A Perfectly Romantic October Getaway in Denver!

Just got back from the sweetest birthday trip to Denver! 🎂 Here’s our relaxed yet amazing 4-day, 3-night itinerary — perfect for a scenic autumn escape. 📌 Pro Tip: Denver in late October has wild temperature swings! We went from T-shirts during the day to puffer jackets at night. Pack layers! 🌲 Day 1: Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park We started our morning at Lost Coffee ☕—a cute local spot with great vibes. Grabbed a quick bagel at Einstein Bro Bagels on the way, then headed to: 📍 Rocky Mountain National Park 🏞️ Fun fact: This stunning range stretches all the way to Canada! We hiked about 8 miles round trip and visited three beautiful lakes: 1️⃣ Bear Lake – The starting point, calm and scenic 2️⃣ Dream Lake – Partly frozen already! ❄️ 3️⃣ Lake Haiyaha – A bit more of a climb, but totally worth it 🏡 Stayed at: YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park Honest Review: ⭐ (Our first-floor room had heating issues, and they weren’t helpful when we lost an AirPod there later 😤) 🍖 Dinner: The Hive at Estes Park Brewery Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The meat was incredibly tender—not your typical BBQ smoke flavor—and the elk sausage was so tasty! 😌 🚞 Day 2: Scenic “European-Style” Cog Railway 🍳 Brunch: Eggs of Estes Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved the build-your-own omelette, and the yogurt parfait was so good I ordered another to go! Then we drove toward Pikes Peak Cog Railway —a gorgeous mountain train ride that totally brought back study abroad memories! 🚄🏔️ Heads up: One of us felt a bit of altitude sickness, so take it easy! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🍲 Dinner: The Bronze Empire (Hot Pot & Grill) A fun DIY hot pot experience with nice meat quality and grilled skewers. Great value! Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🏙️ Day 3: Chinese Breakfast + City Walk + Red Rocks Started with a comforting Chinese breakfast: fried dough sticks (youtiao) and warm sweet soy milk —took me right back to Wuhan! 😂 The liangpi (cold skin noodles) were delicious; the cold noodles were just okay. Then we tried a specialty matcha drink at a modern tea shop in a downtown office building—the hojicha was aromatic, and the matcha was freshly ground! 🍵 We tried to visit Red Rocks Amphitheatre around 12:30 PM but were turned away—they’d already hit capacity (even though the official cutoff was 1 PM). A staffer said sunrise the next morning would be even more magical! 🌅 City Walk Route: State Capitol → Downtown → Spotted the artsy Populus Hotel → Said hi to the famous Blue Bear at the Convention Center (designed by the same artist behind the giant panda on Chengdu IFS!) 🐼💙 🍣 Dinner: Asaki Sushi The uni was sweet, foie gras perfectly seared, and the salmon and sweet shrimp melted in our mouths. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We also stopped by the flagship REI store in Colorado before sunset—so cool! 🎨 Day 4: Sunrise + Museum Woke up early to catch sunrise at Red Rocks —absolutely breathtaking and totally worth the early alarm! ☀️ Then spent our last hours exploring a local museum before heading to the airport. #DenverTravel #RockyMountainNationalPark #FallInColorado #PikesPeak #RedRocks #USATravel #CityWalk #MountainGetaway #TravelDiary #FoodAndHikes