Denver

It’s amazing to begin with being able to coordinating plans with a group of ten girls. Even more impressive when you plan a fun filled long weekend in Denver, Colorado. And that’s just what we did.

We left on a Thursday morning for a long weekend away. Summer in Denver is an amazing time, you don’t have to worry about surprise snow and the city offers so much to do. We found an Airbnb in the Highland Park area which is nice and close to downtown Denver.

Red Rocks

When we arrived to our Airbnb, we claimed our rooms and splayed our crap around then immediately started getting ready for a concert at Red Rocks. Once ready, we headed to meet up with our group of guys friends. Luckily one of them lives in Denver so we got to have a little pre-party at his place. We blared the music of the artists we were about to see while enjoy the view of the mountains from his patio. The view was a nice change from what we’re all used to, which is concrete buildings in Chicago.

To get to Red Rocks we took a shuttle that picked us up in Denver. If you haven’t been, it’s at least half an hour to get there. With our group of close to twenty people, it would’ve been a tad difficult to coordinate Uber or Lyft. The shuttle ride was $40 roundtrip so no doubt worth looking into. Plus, the bus ride over was the perfect way to get hyped before a concert. There was our group and plenty of random people we’d never met. Having a mini concert on the way to the actual concert was the perfect warm up.

The concert we got tickets for featured Evan GIIA, Chelsea Cutler, Gryffin, and Louis the Child. It’s safe to say we got bang for our buck seeing four artists in one night.

Going to Red Rocks, you have to walk A LOT. Let me stress this because one of my friends made the detrimental mistake of wearing wedges. The area where you’re dropped off and get picked up is a ways from where you start to walk up what seems like a mountain up to the venue. Her wedges were a casualty of the night and she went home barefoot. The shoes were never seen again. You will be walking a lot at Red Rocks, wear comfortable shoes.

After getting back to downtown Denver, we headed over to The Refinery for one big reason. Pickle infused vodka. Perfect way to close out our first night.

Hiking in Boulder

For our hiking day, we took an Uber up to Boulder. There’s plenty of places to hike around Boulder but I recommend Centennial Park Trailhead. It’s a stunning place to sightsee, but better yet there’s plenty of easy option trails for hiking. I urge you to bring a water bottle because no I did not and yes I regretted it.

The trial we chose worked out well since one of our friends twister her ankle at the concert and couldn’t go very far. Most of the group decided to to hike the full trail, and then a few of us (including me) went into downtown Boulder.

Downtown Boulder is everything you could want and need out of a college town. There’s so many restaurants, coffee shops and stores to chose from. We got coffees at Brewing Market Coffee and popped around stores to find an unoriginal Colorado t-shirt to commemorate our trip.

Later when the rest of the group was done with their hike we got lunch at a brewery/restaurant downtown. There’s so many places to chose from, it’s easy finding somewhere to down in Boulder!

Floating down the river

Floating down the river sounds like a chill, leisure experience, right? When we arrived at Adventure West to float down the South Platte river we thought just that. We started to reconsider when we were given lifejackets and offered helmets. We piled into the Adventure West van and then were dropped off next to the river with out tubes. The ten of us linked up with our tubes and plopped in.

Floating down the river gave us the best Colorado nature vibes. It was so serene and relaxing floating, even with a group of loud ladies. No one brought their phones so we weren’t able to document the fun, but it turns out that was a very good thing.

The water started to get a little faster and we went down a few dips which broke up our floating group.

Things got real quick. We were warned about the little waterfall/ dips in the river we could go down. Us, being the dare devils we (thought) we were, decided to go down the more intense one she mentioned.

I don’t think a single one of us went down that dip without flipping our tube and going under. Nevertheless, half our group had the guts to get out of the river, walk back up and go over the falls again. I wasn’t one of them but I watched.

The best way to end a river adventure in Colorado is obviously at a brewery. Where we got out of the river was right where we started, next to Breckenridge Brewery. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not the biggest beer girl but somewhere like Breckenridge Brewery make me feel different. Their selection has plenty to chose from, and there were picnic tables and outdoor games galore to keep us entertained.

Brewery tour

Our final excursion was a microbrewery tour. What’s the difference between a brewery and microbrewery and why should I care you ask? Basically, microbreweries are just smaller and produce a smaller quantity than breweries. So on the microbreweries all the places we went were a much smaller scale and sold mostly locally.

The tour we went on transported us on a converted mini-school bus from brewery to brewery. I can confidently say that none of my friends, nor I, had any prior knowledge about the process of beer making. We were given a full lesson.

It was interesting to hear about what exactly makes up the beer we drink, and the process it goes through. Our guide was great, especially considering we’re not always the best listeners.

The tour wasn’t all learning and sipping. At some of the stops we were able to sit outside and relax while enjoying the beer. Some spots had outdoor games to entertain us, and better yet a dog.

After our tour ended, we closed our night out at ViewHouse-Ballpark. Its a huge bar/restaurant right across the street from Coors Field. Its got room for eating, dancing and a huge big screen for game days or dance videos depending on when you’re there.

Having been to Denver on plenty of layovers while working I didn’t expect anything crazy out of Denver but I was pleasantly surprised. I had an amazing long weekend in Denver with my friends and it turned out to be more than I ever would’ve expected. We had such an amazing time as a group and every activity we did trumped the next. It’d be a trip we can all collectively agree we would love to do again.

Here are some of my Denver favorites!

Favorite Spots to Stay

• Sheraton Downtown Denver - Yes a Sheraton, mind blowing. But after staying here a few times I really do love staying here. It’s in such a central location. I’ve had my brother meet me for a layover in Denver before and it was so easy to meet him at the train station. We walked pretty much everywhere and were nice and close to everything we wanted to do.

• LoHi Luxury Townhouse - This townhouse is similar to where I stayed for my girls trip. It’s nice and close to every activity you could dream of doing and offers plenty of beds for a big group.

• Downtown Apartment - This apartment is great for a smaller group. It’s close to Union Station which makes it easy to take the train from the airport.

Favorite Restaurants

• Avanti - Such a variety of food to chose from. This eatery offers everything from sushi to pizza and boasts a view of downtown Denver.

• Viewhouse - The absolute best place to spend any game day in Denver. Great bar food and a fun environment to have yourself a day.

• Happy Camper- A Chicago favorite now in Denver, this place has amazing pizza, drinks and decorations. The outdoor seating here is on point.

• Denver Central Market - Even if you don’t have any intention of eating walking around this place will still be worth your while. There’s so many vendors and options that you can find more than you want.

If you want to see a highlight from my Denver adventure click here and click through my pictures below!