What to do in Denver?

Getting a mixed bag on this one. The mint, Capitol Building, Coors Field. But what about Elitch Gardens? Have heard mixed and I mean mixed reviews. If anyone has been there this year and can leave some information, it would be much appreciated. Would it be better to go to Water World and skip EG?What to do in Denver?
Boulder is a short trip away and a very nice town to visit. There are museums and NCAR and NOAA. I just took my visiting family there.



As for the mint, my family liked it, but it was a short visit. It doesn't make paper money and it wasn't making coins the day we visited or we couldn't see the coins being made. All we saw were some big metal machines and the history in the building. I thought it was disappointing, but some others didn't.



Elitch Gardens and Water World are similar activities. I avoid them and anything like them. Hoards of people descend on these two places. They are extremely crowded. I don't care for the look of the crowd either. I find them overly expensive for what you get. I don't like to spend money to stand in lines which is mostly what you do at these places. Hershey Park in PA is a much nicer experience.



I would take a day trip west on I-70. Exit Hwy 5 and drive up Mt Evans on the highest paved road in the country. There are very nice historic towns like Georgetown. You can exit on I-6 near Loveland and go over the continental divide. There are great views of mountains. You can visit Breckenridge or Vail.



We have a new art museum that doesn't rank with those in NYC, but is still interesting. We also have a top-notch science and nature museum. Our zoo and botanical garden offer your standard fare.



A drive by Coors Field and the Capital Building are worthwhile.
I don't know about any of those sights but I went to pikes peak and the royal gorge and the zoo and they were aw someWhat to do in Denver?
I dont know about denver but I know there are a few thing in the springs one of them is to go see the garden of the gods if you have not seen them yet or just go sight seeing up in the mountins or go to 11 mile canyon I my self love it there, I use to go rock climbing all the time there and use to fish there all the time as well! It was really nice and it was enjoyable too!!
Elitch's is not your standard 6 flags park. It's much smaller and camps out next to railway tracks, Pepsi Center (the Can), and is also very near LoDo which is not necessarily bad- but can make for a crowded experience. There is a small water park in Elitch's, so you can do both in one place. Depending on where you're coming from and what kind of complexion you have, a full day at Water World may be a sure recipie for severe sunburn. Honestly, with all the natural attractions around here, I would skip the second rate amusement park fare in favor of some trully unique areas like Red Rocks Park and Ampitheatre, St. Mary's glacier and Rocky Mountain National Park. If you're going to be here during Ren Faire season, that might meet your "amusement park" needs and be less expensive and more fun. We have Cirque de Solei in town now or soon, some good shows coming up at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, some neat community events like the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and of course the zoo, botanic gardens and natural history museum. If there are kids invloved, we have a decent Children's Museum and if you want to take a bit of a drive, the alpine slides are all fun. There is also a small amusement park at Heritage Square. Honestly, Elitch's is just not that nifty for the money you'll be spending for a single day there. Same thing goes for Water World. I have a season pass to Elitch's as do my two young daughters (10 and 4). We got them along with my brother and his fiance so we paid for a "Family Pack". This makes it much easier to justify a trip of a couple of hours. There just really isn't enough there to make a full day trip fun without spending much more money than you'd probably want. You add in that there are only a couple of roller coasters and half of the other attractions are "Pay to play" midway style games and you'd probably be less than thrilled with your experience. They do have a decent kids area and the water park while small, does also have a kids area. However, other than certain event weekends- like the haunted houses in October- Elitch's is really only good for a couple hours. At $30+ a person plus parking and food, there's so much more Denver has to offer.
I agree with the "don't go to Elitch's" theme. But then again that has never been my thing in the first place. If you are stuck in Denver and can't get to the mountains then I would say try the zoo, the Natural History Museum, art museum, etc. I have never been to the mint, but like the other person mentioned, that is exactly what I heard about it. It was disappointing.

Personally I would head for the hills..... :)
I would avoid Elitch Gardens! (my friends went last week and said it hasn't "cleaned up much". If you decide on Water World, get there when the gates open! It does get crowded and you have to watch out for evening lightening. If you go to Springs area, you have: Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, Air Force Academy,

Manitou Springs, and the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur.... Enjoy whatever you decide to do!
I don't know if this is a family trip or if you like beer but the Coors brewery is right there and offers a pretty neat free tour. If you like the beer thing you can hit about 15-20 micro breweries between Denver and Fort Collins which is about 60 miles north plus the Budweiser brewery in Fort Collins.
I love EG!! i live close 2 Denver so i have been there so many times! i dont think i have ever gotten bored there exept 4 1 time ! { it waz raining and i had no money!} but besides the Colorado wether that seems like it changes every min, its great!!