Featuring Denver, Estes Park, Fort Collins and Boulder

For years I promised my friend from high school, Bree, that I would take a trip to visit her in Colorado. After two years in Austin and two years abroad, I was able to come home long enough to make the journey. While in Colorado, Bree and her husband Derek took me around Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park. I also reconnected with friends I met in Spain — Asia and Annie — who showed me the best of Denver. Asia also helped me plan a solo day trip to go hiking in Boulder.

Boulder

From Union Station, I got a round trip bus ticket for $10 and rode 45 minutes to get to the nearby town of Boulder. It’s a college town with some cute tea shops and restaurants, but I immediately left the main square to get to the great, highly accessible hikes nearby. Hiking in Boulder is good for all levels, and I saw people of every age out enjoying the sunny weather. I checked out the Flatirons trail near Chautauqua Park as well as the adjoining Royal Arch Trail. This is also a great site for climbing and of course, bouldering.

Fort Collins

Bree lives near Fort Collins, and she and Derek took me around the small town that Walt Disney used as the inspiration for Main Street USA at Disneyland. I spent a few days wandering around and had a great time walking the nearby bike trails, checking out gorgeous neighborhood lakes and visiting the quaint coffee shops and thrift stores. Bree and Derek also took me to Bruce’s Bar in Severance to try the area’s famous “Rocky Mountain oysters.”

Estes Park

Estes Park is a gorgeous mountain town right at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s full of little restaurants, coffee shops and even a store dedicated to beef jerky. My favorite part was walking along the river to a park where at least a dozen elk were lounging beneath the trees. Elk are abundant in town, and we even saw them hanging out on the local golf course. After driving up to check out the famous hotel which served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in “The Shining,” we headed back to nearby Loveland where we toured a tiny house village. I can definitely see myself moving here in the future.

Denver

I was surprised how easy it was to get around Denver using only public transit. From the airport, I took a train to Union Station, a well-connected hub with trains, buses and Denver’s light rail system. The building is worth a visit just on its own, and I was able to sit and do some work in the cafe area and check out the local bookshop. My favorite places we visited in Denver included Tattered Cover Bookshop, Milk Market, which had tons of cute restaurants and bars, a Mexican place with amazing $1 tacos on Tuesdays, the karaoke-meets-piano bar Howl at the Moon, as well as blocks and blocks of local street art.

One highlight of the trip was getting to hear Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg speak at a Fridays for the Future Climate Strike at Civic Center Park. Her message was clear and effective, and I was especially impressed by the Indigenous activists and Colorado students who spoke. Local groups included the American Indian Movement Colorado, International Indigenous Youth Council and Earth Guardians.

Things to do

Hiking

Colorado has some of the best hiking in the States and is home to 58 named peaks over 14,000 feet (4267.2 m) which are known as the 14ers. Many Coloradans make it a challenge to climb them all. Bree, Asia, Derek and I did some hiking in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National forests and checked out the Greyrock Trail which took us along the Cache la Poudre River.

Exploring mountains towns

I loved hanging out in little towns next to the mountains. They were incredibly peaceful and led to some great hikes.

Seeing the City

Denver is a walkable city with a decent nightlife and a cool cultural square. I enjoyed visiting local art museums, cool neighborhood bars and reconnecting with old friends at crazy piano bars and Ramen shops. I would visit Denver again, and with flights to Dallas anywhere from $50-75 round trip, I definitely will plan a trip in the near future.