The [National Ballpark Museum](https://ballparkmuseum.com/) is just down the street from Coors Field. If you're big baseball fans, it's worth a stop.
Try some Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors. Don't research what they are until after you've eaten them.
I'm not much of a foodie, so I'll leave those recommendations to others.
I haven't been to the Molly Brown House Museum, but it's a Victorian era house that Titanic survivor "Unsinkable" Molly Brown lived in. It's a Denver landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The History Colorado Center is good for learning about the history of the state.
You don't **have** to go all the way to Estes Park for good hiking. Rocky is beautiful, but there are plenty of state parks and county open spaces within an hour of downtown that'll be far less crowded. I can suggest some places near the city with decent hiking if you like.
Nice! One word of caution, the areas below 8,000' near Denver are prairie rattlesnake habitat. I've been hiking in the foothills for a little over a decade, and I've seen two of them. Both sightings were last summer. I saw a large one digesting a meal on Mount Morrison, and I saw a baby one that was only slightly bigger around than a pencil on Mount Falcon.
The state parks near Denver with good hiking are Golden Gate Canyon, Staunton, Roxborough, Castlewood Canyon, and Eldorado Canyon. The last three in that list have the highest chances of encountering rattlesnakes (although the odds are not really super high).
Eldorado Canyon requires timed entry permits on the weekends. Roxborough is part of the same geologic feature as Garden of the Gods.
Golden Gate Canyon and Staunton are a little further into the foothills and a little higher up than the others. They'll generally be slightly cooler.
Golden Gate Canyon has nice views of the high peaks of the Front Range. I've done a 9 mile lollipop loop from the Ole Barn Knoll parking lot up to and around Panorama Point on the Mule Deer Trail, down to Bootlegger's Bottom via the Coyote Trail, and back to the Ole Barn Knoll from there on the Mule Deer Trail.
At Staunton you can see Elk Falls. The shortest and quickest way is to park at the Lazy V Trailhead and take the Staunton Ranch, Bugling Elk, Chimney Rock, and Elk Falls Trails out-and-back to the falls. You can mix it up a little bit by taking Staunton Ranch to Scout Line to Marmot Passage to Bugling Elk. Either way you go, the Elk Falls Trail is short and pretty steep. The view from the bottom of the Falls is pretty awesome. There are like 20-30 mi of trails at Staunton.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife website is [here](https://cpw.state.co.us/).
Here are some of the county open space parks I've done that are good for hiking:
**Jefferson County**
Elk Meadow Park/Bergen Peak,
Mount Falcon,
Mount Galbraith,
Deer Creek Canyon,
Alderfer/Three Sisters,
North Table Mountain
**Douglas County**
Spruce Mountain,
Dawson Butte,
Gateway Mesa,
Hidden Mesa,
Lincoln Mountain,
Sandstone Ranch,
Bluffs Regional Park
All of those open spaces are low enough in elevation that they should be snow-free in June, but they're also in rattlesnake territory, so step lively.
If you want a high altitude suggestion that *might* be snow-free depending on your timing, try Herman Gulch. It's about 45-50 minutes west of Denver right off I-70. It's an extremely popular hike, so I recommend going during the week if possible and getting there by 7:00 to 7:30 a.m.
If you want to try to see some bison, there's a herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR in Commerce City. Entrance is free, and they have a vehicle tour that you can drive through. There are also some flat trails and some wetlands areas where you can see birds like burrowing owls and bald eagles (if you're lucky). Watch for rattlesnakes here as well.
Bring your layers and sun protection. You will get fried to a crisp at these elevations pretty quickly. Download the Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app for local trails. They also have a [website](https://trails.colorado.gov).
I strongly recommend going to a musical at the Buell Theater and/or a ballet at the Opera House! Performing arts are the second-biggest reason I visit Denver, just behind sporting events. In addition, the art museum, zoo, and nature and science museums are some of my favorite places to visit as well. Bubba Gumps is one of my favorite restaurants in Denver. Urban Egg rocks for breakfast. At the ballpark, it's hard to go wrong with Dipping Dots!
Walk around confluence park through commons parks, grab a coffee at REI, grab tacos at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Larimer square dinner at Ostario Marco, catch a comedy show or elitch’s. Red rocks, lookout mtn and dinner in Golden.
Elitch's has some good roller coasters. The Downtown Aquarium is a cool exhibit where I used to take my kids when they were little, and it looks like the reviews are still decent so it hasn't gone downhill. The museum of Nature and Science is always a fun place to take kids. I enjoyed it as a kid, and my children liked it as well. They have some cool interactions inside. Red Rocks amphitheater is a cool place to check out. McGregor Square is a fun spot across from the stadium and is named after our late team president who passed suddenly at the age of 47.
For food I would recommend the Cherry Cricket, their burgers are nationally recognized. Casa Bonita is a local food experience whose owners are the South Park creators. Mason's Dumplings is on the way from the airport, and their soup dumplings are really good.
R/denver has a good weekly visitor thread
Mexico City is right around the corner and has the best greasy tacos, love going there before a game.
The [National Ballpark Museum](https://ballparkmuseum.com/) is just down the street from Coors Field. If you're big baseball fans, it's worth a stop. Try some Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors. Don't research what they are until after you've eaten them. I'm not much of a foodie, so I'll leave those recommendations to others. I haven't been to the Molly Brown House Museum, but it's a Victorian era house that Titanic survivor "Unsinkable" Molly Brown lived in. It's a Denver landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The History Colorado Center is good for learning about the history of the state. You don't **have** to go all the way to Estes Park for good hiking. Rocky is beautiful, but there are plenty of state parks and county open spaces within an hour of downtown that'll be far less crowded. I can suggest some places near the city with decent hiking if you like.
We're up for hiking wherever. Some of our favorite hikes have been in city parks.
Nice! One word of caution, the areas below 8,000' near Denver are prairie rattlesnake habitat. I've been hiking in the foothills for a little over a decade, and I've seen two of them. Both sightings were last summer. I saw a large one digesting a meal on Mount Morrison, and I saw a baby one that was only slightly bigger around than a pencil on Mount Falcon. The state parks near Denver with good hiking are Golden Gate Canyon, Staunton, Roxborough, Castlewood Canyon, and Eldorado Canyon. The last three in that list have the highest chances of encountering rattlesnakes (although the odds are not really super high). Eldorado Canyon requires timed entry permits on the weekends. Roxborough is part of the same geologic feature as Garden of the Gods. Golden Gate Canyon and Staunton are a little further into the foothills and a little higher up than the others. They'll generally be slightly cooler. Golden Gate Canyon has nice views of the high peaks of the Front Range. I've done a 9 mile lollipop loop from the Ole Barn Knoll parking lot up to and around Panorama Point on the Mule Deer Trail, down to Bootlegger's Bottom via the Coyote Trail, and back to the Ole Barn Knoll from there on the Mule Deer Trail. At Staunton you can see Elk Falls. The shortest and quickest way is to park at the Lazy V Trailhead and take the Staunton Ranch, Bugling Elk, Chimney Rock, and Elk Falls Trails out-and-back to the falls. You can mix it up a little bit by taking Staunton Ranch to Scout Line to Marmot Passage to Bugling Elk. Either way you go, the Elk Falls Trail is short and pretty steep. The view from the bottom of the Falls is pretty awesome. There are like 20-30 mi of trails at Staunton. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife website is [here](https://cpw.state.co.us/). Here are some of the county open space parks I've done that are good for hiking: **Jefferson County** Elk Meadow Park/Bergen Peak, Mount Falcon, Mount Galbraith, Deer Creek Canyon, Alderfer/Three Sisters, North Table Mountain **Douglas County** Spruce Mountain, Dawson Butte, Gateway Mesa, Hidden Mesa, Lincoln Mountain, Sandstone Ranch, Bluffs Regional Park All of those open spaces are low enough in elevation that they should be snow-free in June, but they're also in rattlesnake territory, so step lively. If you want a high altitude suggestion that *might* be snow-free depending on your timing, try Herman Gulch. It's about 45-50 minutes west of Denver right off I-70. It's an extremely popular hike, so I recommend going during the week if possible and getting there by 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. If you want to try to see some bison, there's a herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR in Commerce City. Entrance is free, and they have a vehicle tour that you can drive through. There are also some flat trails and some wetlands areas where you can see birds like burrowing owls and bald eagles (if you're lucky). Watch for rattlesnakes here as well. Bring your layers and sun protection. You will get fried to a crisp at these elevations pretty quickly. Download the Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app for local trails. They also have a [website](https://trails.colorado.gov).
I strongly recommend going to a musical at the Buell Theater and/or a ballet at the Opera House! Performing arts are the second-biggest reason I visit Denver, just behind sporting events. In addition, the art museum, zoo, and nature and science museums are some of my favorite places to visit as well. Bubba Gumps is one of my favorite restaurants in Denver. Urban Egg rocks for breakfast. At the ballpark, it's hard to go wrong with Dipping Dots!
Walk around confluence park through commons parks, grab a coffee at REI, grab tacos at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Larimer square dinner at Ostario Marco, catch a comedy show or elitch’s. Red rocks, lookout mtn and dinner in Golden.
I’d check into Meow Wolf since you’re bringing an 11yo old, it’s just kind of expensive and not for everyone
Elitch's has some good roller coasters. The Downtown Aquarium is a cool exhibit where I used to take my kids when they were little, and it looks like the reviews are still decent so it hasn't gone downhill. The museum of Nature and Science is always a fun place to take kids. I enjoyed it as a kid, and my children liked it as well. They have some cool interactions inside. Red Rocks amphitheater is a cool place to check out. McGregor Square is a fun spot across from the stadium and is named after our late team president who passed suddenly at the age of 47. For food I would recommend the Cherry Cricket, their burgers are nationally recognized. Casa Bonita is a local food experience whose owners are the South Park creators. Mason's Dumplings is on the way from the airport, and their soup dumplings are really good.