March 28, 2024

Breathless in Denver

Posted on June 2, 2015 by in Travel

by Andrea Gross; photos by Irv Green

I was told Denver would take my breath away. First there’s the surprise. Denver is flat. Most visitors envision exiting the airport and finding themselves surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Nope. Denver is the gateway to the Rockies; it’s not in the Rockies. You’ll have to drive a half hour or more before you’ll need your hiking boots.

Mountains are visible from most points in Denver, but the actual city is flat.

Mountains are visible from most points in Denver, but the actual city is flat.

Then, there’s the altitude. The thirteenth step of the state capitol, the gold-domed centerpiece of downtown Denver, is exactly one mile above sea level. This is a height that leaves most folks giddy from the clear, mountain air, but a few become woozy from lack of oxygen. Hint: take a deep breath, guzzle water and eat carbs, which require less oxygen for digestion.

Finally, there’s the delight. Though you’ll undoubtedly want to see the mountain heights, there’s charm aplenty down in the flats — a topnotch art museum, zoo, botanic garden, theater district… The list goes on.

But there are also some lesser-known attractions that you can’t find everyplace else. Here’s a rundown of breathtaking experiences in the city proper:

Fitness Mecca — Denverites take the outdoors seriously, probably because with more than 300 days of sunshine per year, it’s a seriously beautiful city. To act local, take a morning bike ride on some of the 850-miles of paved trails that criss-cross and encircle the city.

No bike? No problem. Denver’s B-cycle program is the first large-scale bike-sharing plan in the country. Eight dollars buys a day’s access to one of the city’s 800-plus red bikes, which are available at more than 80 stations throughout the city. (https://denver.bcycle.com and www.traillink.com)

Denver has three major league stadiums: Coors Field for baseball, Sports Authority Field at Mile High for football and Pepsi Center for basketball and hockey.

Denver has three major league stadiums: Coors Field for baseball, Sports Authority Field at Mile High for football and Pepsi Center for basketball and hockey.

20th Century Design Pop — The Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art is home to some of the best Arts & Crafts, Bauhaus, Art Deco, Modern and Pop art in the country. Among the more than 3,500 objects are chairs by Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Rennie Mackintosh; hundreds of pieces of 20th-century ceramics, tableware, glassware and metal ware; and even an iconic Electrolux vacuum cleaner.

Much of the art is displayed in galleries that resemble a homey living room. The result is an exceptionally unusual, informative and classy museum. (www.kirklandmuseum.org)

Modern Talk — Imagine listening to two experts discuss such disparate topics as “Machiavelli & Fresh Meat Sausage” or

The Museum of Contemporary Art offers programs that are as quirky as they are interesting.

The Museum of Contemporary Art offers programs that are as quirky as they are interesting.

“Minimalism & Giant Wombats.” This is what happens during the Museum of Contemporary Art’s series titled “Re-Mixed Taste: Tag Team Lectures on Unrelated Topics.” Each guru has 20 minutes to make his point, after which the audience jumps in to ask questions in an attempt to force the seemingly unrelated to relate. Bizarre? Occasionally. Fascinating? Always.(http://mcadenver.org/mixedtaste2014.php)

Star Status — Denver is one of only twelve U.S. metro areas that’s represented by teams of all four major professional sports leagues. It’s a rare week when there’s not a game in play. But unlike the other eleven cities, Denver boasts something extra. They have rarefied mountain air that makes balls soar further, pucks glide faster, and beer — for which the city is also famous — taste better.

Wild at Heart — So, you want to see some bison, the celebrated symbol of the Wild West? The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is just minutes off the interstate that joins Denver International Airport and the downtown area.

At more than 15,000 acres, the refuge is one of the largest urban open spaces in the country and home to more than 330 species of birds and animals. Here you can see not only bison and deer but also red-tailed hawk and bald eagle.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut the refuge has been used for more than animals. During and after World War II the land was the site of one of the country’s largest chemical weapons manufacturing facilities. That story, as well as the one about the extensive cleanup that followed, is told in a somber, not-to-be-missed exhibit in the refuge’s visitor center. (www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal)

Pinnacle Climb — As the largest city for nearly 800 miles in every direction, Denver has major malls as well as trendy boutiques. But the most unique place to drop your dollars is at Recreational Equipment, Inc., better known as REI.

At 94,000 square feet, Denver’s flagship store is 3½ times larger than the average REI, which means that in addition to a mind-boggling array of outdoorsy clothes and equipment, it is one of only a few stores that has a track on which you can test your mountain bike and a 47-foot-tall, free-standing monolith replete with hand-cracks, finger-cracks, back-cracks and more. Here, for a price, you can practice scaling a sandstone boulder like those on Colorado’s Front Range — and you won’t even need the sunscreen.

Folks can practice their climbing skills on a 47-foot-tall indoor boulder.

Folks can practice their climbing skills on a 47-foot-tall indoor boulder.

Like so many things in Denver, it really is enough to take your breath away. (http://www.rei.com/stores/denver.html)

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