2019-12-10 23:32:00
Your littles will grin from ear to ear in the Mile High City, thanks to a wide array of family-friendly attractions. DAY 1 More than 500 species of ocean-dwellers roam landlocked Denver at Downtown Aquarium (1). Have close encounters with sharks, sea turtles, stingrays and even Sumatran tigers as they swim in more than a million gallons of water. Nearby is the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marisco Campus (2), an imagination-stimulating journey for newborns through age 8. Kiddos and their grown-ups can race to the top of a 3½-story climber, step inside a 6-foot bubble, sculpt a masterpiece out of clay or zip through the air in Adventure Forest. Older kids will want to check out urban adventure parks for skateboarding, BMX, mountain biking, skiing/boarding and more right in town. Denver Skatepark and Progresh are a couple to scope out. More: denv.co/extremesports End your first day on the 16th Street Mall, a milelong promenade and one of the city’s most visited attractions. It’s a great spot for dinner, with plenty of kid-pleasing choices. Every block boasts a landmark or public art sculptures, a perfect scavenger hunt as you make your way around. DAY 2 Go to where the wild things are: the Denver Zoo. One of the nation’s most popular zoos, this adventure in City Park takes visitors on a globe-trotting safari. The new grizzly bear habitat, Harmony Hill, allows visitors to better understand how to live in harmony with wildlife. Plan ahead to Bunk with the Beasts (in-the-zoo sleepovers) or participate in up-close animal encounters like penguin feedings and tiger training sessions. Pack a picnic lunch and spread out in City Park, the largest in Denver, with 330 acres of refreshing green space and an abundance of fresh-air activities. Find a spot in the area around Ferril Lake to take in the best views of Denver’s skyline and the Rocky Mountains. Museum options for today include the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (4), also in City Park, to see enormous dinosaur skeletons in the Prehistoric Journey exhibit, watch an IMAX feature or transport into space at the planetarium. Pro tip: The terrace behind the museum has a play fountain kids love. Or head west to the city of Golden’s Colorado Railroad Museum, where more than 100 locomotives, cabooses and HO model railroad attractions make the state’s rail history seem larger than life. The Denver Art Museum is one of the nation’s best for kids programs, including the Just for Fun Family Center, gallery games and Create-N-Takes — and it’s always free for kids 18 and under. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts hosts many kid-friendly performances each year, including the Colorado Symphony’s Family Series (Halloween Spooktacular and Drums of the Word are faves), as well as performing the scores while screening “Fantasia” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” Dinner calls for a trip to Casa Bonita, which is not your average Mexican restaurant. This longtime Denver favorite is a great place to end your Denver adventure. Known less for its food and more as an indoor amusement park, it entertains little ones with cliff divers, mariachi bands, puppet shows, a pirate cave, magicians and more. After this packed weekend, you might consider treating yourself to one of their famously large margaritas. Other popular family spots include Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs, Sam’s No. 3, Punch Bowl Social (bowling, table games and vintage arcade), Ace Eat Serve (Southeast Asian food and pingpong hall), the Cherry Cricket and Little Man Ice Cream (3). MORE IDEAS FOR FAMILIES ELITCH GARDENS THEME & WATER PARK Mind-blowing rides for those taller than 48 inches, plenty of slower family rides for those who aren’t, Island Kingdom Water Park, lots of places to eat, a summer concert series, “dive-in” movies and the new Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscope ride make the nation’s only downtown theme park a must visit. WINGS OVER THE ROCKIES AIR & SPACE MUSEUM Experience the rush of flight in the museum’s simulation center, climb into cockpits and wonder at the collection of military and civilian aircraft and the country’s only X-Wing Starfighter. WATER WORLD One of the biggest and best water parks in the nation, with acres of refreshing summertime fun. Nearly 50 rides and adventures offer something for all ages. BUTTERFLY PAVILION 1,600 free-flying butterflies make their home at this one-of-a-kind spot in nearly Westminster, fluttering around visitors in a re-creation of a tropical rainforest. THE WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY This 10,400-acre rescue/educational facility 30 miles outside of Denver is home to nearly 500 large carnivores (including lions, tigers, bears and wolves!). They roam the massive refuge while you walk above them on the Mile Into the Wild walkway. DINOSAUR RIDGE Compare footprint sizes with giant prehistoric beasts on a 1.5-mile nature walk in Morrison. You’ll encounter more than 100 fossilized dinosaur tracks, including those of stegosaurus, apatosaurus and allosaurus. IFLY INDOOR SKYDIVING Lone Tree’s smooth-riding vertical wind tunnel literally sends you soaring. A stellar training program and instructors make it great for families. STAY & PLAY OPTIONS Aurora (page 192), Arvada, Brighton (page 193), Castle Rock (page 194), Centennial, Commerce City, Denver (page 195), Englewood (page 197), Evergreen (page 198), Federal Heights (page 198), Glendale, Golden (page 199), Greenwood Village (page 200), Highlands Ranch (page 200), Lakewood (page 201), Littleton, Morrison (page 202), Parker, Roxborough, Sedalia (page 203), Thornton (page 204), Wheat Ridge
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