Visiting Denver to Attend a Show at Red Rocks Without a Car: Here’s How to Plan
One of the most iconic music venues in the entire world is located just 35 minutes from downtown Denver-Red Rocks Amphitheater. It’s one of my favorite places to hang out at as a Denverite for concerts, movies and yoga-yes, yoga! If you’re trying to figure out if you should visit Denver to see your favorite band perform a show at Red Rocks the answer is YES!!! Buy the tickets, if you don’t plan on renting are car and are wondering how you can make to the show-I have tips for you in this post. Take notes. I have a mini-viral Threads post where dozens of Denverites agreed with this advice. Do with that what you will.
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Book a Tour
While you’re in Denver, especially if you’re opting out of renting a car-I strongly recommend booking a tour. It would be a shame for you to visit Denver and not experience some of the city that many of us absolutely love. A key part of the experience in Denver is enjoying nature and booking a tour is a great way to do that. Here are a few experiences that I recommend booking towards the end of your trip (some of these are at high altitude)
Leave the driving to someone else. Mountain driving is a pain in the butt and a whole skillset. The great thing about these tours is that the pick up spot is almost always going to be from the front of Union Station which is within walking distance of all of the hotels that I’m sharing with you in this post.
When to Arrive in Denver
This is the one piece of advice that most people coming to Denver for a Red Rocks concert need to hear-DO NOT fly to Denver the day of the event. Especially if you’re visiting from below sea level. Many of you will absolutely feel the change in altitude and may be uncomfortable during the show.
Instead, arrive a few days before the show and enjoy what Denver has to offer while getting used to the altitude. Denver is 5,280 feet above sea level and Red Rocks is located 6,450 feet above sea level. I live in Denver and am out of shape-I always feel the difference in altitude when going up the stairs at Red Rocks LOL! If you’re unfamiliar with Altitude Sickness and would like to learn more about what it is and how to avoid it-talk to your doctor and I’ve included a link to the Cleveland Clinic’s post about Altitude Sickness. Not medical advice.
Getting to Denver from Denver International Airport
(Without a Car)
You may have heard some complaints about how far DIA/DEN is from downtown Denver. It is far. But if you’ve flown to O’hare or other similar airports they’re located about the same distance from the airport to the city.
Denver has a train.
You can take the A-Line from DIA/DEN directly to Union Station and literally exit at the LAST STOP. The trip is about 37 minutes and costs $10.50. You can also use your transit ticket for the entire day. Once you arrive downtown I have a few hotels and one hostel that are within walking distance to Union Station or you can take the free Mall Ride to your hotel.
Best Places to Stay in Denver
The following hotels are located within walking distance of the different bus services that I will share with you below.
A few other things that I like about these hotels include the following: they are all within walking distance of Union Station. All of the hotels are close restaurants, coffee shops, public transportation and more.
How to Get to the Show
If you’re hoping to visit Red Rocks and don’t want to rent a car, you’re in luck there are a couple of ways you can attend a show without driving. Sadly, none of them include taking public transportation. Instead, there are several companies that provide bus service to the show. While I do think they’re pricey, it’s also a great way to meet people if you’re traveling solo and allow yourself to enjoy the show without worrying about how you’ll get back. I’m actually not a huge fan of using Lyft or Uber because you’re likely going to have to wait awhile after the show to be picked up and you’ll also likely have to deal with surge pricing because of the after show demand. Pay the same amount and have a seat and people waiting for you after the show.
Each of these services pick up at different spots downtown and also have different prices and vibes. Pick the service that matches the energy and budget that you want to spend for the event.
Where to Eat (Some Quick Picks)
Denver gets a lot of negative press about its food but I think that people who are making these posts aren’t true foodies. There’s good food in Denver BUT if you don’t live here-you have no idea where to go. With that in mind, I’m going to share a starter list of places for you check out while you’re in town.
This is actually a somewhat random list of restaurants but they’re very good.
Coffee Shops
In my view, Denver has the best coffee scene in the United States. I love coffee shops like some people love breweries, as a result of this love I’ve visited a ridiculous number of Denver coffee shops. Ones you should absolutely visit in downtown Denver.
I picked these coffee shops because of their proximity to the hotels listed in this post. They are all within walking distance to at least one of those hotels or you can take the free mall shuttle to check out one of those coffee shops.