Hello! I will be visiting Denver area for a concert at Red Rocks in August. Any suggestions if we want to stay in a more nature/scenic town for a couple nights before staying in RiNo or downtown Denver ahead of the show? I was eyeing Golden and Boulder but open to suggestions? We are not renting a car...
Hi Megan - I think you're on the right path! Both Golden and Boulder can work without a car, and are probably the best two choices for that.
Golden is much smaller than Boulder (and arguably more scenic), but Boulder has better transit, restaurants, and just more services and things to do in general.
From Golden, you can take light rail to Union Station (just note the station is annoyingly a bit far from downtown Golden).
From Boulder, the Flatiron Flyer bus is a comfortable bus that's great for quickly getting to downtown Denver / Union Station area.
Uber also operates in both places.
Check out our guides to where to stay in Golden and where to stay in Boulder for specific hotel suggestions in each place.
thanks so much! i had a much bigger list but agree boulder and golden seem to be best two options. i'll check out the articles you suggested. the other options i had noted were evergreen, breckenridge, downtown littletown & old town arvada...
Hi Megan - I think Golden or Boulder will fit your needs better than those, but just in case you're interested in the other options here are a few notes plus links to more guides:
Breckenridge (our Breckenridge guide) - quite far from Denver and not very public transport friendly unless you stay downtown. But definitely the most "true" mountain town of the list.
Evergreen (our Evergreen Guide) - a small mountain town closer to Denver. Very little public transport and would be tough without a car, but there is a bus that goes there from Denver Federal Center.
Downtown Littleton (our Littleton Guide) - this is more of a suburb of Denver. Since you said you wanted nature/scenic, I wouldn't recommend for you. But it's more convenient and easy to get to.
Old Town Arvada (our Arvada Guide) - another suburb. The downtown is walkable and really nice, but it's small. Again, not particularly nature/scenic.
Enjoy Colorado and thanks for posting to the Travel Lemming Forum! Anything else you need let us know.
Cheers,
Nate
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