Colorado What To Do›Regions›Front Range
Things To Do On The Front Range
Denver, Boulder, Golden and Fort Collins sit where the plains meet the foothills. The mountains are close enough for a morning hike, and the cities are good enough to fill a rainy afternoon.
What is there to do on Colorado's Front Range?
The Front Range combines city attractions and foothills recreation: Denver's art and science museums, Union Station and neighborhoods like RiNo; Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre and the town of Golden to the west; the Flatirons, Chautauqua Park and Pearl Street in Boulder; and Old Town, the Cache la Poudre River and Horsetooth Reservoir around Fort Collins.
The Front Range is where most Coloradans live, and where most visitors land. It is easy to treat it as a place to pass through on the way to the mountains. That would be a mistake.
The urban corridor along Interstate 25 sits at roughly 5,000 to 5,500 feet, which makes it the gentlest place to start a Colorado trip while your body adjusts to altitude. It is sunny much of the year, and winter days between storms are often mild enough for a foothills walk. And the foothills begin at the edge of town: from downtown Denver, Red Rocks is about half an hour away, and Boulder's trailheads are inside the city.
Denver
Denver: Museums, Neighborhoods And A Train From The Airport
Start at Denver Union Station, the restored 1914 terminal that is now a transit hub, hotel and gathering place with restaurants in the Great Hall. The A Line commuter train connects it with Denver International Airport, so a visitor can reach downtown without a car.
From there, the city sorts itself into clusters:
- Golden Triangle museums. The Denver Art Museum, with its angular Frederic C. Hamilton Building, and the Clyfford Still Museum sit side by side near Civic Center Park and the Colorado State Capitol, where a step on the west side marks one mile above sea level.
- City Park. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Denver Zoo share the park, and the museum's west-facing steps have one of the best views of the Front Range skyline in the city.
- RiNo and LoDo. The River North Art District's warehouses are covered in murals, and Lower Downtown around Coors Field holds most of the city's historic brick blocks and many of its restaurants and breweries.
- Denver Botanic Gardens. A lush, varied garden in the Cheesman Park neighborhood, with seasonal events through the year.
Meow Wolf Convergence Station, the immersive art installation near Empower Field, is one of the most popular indoor attractions in the city; timed tickets are sold in advance.
The foothills west of Denver
Red Rocks, Golden And Mountain Parks
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre near Morrison is two things: a world-famous concert venue between towering sandstone fins, and a public park whose trails and visitor center are open when no show is scheduled. Climbing the amphitheater steps is a local workout. Check the event calendar before you go, because the venue closes to the public ahead of concerts.
Next door, Dinosaur Ridge preserves dinosaur tracks and bones along a short road on the hogback, with interpretive signs that make it easy to understand what you are seeing.
Golden, 15 miles west of downtown Denver, is a walkable town on Clear Creek with the Colorado School of Mines, a pedestrian main street and a creekside path. Above town, the Lariat Loop climbs Lookout Mountain to the grave of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and a small museum.
Further south, Roxborough State Park has red rock formations similar to Garden of the Gods with far fewer people, and Castlewood Canyon State Park near Franktown hides a canyon and the ruins of an old dam in the middle of the plains.
Boulder
Boulder: The Flatirons At The End Of The Street
Boulder is a university town of about 100,000 people pressed against the base of the Flatirons, the tilted slabs of rock that appear on half the postcards in the state. Chautauqua Park, at the foot of the Flatirons, is the place to start: a historic summer retreat from 1898 with a lawn, a dining hall, cottages and trailheads that lead straight uphill. Arrive early or use the seasonal shuttle on summer weekends, because parking fills.
Other Boulder favorites:
- Pearl Street Mall, four pedestrian blocks of shops, restaurants and street performers.
- The NCAR Mesa Laboratory, a research center on a mesa south of town whose exhibit floor is open to visitors, with trails out the back door.
- Eldorado Canyon State Park, a short drive south, one of the country's best-known rock climbing areas and a scenic picnic and hiking spot even if you never touch a rope.
- Boulder Creek Path, a paved trail that follows the creek through the city and up the canyon.
Northern Front Range
Fort Collins And The Poudre
About an hour north of Denver, Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University and an Old Town of preserved brick storefronts. The city has a well-developed brewery scene and an extensive network of bike trails, which makes it one of the easiest places on the Front Range to explore without a car.
West of town, Horsetooth Reservoir and Horsetooth Mountain Open Space offer paddling and a popular hike to Horsetooth Rock. Northwest of town, the Cache la Poudre River runs down a long canyon along Colorado Highway 14; it is Colorado's only nationally designated Wild and Scenic River, with rafting, fishing and riverside campgrounds.
Planning
Making The Front Range Work
- Use it to acclimatize. Spend the first night or two of your trip here before heading above 9,000 feet.
- Mix indoors and outdoors. Morning hike, afternoon museum is the classic Front Range day, and it dodges summer thunderstorms.
- Avoid rush hour on I-25 and I-70. Weekday traffic between Denver, Boulder and the western suburbs peaks in the early morning and late afternoon.
- Reserve Mount Blue Sky in season. The highest paved road in North America climbs from Idaho Springs and requires a timed reservation in summer.
For more ideas that cost nothing, see our free things to do in Colorado. For Denver dining, our companion guide Best Restaurant Denver goes deeper.
Common questions
Front Range Questions
How far is Red Rocks from Denver?
Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre is near Morrison, roughly 25 to 30 minutes west of downtown Denver by car in normal traffic. The park is open to visitors outside of event hours.
Can you get from Denver airport to downtown without a car?
Yes. The A Line commuter train runs between Denver International Airport and Denver Union Station downtown. Check RTD for the current schedule and fares.
Is Boulder worth visiting from Denver?
Yes. Boulder is about 30 to 45 minutes from Denver and combines the Flatirons, Chautauqua Park, the Pearl Street Mall and easy access to hiking and climbing, which makes it one of the best day trips on the Front Range.
Sources
- Visit DenverDenver attractions and neighborhoods
- RTD: A Line to Denver International Airportairport rail service
- Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatrepark and venue information
- Dinosaur Ridgesite information
- City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks: Chautauquatrails and parking
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Eldorado Canyon, Roxborough and Castlewood Canyon state parksstate park information
- National Wild and Scenic Rivers System: Cache la Poudre Riverdesignation
- Denver Mountain Parks: Mount Blue Skyreservations