The Ultimate 3-Day Denver & Rockies Travel Guide

Took a quick Thanksgiving getaway — flew to Denver for three days. Perfect timing: cheap flights and staying downtown made everything easy. Even snagged a Ritz-Carlton room for under $300/night! 💸✨ Day 1 — Arrive in Denver & Explore Downtown Denver’s downtown is super walkable — most attractions are within 10 minutes on foot. For anything farther, rideshares cost around $10, or take the bus if you’re with a group. ⚠️ Do NOT rent a car downtown — narrow streets and parking are a nightmare. 📍 Recommended walking route 👣: 16th Street Mall → Big Blue Bear → Denver Art Museum → City Hall → Trinity United Methodist Church 🍴 Restaurant Recommendations: Alma Fonda Fina — Michelin-starred Mexican, reservations essential (no walk-ins). Happy hour starts at 2 PM 🌮🌟. Buckhorn Exchange — Denver’s oldest restaurant, decorated in Native American style. Try unusual meats like elk and buffalo 🦌🐃 — the buffalo steak was incredibly tender! The staff were so kind — they accidentally brought the wrong dish and ended up giving us 50% off the bill! Also recommend booking ahead. Day 2 — Rocky Mountain National Park 🏞️ (Car Required) Winter is actually a magical time to visit the Rockies — sunny at the base, light snow at the peaks, frozen lakes and snowy ridges right before your eyes ❄️🏔️. ⭐️⭐️ Tip: We entered from the east side, but some summit roads were closed for winter. Consider your entry route carefully — the west side might offer better winter access. 👻 Evening: Stanley Hotel Tour The Stanley Hotel inspired The Shining, and they run “ghost story” tours based on staff tales. Honestly, it felt a bit gimmicky — more like paid storytelling than a real tour 😅. But the hotel itself is Denver’s oldest and has gorgeous early-20th-century décor — worth seeing just for the architecture 🏛️. Day 3 — Pike’s Peak Cog Railway 🚞 Headed to Colorado Springs for the historic cog railway up Pike’s Peak. 🚗 Best with a rental car, but there are options: 🚐 Group shuttle — ~$120 per person 🚌 Budget hack: Take the Denver Union Station → South bus, then local transit — about $24 total (check schedules carefully!). The train climbs through stunning vertical landscapes — from dense forests to birch groves, pine woods to rocky tundra. Felt like the whole world was compressed into one ride 🌲➡️🪨. Summit elevation: 14,115 ft (4,302 m). Didn’t feel altitude sickness — I even jogged a bit up there! The visitor center serves hot cocoa and donuts 🍩☕ — due to low air pressure at high altitude, the donuts are incredibly fluffy. A must-try! #Denver #DenverTravel #MustVisitDestinations #StudyAbroadTravel #WinterGetaway #HiddenGemTravel #GlobalStudentTravel 🏔️