Square State Colorado

10 Solo Summer Travel Tips for Women Visiting Denver

One of my favorite types of travel is solo travel. Leaving the family, my boo (if I’m boo’d up) and everyone behind so that I can experience a place on my terms. If I would like to sleep in, wake up early, or experience a unique event that no one else would be interested I do it during my solo trips. Denver is a great city for solo woman travel. It’s fun, busy, and the people are pretty nice. I have some helpful insights and tips to share as you begin to design and book the important components that will this a memorable experience for years to come. I have several solo summer travel tips for women visiting Denver that I’m sharing below with the hopes that you have a great visit.

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Cowtown Denver

When is the Best Time to Visit

June is, hands down, the best month to visit Denver during the summer. Seriously, it really is. You can learn more about what to expect during June in Denver here. July and August are amazing too but the weather gets pretty hot so keep that in mind. Denver is a fantastic city for summer travel and it’s a great starting point for a road trip to other parts of the state or other states in the Rocky Mountain West.

Tip #1 Book a Tour

Traveling solo does not mean that you’re doing everything on your own. In fact, there are a number of opportunities to enjoy Denver while hanging out with other people. If you’re interested in visiting the mountains, going on a hike or doing something where it feels like it would be more enjoyable to do with other people. Book a tour. I’ve even included a few suggestions below.

• Downtown Denver Food Tour

• Craft Beer Tour

• Denver Wine Walking Tour

• Bicycle Tour of Downtown Denver

• Woman’s Hike to Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park

• Rocky Mountain National Park Summer Tour

Tip #2 Embrace (Mostly) Car Free Travel

Denver has really bad traffic. Seriously, it sucks. I live here and I avoid driving as much as I possibly can. When I have friends visiting town, I encourage them to go car free as much as possible. How can you do that?

• Take the train from Denver International Airport to Denver’s Union Station. It costs $10.50 and takes 37 minutes.

• Stay at a hotel that is within walking distance of a light rail stop. I’ve included a few suggestions below.
  • Catbird Hotel (38th and Blake Light Rail Station)
  • The Source Hotel (38th and Blake Light Rail Station)
  • Hilton Garden Inn Union Station
  • Limelight Hotel (Union Station)
  • Hostel Fish (Union Station)
    • Here’s a guide to staying in a hostel when you’re over 30. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine!
  • The Maven Hotel (Union Station)
  • The Thompson Denver (Union Station)
  • The Curtis Denver (Union Station)

• Take local transit, walk, car share or rent a bike. You can even take the Bustang bus to the mountains.

Tip #3 Hang Out with the Locals

This may be my best tip for enjoying and experiencing Denver the way that Denverites do. Hang out with Denverites in different local experiences. Many of them are even free or relatively inexpensive.

• Participate in a Meetup(dot)com event. Their hiking groups are wonderful and almost always have car pools.
  • Trails and Ales is one of my favorite hiking communities.

• Dance with the Mile High Shufflers at Cheeseman Park
  • If you like dancing to club music/EDM-you’ll love this

• Roller skate around town with Denver Urban Skate

• Hang out in the outdoors with Outdoor Afro

• Explore the outdoors with BIPOC Mountain Collective

• Ride bikes through town with Denver Cruiser Ride

• Walk through the different art districts and spaces in town during a First Friday Art Walk Event
  • June 7, 2024
  • July 5, 2024
  • August 2, 2024
    • Car Free event

• Listen and watch free jazz performance at City Park Jazz held Sunday evenings.

• Meet up and hang out at the Vibes in the Park event

• Yoga on the Rocks (at Red Rocks)

• Head to the mountains!

• Hang out at one of Denver’s many farmers markets

• Workout with The November Project (free)

• Enjoy lunch and music at Civic Center Park during a Civic Center Eats event.

Tip #4 Anchor Your Trip With a Once in a Lifetime Experience

There are so many events happening this summer. Buy a ticket to see a much loved performer. Head to a unique venue for a new experience. Or do something that you’ve always dreamed of doing that would only happen in Denver or the state of Colorado. Maybe there’s an event happening in town and it’s the excuse to finally book that trip.

Tip #5 Buy that Travel Insurance

Most trips to Denver and the state of Colorado include a lot of activity. You may find yourself walking, hiking, biking or rock climbing as you explore the state. If you’re thinking about using a scooter while in Denver, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have additional travel insurance.

Tip #6 Spend Some Time in the Mountains

Hopefully your vacation in Denver will be at least a week. If that’s the case it’s non-negotiable, you have to spend some time in the mountains. For many Coloradans, spending time in the mountains is a incredible benefit of living here. And the mountains are finally much more accessible because of the Bustang/Snowstang and Pegasus services. For the longest time it was incredibly difficult to explore the mountains without a car and it was so frustrating.

Tip #7 What You Should Bring

I’ve spoken with thousands of people who’ve visited Denver. How? I’ve worked conventions, attended events and worked with adult students learning English as a Second Language at a local university for many years. Here are some of the items that you should bring with you during the summer.

• Chapstick-It’s dry here.

• A water bottle

• Lotion-Your skin will thank you.

• Sunblock-The sun is strong here.

• A cute pair of sunglasses/sunnies-your eyes will appreciate this.

• 1 or 2 cute outfits

• Casual clothes are absolutely fine

• Good shoes for walking around

• Good shoes for hiking

Tip # 8 Be Safe

Denver is a large American city that has many of the problems that American urban areas have. While I don’t feel unsafe in my town, I am vigilante about my personal safety as I explore and enjoy my town.

• If you feel uncomfortable-trust that feeling. Don’t second guess it and remove yourself from that situation or space.

• Pay attention to your personal items. Don’t leave things unattended.

• Tell people where you’re going. That includes the staff at your accommodation, leave a note in your room and tell your friends and family.
  • If you’re going hiking (even with a group) tell your friends and family where you’re going and when you think you’ll be heading back.

• Keep things locked-Your cell phone, etc. Don’t talk about how much money you have.

Tip #9 Altitude Sickness

Travel to Denver and most of the state of Colorado is high altitude travel. Going from low altitudes to high altitudes can affect your body. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with what altitude sickness is, what signs to look for and speak with your doctor (that might cost money) about any concerns that you may have about how the higher altitude could affect your body.

Tip #10 Have Patience

Right now there are a lot of infrastructure projects being worked on throughout the city of Denver and the state. Some of these major projects will be completed at the end of 2024 beginning of 2025. This means if you’re visiting in 2024 you will definitely notice these projects. One of the largest projects is the 16th Street Mall redesign. I’ve included a link to a helpful post on how to enjoy the 16th Street Mall here.

Solo Summer Travel Tips for Women Visiting Denver

Denver is a great town for solo women’s travel. It’s an incredibly friendly town, it’s not too big and it’s fairly easy to move around if you’re sticking to the downtown Denver corridor. If you’re accommodation is located downtown you’ll be within walking distance or a very short drive away from almost all of the venues you would like to check out in town. By the way, I may be biased towards visiting in June, but July and August are also wonderful months to visit as well.