48 hours in Denver & 48 hours in Salt Lake City

emily1004

The Travel page, is not very active,  but I know you ladies and gents usually have great suggestions! TIA.

If you had 48 hours in each city, what would you do? I'm looking for any recommendations. Great restaurants, sightseeing, spas, shopping, museums, anything unique and fun! Since this is MM, bonus points for cheap or free activity ideas.  I will be staying at the Four Seasons in Denver and the Grand American in Salt Lake City. 

MommyLiberty5013

Will you have a rental car?

bmo88

@emily1004 What time of year? I live south of Denver and can give you tips for free, cheap and fun things to do.

CuriousKiddosMama

If you do have a rental car, Estes park outside Denver was amazing. That's really the only thing I remember from my trip

dragonstarjk

H and I loved visiting the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

We don't get down there too much so I'm sure others have good recs for restaurants, but my favorite by far has been The Fort.  It's a little ways out of town, but I had one of the best meals of my whole entire life at that place!

Check out 16th Street for shopping, restaurants, etc.   

smerka

The Mormom church is pretty impressive. I don't think you can go in unless you are Mormon. I was there 20 years ago, but back then you had to get sponsored in order to drink at a bar because they were actually private clubs. Alta and Snowbird in the summer are kind of cool if you like hiking.

vlagrl29

in Denver we went a few years ago when DD was 15 months.  I remember going to the aquarium and eating dinner on the top level of a really nice hotel.  The restaurant part I believe rotated.  I don't remember the name of the hotel.

julieanne912

If you have a car, going to Red Rocks is probably what I would do.  Also I've not done it, but I've heard the Coors brewery tour is very cool, but again, would require a car to get to from downtown.

Sadly, even though I live in the far reaches of Denver Metro (north), I'm not really familiar with the more touristy attractions... never been to the museums or anything like that.  Also without knowing your tastes for food or time of year, or if you'll have a car, it's hard to give suggestions.  Come back

ETA:  One restaurant I suggest everyone go to is Biker Jim's, it's by Coors Field downtown.  http://www.bikerjimsdogs.com/   I like the Elk Jalapeno Cheddar dog, and the fried mac n cheese is fantastic.  H had the reindeer dog and really liked it last time we were there.

emily1004

We didn't plan on getting a rental car, just ubering in Denver. But that can always be arranged. We did plan on getting a car in SLC and driving to Park City. I will be there in mid-January. (In other words, in a few weeks). I've heard from a few people that you used to need a sponsor to drink at the bars in SLC, but now, you just need to show your ID.

Will the light rail take me to the Coors factory? I used to live near Milwaukee and going to the Anheuser Busch tours were so much fun. Also, I'll eat pretty much anything. I'm not super picky and my husband is somewhat adventures, when it comes to food.

julieanne912

I don't think the light rail goes out there since it's a bit out of town.  The light rail is expanding, but it's still pretty limited in where it goes.   

There's lots of breweries downtown that you can visit if you like beer... this has some really good maps etc. http://denverbreweryguide.com/maps.aspx  

For restaurants, just a few suggestions of places I like (in addition to Biker Jim's):

Panzano: http://www.panzano-denver.com/  Fantastic.  It can get a bit pricey for dinner but has a really great happy hour for both drinks and food.  Also has an AMAZING brunch if you're around on a weekend.  

Masterpiece Deli: http://www.yelp.com/biz/masterpiece-delicatessen-denver-2  Awesome sandwiches, great for lunch.

You should also probably try the Denver staple, Green chile.  A lot of the great places aren't really near downtown as they're neighborhood hole in the walls.  But Sams No 3 has a pretty decent one: http://samsno3.com/get-here/  

And also, if you want a really nice meal, Rioja  http://www.riojadenver.com/  Chef has won awards etc. and it's fantastic.  It's walking distance to your hotel (like 2 blocks) as well.  

I honestly think you can amuse yourself downtown for 2 days without a car.... you'll have to plan a longer trip another time to go see stuff like Red Rocks and everything that isn't downtown.  

dragonstarjk

I agree, you can definitely find a lot to do downtown without a car.  Public transportation isn't the most user-friendly in Denver, IMO.

bparkhur

I was just in Denver. I absolutely loved Linger, which is a restaurant where an old mortuary used to be. Fantastic, unique, and delicious! Go for Happy Hour!