OT: Denver Trip

[tigervixxxen]

What’s the closest hot spring to Denver that’s worth checking out?

Probably Idaho Springs, it’s like 30 minutes or so from Denver.

 

[henchman21]

What’s the closest hot spring to Denver that’s worth checking out?

Idaho Springs is really the closest... Glenwood/Steamboat/Saratoga/Desert Reef/etc are all hours away

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Thanks, friends!

 

[Cousin Eddie]

One more question for all you folks.

Do you guys recommend a better weekend to visit than Nov 21-24?

I feel the Barrie return is going to be a fun night. Saturday night, Hockey Night in Canada broadcast which legitimately does make a difference to the on ice product. These guys know when the nation is watching. The Leafs are in town. Young stars of the west vs young stars of the east. Barrie vs Kadri. Mackinnon vs Matthews.

I just feel it’s the perfect game to catch. However if anyone suggests another weekend I’m all ears. The biggest draw for me is hockey so that’s the most important part of my trip but I am also a Broncos fan and they are on the road that weekend. If anyone has a suggestion because of other things such as Football, weather, concerts etc. please suggest the better options.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I think it’s a pretty good choice. I’d recommend fall over spring 1000x and November is pretty decent around here. The timing is also good, the week or so before our Thanksgiving nobody is traveling. I’d obviously say October is even better but it’s not going to be a huge difference. I know they hardly play at home the first couple months so not a ton of choices. The game looks like it’s at 5pm so might have more a matinee feel but that also allows to do more after the game. Anyway, I don’t have a big reason to talk you out of it.

 

[MartinSkoulYa]

I don’t think there’s a more compelling matchup on a weekend than that Leafs game personally. I think the only others I’d be interested are against Blues, and Wild. I was actually looking at possibly making the trip that same weekend. Where you coming in from Eddie?

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I think it’s a pretty good choice. I’d recommend fall over spring 1000x and November is pretty decent around here. The timing is also good, the week or so before our Thanksgiving nobody is traveling. I’d obviously say October is even better but it’s not going to be a huge difference. I know they hardly play at home the first couple months so not a ton of choices. The game looks like it’s at 5pm so might have more a matinee feel but that also allows to do more after the game. Anyway, I don’t have a big reason to talk you out of it.

Thanks, TV. You're the best!

I don’t think there’s a more compelling matchup on a weekend than that Leafs game personally. I think the only others I’d be interested are against Blues, and Wild. I was actually looking at possibly making the trip that same weekend. Where you coming in from Eddie?

 

[MartinSkoulYa]

Newfie, eh? I hear they have phenomenal sticky pudding in Dildo

edit: lol @ it being censored

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah, spring is the one season I would say is the worst time to visit Colorado, most everywhere else is nice though. Weather can get pretty erratic, especially in March if memory serves.

 

[Bonzai12]

March is the snowiest month in Denver historically

 

[Hasbro]

I don’t think there’s a more compelling matchup on a weekend than that Leafs game personally.

Get to see the Kerfoot tribute video.

 

[NZ Avs Fan]

I need to know what hobbies you like before giving you best advice I can.

With that said, here are some suggestion in 30 thoughts style.

- You can spend all your time in Denver and not rent a car, but the best aspects of Colorado are not in Denver. If you want to get the most out of your trip rent a car and get out of the city. Not only that, but the most popular locations will require a car.

- If you're planning in simply Denver, there is a metro lightrail system which goes from the airport to the city and all over the best places you want in Denver. LoDo is my favourite part of Denver, they transformed it from a homeless area into a nice night out with friends or your significant other - ton of restaurants and bars. Another area which I like is north Broadway in the Denver area, it's more hip for young peeps, but there are fun bars and places to also have a good night out.

- The wealthiest area in Denver is Cherry Creek and they have good food places with higher-end clothing. However, one area of Cherry Creek which I absolutely love is Pearl Street. It's sort of high-end as well, but they have some fantastic hidden restaurant and coffee shops (great place for romantic nights). 16th Street Mall (which is just a long outdoor mall) is a cool place, but weed has brought a lot of weird people along that stretch. The Denver Zoo, Art, and Botanic Garden are wicked places, Museum is boring AF. However, if you do like history there are a ton of wild-west tours and museums throughout the state.

- Try to stay away from Colfax Ave - it isn't a dangerous street around in Denver, but you get looneys, homeless, and just that weird feeling.

- Denver is a drinking city, if you like drinking day after day you'll fit right now. It also has an eerie wild-west feel to it, but it's sort of getting lost due to the insane amount of millennials moving from Cali, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois.

- If you want to see Colorado in its Sunday best, expect driving for more than thirty minutes average.

- Boulder is a chill place to cheque out, I don't really like the place, but if you like coffee and good restaurants with a nice view it is the opposite of a hard drive.

- Go one day into the Mountains to Black Hawk which is one city in Colorado that allows gambling. Personally, gambling doesn't interest me, but to kill an evening that's something you can potentially do.

- I would consider this a tourist trap, but Garden of the Gods is a must for every tourist. It's normally always packed, but it is also beautiful. Its location is in Colorado Springs which is bit more than an hour from Denver. Colorado Springs has some other cool attractions worth the trip like their zoo (called Cheyenne Zoo) which is effin unbelievable and Seven Falls (I have no idea how you get there now since it was bought by The Broadmoor).

- To my friends suggestion above, you can cheque out what's going on at Red Rocks, but honestly it's just a concert hall. If you're not going to a music show or not planning to exercise, I don't see the appeal of the place.

- A town I love is Breckenridge which is around an hour and a half drive from Denver. Hip town, but the sites are rad.

- Glennwood Springs is an absolute must go for me. It is quite touristy, but you got natural hotsprings and the town has so much to do in it from an amusement park on the side of a mountain to underground caves. That trip will be three hours from Denver, but definitely spend a couple of nights there if you do plan on going. Hotel Colorado is a really creepy place, supposedly haunted and you can see why if you head up there.

- Rocky Mountain National Park is also another must go for me and is around 45 minutes from Boulder which is 30 minutes from Denver. Not sure what you'll see there in Winter, but I went hiking in the summer and saw Bear(s) and Elk. Seeing a Moose is what I consider the main prize since a 1,200 lbs animal will just blows you away (not sure how many Meese you get in Calgary). If you do plan on going, stop at Estes Park which has The Stanley Hotel. I mean it's just a hotel with a lot of history, but there is also a cool aspect behind it when you see it on the hill for the first time.

- Keystone is the perfect town in the Winter. Not sure if the lake is frozen as it might be a tad early, but you can play hockey and skate during the winter. They have good slopes for skiing, but again not sure what you like as hobbies. It's a town for everything though. Another place which has skating/hockey on their lake is Evergreen (which is much closer of a distance).

- I quite like Silverthorn and Frisco who have a huge lake, but I have never been there in winter so your guess is as good as mine (might be too cold to do anything).

- The best places to go is a trio of Durango, Telluride/Ouray, and Silverton, but you're looking at a five to six hour trip to the middle of nowhere. They're worth it though.

- Vail is awesome if you want to see a ski resort, but don't want to ski. They have high-end restaurants and wonderful shops to kill time if you have nothing to do (looking at a two hour trip there). Reminds me a lot of a mountain town from Europe.

- I would avoid Aspen, I mean it's not a bad town at all, but the definition of smug. If do want to go to Aspen, research Maroon Bells which is undeniably beautiful.

- A Colorado staple for eating are three places; Buckhorn Exchange (in Denver), Cherry Cricket (in Denver/Cherry Creek), and Beau Jo's (multiple locations). Buckhorn is a steak place since 1890 and have exotic meats, Cricket is a beast of a hamburger place, and Beau Jo's is Colorado-style pizza. If you plan on going to Beau Jo's, notify the server that it is the first time there, I accidentally ordered a 45 dollar pizza once.

- That's all I got as of now, if you do plan on going to the mountains I will notify @ASmileyFace who can help you further (especially for the fall/winter months). He's our residential mountain man with the beard and missing teeth who's probably raising a pack of wolves as we speak and climbing over a five pound gold nugget.

I will piggy back off of this thread and also use some of your recommendations here seph.

I'm heading over from New Zealand in January for the home stand to catch 4 games. Will be my first time to the Pepsi center and so pumped. Been a long time coming.

Just wondering how people come about meeting players for photos and signatures? Just curious is all.

Also what are the Pepsi center tours like? Do you get to go into the changing rooms?

Also we are going to head to aspen for some snowboarding, so will try other places that you guys would recommend.

Cheers in advance.
Jono from NZ

 

[TomP24684]

Hey fellas. I am just curious about something local to you. Do any of you know anything about Matt Brown(Lacrosse)? He is the second in command to the head coach there at Denver university lacrosse.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I will piggy back off of this thread and also use some of your recommendations here seph.

I'm heading over from New Zealand in January for the home stand to catch 4 games. Will be my first time to the Pepsi center and so pumped. Been a long time coming.

Just wondering how people come about meeting players for photos and signatures? Just curious is all.

Also what are the Pepsi center tours like? Do you get to go into the changing rooms?

Also we are going to head to aspen for some snowboarding, so will try other places that you guys would recommend.

Cheers in advance.
Jono from NZ

Unless you have some good connections your best bet is to go to a practice and wait outside their parking lot by the gate, some players will stop for pics and autographs. I have not been on a PC tour but I believe they do not go in the dressing room, they only really do that on occasion for season ticket holder events.

 

[S E P H]

I will piggy back off of this thread and also use some of your recommendations here seph.

I'm heading over from New Zealand in January for the home stand to catch 4 games. Will be my first time to the Pepsi center and so pumped. Been a long time coming.

Just wondering how people come about meeting players for photos and signatures? Just curious is all.

Also what are the Pepsi center tours like? Do you get to go into the changing rooms?

Also we are going to head to aspen for some snowboarding, so will try other places that you guys would recommend.

Cheers in advance.
Jono from NZ

Yeah, as tigre said above the best bet is to go to their practice facility. They practice here; Family Sports Ice Arena - South Suburban Parks and Recreation | Centennial, CO (you can copy the address).

Another thing to note is they do not practice at Family Sports Ice Arena on game-days, they practice at Pepsi Centre there and won't be able to get in. Your best bet is to head to practice on the off days for games, but those practices are hit and miss because sometimes Bednar has optional skates, especially between games. They tend to practice around 8ish and go until 10 or 11am, but someone who has more information might be able to give you more accuracy, but they'll be on the ice between those times.

Afterwards, you will have to go around the building where the players come out from. There might be other fans going to the same area, so just tag along and follow them. January will be cold, even if snow in Colorado melts in a couple of days, January is definitely one of the coldest months here. Another thing you can do for more information is contact @EurolancheDavid or perhaps plan a trip with them since they get behind the scene access. Here's your info for Pepsi Centre tours; Pepsi Center Tours | Pepsi Center (call them if you have any questions because I never did it). Honestly, this is my opinion so take it with a grain of salt (and perhaps Eurolanche can tell you more if it's worth doing), but I would rather go to another museum, spend the time at the Zoo, or go to the botanic garden even in January than do the Pepsi Centre tour, but that's just me.

Have fun driving on the wrong side of the road though if you don't Uber/Lyft from your hotel. Cheers mate!

As for my comment about the Denver Museum, so me and my family don't get eaten by a pack of wolves. For first and only time visitors, it probably is worth chequing out. It has enough stuff where you can spend half a day in with stuffed animals, geology (boring AF though), Egypt, space, IMAX theatre, and dinosaur exhibit. They actually got a very good dinosaur exhibit, but not sure how hype the place is if you're not a 7-year-old kid. They also tend to have a special exhibit (costs extra money though) that cycles between the museums; the last one was The Dead Sea Scrolls, King Tuts artefacts, and two years before that they had the Human Body Experience which was med student's dream. Cheque their website to determine what special exhibit they have now. But after you've been to it a couple of times, there is absolutely nothing to go back to.

 

[tigervixxxen]

If you want my reading the tea leaves in regards to practice. Bednar is pretty predictable to its easy. Jan is early enough in the season they won’t be booting many practices and since that 4 gamer is after a three day break and before the All-Star and Bye week break it’s a good bet they’ll be on the ice between those four games. Especially the matinees since they won’t have a morning skate they’ll for sure need to hit the ice the days before. Camp only starts that early. Bednar has practice at 11, maybe earlier if they are gonna catch a flight. Injured guys might skate before 11 if you want to catch any of those dudes. I think they only practice around 45 minutes usually.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Any downtown hotel suggestions for those who have stayed? We're foodies. Would like to find some cool restaurants and pubs. Sounds like the Coors Field area might be my best bet?

 

[S E P H]

Any downtown hotel suggestions for those who have stayed? We're foodies. Would like to find some cool restaurants and pubs. Sounds like the Coors Field area might be my best bet?

Brown Palace is your best bet for the setting, right in the middle of the action and it's very historic. Will be expensive if you're willing to shell out some extra dough. You can probably find cheaper hotels from lightrail stations on the southern routes outside of Denver. Or just find the closest Holiday Inn which should be at least one in Denver.

Again Buckhorn Exchange is right up your alley (right off lightrail station). Honestly majority of the food in LoDo is going to be good, though pricey because of the area. Cheque out Broadway Street for awesome food, next to lightrail station as well.

I also quite like these as well...

Bavarian-Inspired Restaurant In Denver
D'Corazon Mexican Restaurant | Mexican Comfort Food
Home | Cherry Cricket
Best Tacos Tequila Whiskey in Highlands, City Park, Governor's Park, Denver and Phoenix Arizona (multiple locations I think)
Denver | Fogo de Chão
Uncle Restaurant

Union Station and the area around there are filled with a TON of fantastic restaurants, but they are all quite expensive. I highly recommend it though.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Any downtown hotel suggestions for those who have stayed? We're foodies. Would like to find some cool restaurants and pubs. Sounds like the Coors Field area might be my best bet?

My food recommendations would be Cherry Cricket, Euclid Hall, and Tacos Tequila and Whiskey.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Any downtown hotel suggestions for those who have stayed? We're foodies. Would like to find some cool restaurants and pubs. Sounds like the Coors Field area might be my best bet?

There’s a Spring Hill Suites that’s in between the Pepsi Center and downtown area, easy walk to both. I like the Brown Palace suggestion if you want to do something classically fancy. The Hyatt at convention center is nice too, I always recommend bar at the top for great view. I have actually stayed at the latter two. Really I don’t think you can go wrong with much in terms of hotels downtown.

If you are foodies you have to check out what’s called Larimer Street in the 14th and Lairmer block. It’s where they hang the Avs jersey flags during playoffs. That’s the premiere foodie area. Jennifer Jasinki has several restaurants there, who is one of the more we’ll known chefs from the area and was on Top Chef Masters. TAG is the Duchenes fave place and where he proposed in the street in front lol. I’ve been to several of them, all very nice foodie places. I also love the area around Union Station and there’s several restaurants within. Everything is good, it’s all newly developed so just pick what you are in the mood for lol. If you want specifics within a genre I can offer particular suggestions. Vesta is one I’ve enjoyed a few blocks away, lots of little sauces and the restaurant is this little intimate place.

Coors Field is a couple blocks north of Union Station, there’s a lot of construction in the area but still tourist friendly. Wynkoop street has most of the steakhouses. Chophouse is right in front of Coors and where Avs used to (maybe still do?) have parties and is moderately priced for a higher end steakhouse. The sports bars are around 20th and Blake (home plate area). 16th Street Mall (it’s not actually a mall, it’s the entire street) has a free bus that goes up and down from Union Station to the Capitol area, many restaurants and bars along there. That’s prob more than enough to get you going.

 

[Bonzai12]

Fruition and Tavernetta are where you want to hit up if you are true foodies. James Beard award winners at both of those restaurants and I’m fairly sure those are the only two in town with the award.

Tavernetta is an offshoot of Frasca where the JB award winner originally won, but I’ve honestly heard Tavernetta is better. Regardless, the same chef is over both.

Mercantile is in Union Station and has same chef as Fruition, but I’ve found Fruition to be way better and not so pricey.

Euclid Hall, Bistro Vendome and Rioja are my other favs that are non JB award winners. Work and Class is another awesome one but doesn’t take reservations and is in a shipping container. If you don’t show up there right when it opens, good luck.

One more note - I highly highly recommend Union Lodge #1 for a cocktail. And I recommend Peaks Lounge in the Hyatt across the street from the convention center for an awesome view (30ish floor) of Denver. Even if you stop in for a drink there it’s kind of cool. There’s other rooftops that are higher that other hipster genZers may suggest though.

 

[hockeyfish]

It will be pretty expensive probably, but look into the Crawford Hotel. It's inside Union Station, so literally the center of the action.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

You guys are all awesome. As of now we’re going with the Westin.

 

[Clainer09]

I will piggy back off of this thread and also use some of your recommendations here seph.

I'm heading over from New Zealand in January for the home stand to catch 4 games. Will be my first time to the Pepsi center and so pumped. Been a long time coming.

Just wondering how people come about meeting players for photos and signatures? Just curious is all.

Also what are the Pepsi center tours like? Do you get to go into the changing rooms?

Also we are going to head to aspen for some snowboarding, so will try other places that you guys would recommend.

Cheers in advance.
Jono from NZ

I did the Pepsi Center tour last November and it was awesome. You don't get to go into the dressing room but honestly that might be the ONLY place they don't take you. You get to see pretty much every inch of the place. I would definitely recommend it! The tour I took was on a gameday and as we were waiting Mikko Rantanen walked passed me. Had to pinch myself that it was actually him just casually walking with a bag of his own jerseys. Talked for a bit and got my picture with him. (obviously the experience doesn't include meeting Mikko)

 

[NZ Avs Fan]

Unless you have some good connections your best bet is to go to a practice and wait outside their parking lot by the gate, some players will stop for pics and autographs. I have not been on a PC tour but I believe they do not go in the dressing room, they only really do that on occasion for season ticket holder events.

Sweet. Will try head down there if I get the chance I think.

Just need to plan what to do tbh.