Having never spent any time in Denver, I imagined it to be a quaint little city tucked directly into the mountains. In my imagination, you’d be able to walk from a coffee shop straight to go hike a mountain trail. It looked a little something like this:
In reality, getting from the city to a trail wasn’t as easy as strolling from the hotel to a trail.
For anyone who has visited Denver, this is probably pretty obvious to you. For me, it was a bit of a surprise. (Obviously, I didn’t do my due diligence with research.)
With that said, Garrett and I had a great time hiking in Colorado. We found three fantastic hiking experiences at three different price points, and I wanted to share them with you in case you’re visiting Denver and looking to hike.
This guide is specifically written for those of you who won’t have a car in mind. If you’re traveling in style in your own vehicle or a rental, though, the first two options will be cheaper.
Garrett is T-7 days from turning 25, the magical age where car rentals get much less expensive. Until then, public transport and Lyft have been our friends. The price estimates are what we paid for round trip from our hotel.
~$20: Golden, Colorado Hike
From Denver, you can take a $4 train to Golden. Unfortunately, Golden’s train station is kind of in the middle of nowhere. From the station, you then need to get a rideshare to downtown.
Golden is a super cool city in itself, so we recommend making a day of it. Checking out the local shops and restaurants if you get the chance, but if you’re on a hiking mission, you need to make your way to the creek.
Ask a shop worker how to get there, or send your Uber or Lyft driver to 1104 Ford Street, Golden and you’ll end up on the bridge.
Now, walk under the bridge (on either side!) and towards the mountains, it’ll be obvious which way to go. The walk along the creek is gorgeous in itself for a light hike. If you’ve got the stamina, though, you’ll quickly begin gaining altitude and find yourself in the mountains.
Fair warning: For a little over a mile you’ll be walking on the left side of a fairly busy roadway. Stay alert and stay safe!
There’s a distinct trailhead right by the tunnel, you can hike along that for miles. We ended up turning around after an hour because we were losing daylight. It was beautiful and my favorite hike I’ve ever done.
~$60: Boulder, Colorado Hike
Boulder was on our bucket list for Colorado hiking or not. While we enjoyed the downtown shops and restaurants, we were really excited to go hiking. Technically, the Flatirons, where we hiked, are just a bit outside of Boulder, but you should check Boulder out, too.
The Lyft to Boulder was pricey, but make sure you do an Uber Pool or a shared Lyft to get the price down. We paid around $30 each way. If you’re flexible in scheduling, check your app every 15 minutes or so, the prices fluctuate and you might find it randomly goes down by $10.
When you make it to the Flatirons, the hike starts out really easy, but you quickly begin to gain elevation. After just 15 minutes or so you’ll reach the first lookout point where you get a great view and photo opps if you’re not looking for a strenuous hike. If you’re up to it, we recommend pushing through to the top.
At the top, you can see for miles and miles, and the boulders have some perfect sitting nooks eroded out so you can hang out. We probably spent a good hour up there until it started to get dark.
Quick Tip: We had a bit of trouble with service at the head of the trail, calling a Lyft was very difficult. Account for the fact that you might have an extra half-mile of walking or so after your hike to get closer to service.
~$130: Rocky Mountain Tour Hike
This one is a little bit of a cheat because it’s not necessarily a hike, but you do have plenty of time for mini hikes at each of the stops. If you don’t have a car and you want to see the mountains, this is probably your best option.
We got picked up in front of the Denver Train station, had our first stop for coffee and breakfast wraps just outside of Boulder, second stop in Estes Park for sandwiches and whiskey, and then several stops up in the mountains.
This is a group tour, but we were only with about 8-10 other people. Our tour guide was fantastic – super knowledgeable and easy-going.
The tour is round trip, dropping you back off at the pick up point. This way you don’t have to worry about getting a Lyft or hitchhiking your way to cell service.
Quick tip that we didn’t think about: most people tip after the tour and we didn’t have cash. I asked the tour guide for his venmo, and we tipped that way. It would have been less awkward to have just passed him a twenty.
Which was most worth it?
I think it’s a tie between Golden and the Rocky Mountain Tour, but it depends on your goals.
If you’re looking for a beautiful hike and aren’t concerned about visiting National Parks, then Golden will be great for you. If you’re dying to see the mountains and are willing to pay a bit extra, take a tour! We loved the tour, and I think it was worth every penny.
Do you know any great hiking spots in or around Denver? Share them in the comments! We were there for a week so we didn’t get to hit everywhere, but we’d love to know where to go next time!