Planning the Perfect 36 Hours in Denver This June
It’s my view that June is one of the best months to visit Denver. There are so many reasons why and even though right now (in 2024) a ton of things are being worked on in town-there’s a lot to experience and enjoy while in town. In fact, most visitors will find themselves feeling overwhelmed by all of opportunities to enjoy Denver. If you’re working on planning the perfect 36 hours in Denver this June I have some suggestions for you. Continue reading on. I have TK tips on how to design a kickass itinerary for your upcoming trip.
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Cowtown Denver
Tip #1-Pick an Event
Anchor your trip around a once, or maybe twice, in a life-time experience. Watch one or more of your favorite singers perform, foodies experience an exquisite omakase dinner or enjoy one of the largest Juneteenth festivals in the United States.
- Buy tickets to a concert-I’ve shared a list of some of the big shows that will be in town June 2024.
- Diana Ross at Red Rocks
- Nas with the Colorado Symphony
- Janet Jackson
- Black Pumas
- Blink 182
- New Kids on the Block
- The Rolling Stones
- Book a Unique Food Experience
- Omakase Dinner
- The Inventing Room for Desert
- Civic Center Eats for lunch
- Experience one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the United States
- Head over to one of our many festivals
Tip #2 Arrive on Friday and leave on a Red Eye Saturday Night
What is the timeframe you’re looking at? You’ll Arrive at 12:00 pm MTN and then depart on Sunday at 12:00 am.
Friday
- Arrive at Denver International Airport then take the train direct to Denver’s Union Station. The cost is $10.50 for the trip and will take 37 minutes give or take.
- Hopefully, Denver’s Union Station may be at the end of a short refresh project by June and you’ll be able to enjoy what is truly a beautiful and bustling space.
- Walk over to your hotel from Union Station and drop your things off
- Hilton Garden Inn Union Station
- Hotel Indigo
- The Limelight
- The Maven
- Head over to the Museum of Contemporary Art to check out the art-make sure to head up to the roof top.
- Book a Tour-A tour is a great way to experience town. Right now Denver has A LOT of construction projects that make randomly roaming around difficult to do.
Continue hanging out with the crew that you met during the tour. Enjoy a late dinner or meet up with friends who live in town or head back to the hotel.
- Where to eat dinner-In order to keep things simple during your first night in Denver, head to one of the many restaurants located close to the hotels listed above.
Saturday
This will be a full day and for the first thing that I’m recommending you enjoy-you’ll need to rent a car. Sadly, there’s no public transportation to Red Rocks and party buses don’t run that early in the day.
- Take Yoga on the Rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre-Get your shivasna on with hundreds of other yogis in a beautiful outdoor venue.
- If you feel like outlet shopping go to Colorado Mills Mall which is about 10 minutes from Red Rocks. Colorado Mills is also a cool place to visit because of all of the independent stores inside.
- Eat lunch in Denver
- Edgewater Public Market-Food hall and shopping
- Walk around Sloan’s Lake
- Avanti F & B-Food Hall in the Highlands 5 minutes drive from Union Station or a 15 minute walk.
- Le French on 9th and Colorado Boulevard (drive)
- Dragonfly Noodle
- La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal
- Koko Ni
- Hop Alley
- Mercantile Dining and Provision
- Linger
- Edgewater Public Market-Food hall and shopping
Squeeze in One More Activity
After lunch there’s still enough time to squeeze in one more fun thing to do.
- Spend a couple of hours at Meow Wolf Denver
- Visit Boulder for a few hours-This pretty town ins 40 minutes away from downtown Denver. You can even take a commuter bus directly to downtown Boulder’s bus depot.
- Get nekkid and enjoy Lake Steam Baths
- Relax at the Oakwell Beer Spa
- Head back to your hotel to freshen up and change for your event
- Eat dinner
Go to Your Event
Don’t forget to check to see if the venue you’re heading to has a clear bag policy. If you’re attending an event at any of the large venues downtown, they will be pretty easy to get to. Avoid using a scooter because I’ve seen enough accidents to be a little nervous about people using them.
Tip #3 Be Flexible
One thing that I can guarantee is that a trip to Denver may be filled with shenanigans. You may end up meeting some fun cool people to hang out with (be safe-people are crazy) hear about a cool and unexpected event that you’d like to attend. Trips to Denver are always unpredictable. Summer trips to Denver can be even more unpredictable. I haven’t even mentioned the fact that it can snow in June.