If you’ve never been to Denver, you need to go to Denver.
Honestly, there is so much to do here, I don’t think I will ever get bored. Granted, I don’t know if I will be saying the same thing during the winter, but for now, during this beautiful summer season, I’m forever occupied.

Not only are there a lot of things to do in general, but there are a lot of inexpensive things to do here too. Here are just a few of the fun, frugal things I’ve been able to enjoy in Denver so far:

The Trails
Now that my injury is finally gone, I’m back to doing my favorite thing: running. And let me tell you the difference about running in Colorado vs. running in Georgia. It’s better. A lot better. There are beautiful parks everywhere and the paths are endless.Seriously, everything connects, and it’s the most wonderful thing. Since a lot of the paths are strictly for walking, running, or biking, I hardly ever have to cross the road. And if I do, even in the most corporate parts of the Denver Tech Center, cars will stop for me to cross the road. You don’t see that in Atlanta, folks. Just check out the endless Cherry Creek Trail that I get to explore every day on my morning runs.

Since I’m already on the topic of the endless paths, another wonderful thing both Matthew and I have greatly enjoyed is the biking. There is no questioning why Denver has been named one of the 10 most bike-friendly cities in America.
You can bike to work, to school, to your friend’s house, to a restaurant – everywhere. This past weekend, Matthew and I were able to bike from our home in the DTC on the Cherry Creek Trail (the same endless one I explore on my runs), along 470, down the South Platte River, through downtown, and back home.

It was a little over 60 miles of bikepaths on bikepaths on bikepaths with houses, fields, shops, and rivers to look at every pedal of the way. OH and during our ride, we happened upon some awesome REI workers who tuned up our bikes and gave us a bunch of cliff bars for free! It was an awesome surprise, and yeah, we’re probably going to become REI members – especially now that we’ll need more stuff for our outdoor adventures.

Cherry Creek Reservoir
So, right up the road from our home is this humongous reservoir with a beach, picnic tables, and bunch of biking and walking/running trails. Every weekend, we’ve seen so many boats, jet skis, and tubes out on the water, and we cannot wait to get out there ourselves! We’ve already gone on some nice walks, runs, and bike rides along the trails, and of course, we are always excited to see the prairie dogs at every turn.

The Happy Hours
While I do love my running and biking, I also really love my food and drinks. And Denver’s got it. The number of restaurants and bars within walking distance of our home is ridiculous. AND the happy hours are great. Just about every one of the awesome restaurants and bars around our place have a happy hour, and since there are so many, Matthew and I have decided that we will try one restaurant each week during their happy hour.

OH and ladies, on Thursday nights, many of the bars and restaurants in Denver give complimentary drinks after 9PM. Yeah, that means you get to drink as much alcohol as your liver can take – for free.

Bike Bar!
While this certainly wasn’t the cheapest activity we’ve done (about $18/person), it was definitely worth the experience. A couple weekends ago, we headed downtown with some of Matthew’s co-workers and their friends to bike obnoxiously through town on a trolley with bike pedals. The best thing about bike bars is that you can bring your own drinks so you can drink while biking and singing, tour downtown, explore all the bars, and get discounts at each one because you’re a part of the bike bar. & the best thing is that they are everywhere – not just in Denver – so I strongly recommend trying it out at least once in whatever cool city you find yourself in.
Here’s a great one in Denver that you can try: Pedal Hopper

City Park Jazz
This 20-year + tradition happens every Sunday during the summer: Hundreds of people (seriously, there are so many) come to listen to the live jazz performances hosted at the City Park bandstand. I definitely suggest bringing a picnic blanket, some drinks and some food, or you can check out the row of food trucks as well! Matthew and I met up with some people this past week and really had a great time listening to music, people-watching, and just chillin’ out. Next week is the last show of the summer though, so be sure to make it!

Since we’ve only been here for about a month, there are  still a bunch of frugal and free activities we are looking forward to doing in the Mile-High City like: more happy hours, chillin’ on the “beach” at the Cherry Creek Reservoir, checking out the U.S. Mint Tour, & all of the things on this Free Activities List.

Check back here for updates on our latest frugal & free activities in colorful Colorado!