2022-12-03 09:48:21
The Mile High City has nearly endless ways to entertain your little travelers — and many that will entertain you as well. Day 1 Have close encounters with sharks, sea turtles, stingrays and even Sumatran tigers at Downtown Aquarium. Nearby is the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus, an imaginative journey for newborns through age 8 with a 3½-story climber, a 6-foot bubble, Adventure Forest and much more. Denver has many green spaces, some with really amazing amenities for kids — like Paco Sánchez, Central, City, Ruby Hill and Washington parks. These oases have vibrant flower beds, boat and bike rentals, skate areas and more. End the day on 16th Street Mall, a mile-long 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 to keep them stimulated. Day 2 Go where the wild things are: the Denver Zoo. This City Park institution takes visitors on a globe-trotting safari. The stingray and shark habitat, Stingray Cove, allows visitors to interact with safe-to-touch species. Pack a picnic lunch and spread out in the park and check out its new playground. Museum options include the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, also in City Park, to see enormous dinosaur skeletons, watch an IMAX feature or see the Space Odyssey, Egyptian Mummies and North American Indian Cultures exhibits. Or head west to the city of Golden’s Colorado Railroad Museum to see more than 100 locomotives, cabooses and HO model railroad attractions. The Denver Art Museum is one of the nation’s best for kids programs — and it’s always free for kids under 18 (as is the History Colorado Center). Dinner calls for a trip to Casa Bonita. This longtime, quirky spot, which just got a facelift, is an indoor amusement park with cliff divers, mariachi bands, puppet shows, magicians and more. Other popular family spots include Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs, Sam’s No. 3, Punch Bowl Social (bowling, table games and arcade), Ace Eat Serve (Southeast Asian food and pingpong hall) and Sweet Sweetz. MORE IDEAS FOR FAMILIES Water World One of the biggest water parks in the nation features acres of refreshing summertime fun. With nearly 50 rides and adventures, there’s something for all ages. Butterfly Pavilion 1,600 free-flying butterflies make their home at this one-of-a-kind spot in nearby Westminster, fluttering around visitors in a re-creation of a tropical rainforest. The Wild Animal Sanctuary This rescue/educational facility 30 miles outside of Denver is home to more than 650 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 nature walk in Morrison. You’ll encounter more than 100 fossilized dino tracks, including stegosaurus, apatosaurus and allosaurus. Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum And Exploration of Flight Visit two locations packed with iconic aircraft, space vehicles, aerospace-heritage artifacts, flight simulators and immersive exhibits. Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park Mind-blowing rides for those taller than 48 inches, plenty of slower ones for those who aren’t, a water park, a summer concert series, “dive-in” movies and Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscope ride make the nation’s only downtown theme park a must visit. Black American West Museum & Heritage Center Nearly a third of the pioneers who helped settle Colorado in the late 1800s were Black. Learn the stories of these miners, ranchers, teachers, blacksmiths and lawmen who were a major part of the Wild West. (Reopening soon; call first.)
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