The Ultimate Weekend in Denver, Colorado for a Sports Fan

A locals-approved itinerary for a unique, sports-centric experience in the Mile High City.

Denver , CO is known as theMile High Citybecause it sit 5,280 human foot above sea level . Think you ’re in conformation and could be given a 5 K in the morning with no stretch ? Good luck in Denver . But for those who are used to the height , Denver is a launch period for marvellous sports in the whole state — situated at the foundation of the Rocky Mountains , Denver is three hour or less from some of the sound outdoor sports towns in the United States : Aspen , Breckenridge , Steamboat Springs , and the crown jewel , Vail . Three hundred and sixty five daytime of the class , you’re able to get your middling share of hiking , skiing , snowboarding and various other outdoor stake in and around the great Denver and Rocky Mountain areas .

The city itself has undergo an vivid transformation over the last four decades . It grow 20 percentage from 2010 to 2020 and it ’s now about the size of it of Seattle with a total population of around 700,000 . That has meant vainglorious - time expansion for its solid food , graphics , and yes , sport scenery .

accede the 1990s , Denver and Colorado only had two professional squad : theDenver Broncos , who did n’t win a Super Bowl until 1998 , and theNuggets , who only get ahead their first NBA title in 2023 . Now , Denver is also home to theColorado Rockies , Colorado Avalanche , Colorado Rapidsand a newNWSL enlargement team coming next year . And they ’ve been wildly successful — every major professional team in Denver has won a championship in the last 25 year except for the Rockies who lost to the Red Sox in the 2007 World Series . You ’ll also find theUniversity of Denver Pioneershere , who have won 10 NCAA Division I hockey championship — the most in the land . Partially as a outcome of its sports success , Denver has evolve into a bustling urban center that offer much more than just the capital open .

Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado|Photo courtesy of Tru Blu Images

It ’s out of the question to continue every great matter Denver and the surrounding orbit have to do , but here ’s my list of some of my favorites for sports rooter . If you ’re looking for more outdoorsy things to mix into your trip , check out this clause .

Who I am : I’m Andrew DeWitt — a sports author that raise up in Kansas City , MO . After my parents disunite , my mammy be active to Denver and that intend a band of wintertime and summer breaks spend in the metropolis . My chum and I would reconnoiter when the city ’s sports teams were in town and schedule our trips to the Mile High City during those time . My mom would drop my brother and I off at different sporting venues and we ’d drop a week or two going to every issue we could . Along the room , I found the best spots to rust around locus and what to see while we were n’t going to game . I now live in Grand Junction , Co. with my wife . It ’s about a four hour drive but we retrieve ourselves heading to Denver as often as we can .

Before you go

Need to know : If you start feeling a headache and some vertigo , you ’re feeling the upshot of altitude sickness . Just take it easy for your first day around town and your torso will adjust by nature . Drinking Liquid IV or Gatorade tends to assist the symptom with a couple of ibuprofen . EL sickness be given to affect young children and older adults but it can get to anyone . It can also make a unsatisfied first night of slumber .

About the airport : Unless you took the Amtrak or repulse into town , you ’ve still get a journeying ahead of you once you put down , sinceDenver Internationalis 25 miles from business district . The airport also might be haunt so be heedful around there . There ’s also a32 - base - tall horse statue with demon eyesthat greet you when you arrive !

Book early on : Colorado ’s a big golf game state , and its capital urban center is no elision . If you ’re front to tee up it up atArrowheadorFossil Trace , you ’ll need to book your spot in advance . Also , if you want to experience Rocky Mountain Oysters at Buckhorn Exchange ( see below ) , a reservation at least a couple weeks in improvement is apprize .