. If you get a chance to, you should definitely stop at the Cherry Cricket. They’ve got great burgers and it’s an iconic restaurant in the area.
9. Butterfly Pavilion. If you enjoy seeing bugs and being around them, this is a great place to visit. The Butterfly Pavilion has a large variety of creepy crawlies and cool little bugs for all to see. You can even pet and hold Rosie the Tarantula if you want to. I think the coolest part of the Butterfly Pavilion is the big pavilion where all of the butterflies are actually held. You get to walk into this giant room and you’re surrounded by butterflies. Just be careful not to step on one! They’re literally everywhere.
8. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I’m going to be honest here and let you know that I have yet to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but I’ve had enough friends go to tell me that it’s a great zoo. I’ve heard the exhibits are great and you even get to feed giraffes if you want! That would be a lot of fun.
7.Red Rocks. Red Rocks is another beautiful place to visit in Colorado. Concerts are held at Red Rocks frequently and in the mornings they even have work-out sessions and yoga sessions if you’re interested. Sometimes, I’m pretty sure they even have movie nights at Red Rocks. Red Rocks is one of the most stunning venues in Colorado and I highly recommend seeing a concert of some sort here.
6. Mesa Verde. I haven’t been to Mesa Verde in a long time but the last time I went, my family and I had a blast. Mesa Verde is a national park and it was the former home of the Anasazi Indians. They built beautiful structures and homes into the rock and what’s left of them is absolutely amazing. Mesa Verde is a place that does require a lot of hiking and even climbing so I would recommend bringing your good walking shoes here. The views are breathtaking and I think you’ll be impressed with all that Mesa Verde has to offer.
5. Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. As a child, I spent hours on end at both of these places and with them being right next to each other, I felt like they had to be a package deal. The zoo is AWESOME. Not too long ago, they added an Asian tropics complex which is now home to the elephants and several other animals. In the past few months, they also added a sweet new tiger exhibit. Our zoo has a lot to see and exploring the zoo is a fun way to spend the day. The Museum of Nature and Science is also a lot of fun with a variety of exhibits ranging from dinosaur bones to a bunch of animal exhibits to a fun health and discovery zone and much more. Every so often we have special exhibits which travel around the nation and those are a lot of fun to go through. In the past we’ve had special exhibits on the Mongols and Genghis Khan, the Mayans, pirates, and most recently Vikings.
4. The Denver Botanic Gardens. There’s a lot of pretty places in Colorado and I would say this is one of the prettiest. The botanic gardens are home to a HUGE variety of plants and exhibits. The gardens are all gorgeous and this is a fun place to relax and take a scenic walk. I think the rainforest dome and building is the coolest, partially because some of the plants are so big plus there’s a cool tree house to scope out the area.
3. The Denver Center for Performing Arts. The Center for Performing Arts hosts a variety of shows from big shows off of Broadway to symphonies to operas and also ballets. The complex is beautiful and the theaters themselves are pretty as well. Definitely see a show if you come to Denver.
2. Boulder, the Flatirons, and the Pearl Street Mall. Ok, Boulder can get a little weird, I’m gonna warn you. For the most part, Boulder is pretty great though. I would recommend spending time walking around the Pearl Street Mall which has a good variety of shops and places to grab some food or a sweet dessert, like the Cheesecake Factory. Boulder is a beautiful city in that our mountains are literally right by Boulder and the view is absolutely gorgeous. If you have time while in Boulder, you should try and squeeze in a hike to Chautauqua Park which is absolutely beautiful.
- Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods is the most amazing park in the state of Colorado, well at least in my opinion. The landscape is beautiful and the rocks themselves are magnificent and gorgeous. I would recommend walking throughout the park and if you do this, make sure to bring lots of water, good walking shoes, and a jacket, just in case the weather takes a turn. Also, bring your camera or phone to take plenty of pictures, because you’ll definitely want to take pictures.
Truly, this is just the tip of the iceberg in all that you can do if you visit Colorado. If you’re interested, you could also visit the Capitol building, Mile High Stadium, Coors Field, and really the list goes on. There’s so much to do in Colorado and I hope you come to see the beautiful Centennial State! 🙂