Colorado Travel Guide: Free and Cheap Things to Do

I’ve always loved the outside but have typically been much of a beach vacation type of person. For my birthday this past October, I wanted to step outside my comfort zone yet travel to a state I’ve always wanted to visit but never quite had the guts to go. My family and I had such an amazing time in Colorado for the four days we were there! The views were astonishing, food was delicious, and the people warmed my heart. I’ve encompassed all of my favorite activities, restaurants, hotels, and more in this Ultimate Colorado Travel Guide!

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Best Time to Visit: Visit during the Colorado ‘warm season". This will be from June up until mid October. Mind you in October it will definitely start off decently cold in the mornings. In addition to that, a lot of the parks will begin to close for the winter so I recommend coming between August and October.

Transportation: You will most definitely want to rent a car. Uber/Lyft are available but renting a car will give you much more flexibility with your time and will ultimately be cheaper.

Weather: The temperature typically varies but during the beginning of Colorado warm season, expect highs of 88°F and during the end of warm season expect the lows to be about 45°F.

Language: English

Currency: USD .

Hotels

Depending on your budget, you can find a bit of everything in Denver and Colorado Springs. 2-star hotels are about $40/night, 3-star $85/night, 4-star $100/night, and 5-star $200/night. I took advantage of my HiltonHonors program and stayed at strictly Hilton hotels which is something I don’t do often but I must say, for this being a relatively last minute trip. this was extremely convenient.

Here are some highly ranked Colorado hotels:

📍Denver

Hilton garden inn Denver downtown (3-star) $80/night

The Art Hotel Denver, Curio Collection by Hilton (4-star) $176/night

Grand Hyatt Denver (4-star) $90/night

The Westin Denver downtown (4-star) $100/night

The Source Hotel (4-star) $209/night

Sonesta Denver (3-star) $79/night

Holiday Inn Express Denver (3-star) $89/night

📍Colorado Springs

The Antlers, A Wyndham Hotel (4-star) $127/night

Hilton Garden Inn Colorado Springs (3-star) $84/night

Hampton Inn & Suites Colorado Springs (3-star) $89/night

Garden of the Gods Resort & Club (4-star) $180/night

Drury Inn & Suites Colorado Springs (3-star) $102/night

Restaurants/Bars

📍Colorado Springs

Billy Sim’s Bbq: Delicious bbq that you cannot pass up!

Bon Ton's Cafe: This is such an adorable homey cafe with amazing comfort food.

Urban Egg: I went here for my birthday and had an amazing brunch plus the mimosas go crazy!

Dos Santos: Very hipster and trendy spot with fusion Mexican menu items.

📍Denver

Alpha Charlie’s: I went here alone, watched some football, took in some fruity margaritas and had some delicious grub.

Satchel’s on 6th: I found this restaurant to be very cozy and with your go-to American cuisine.

Denver Biscuit Company: There are multiple locations throughout Denver so you definitely have to check one out because the breakfast food is everything!

Root Down: Phenomenal service with tasty and creative food.

Things To Do

Garden of the Gods: Absolutely FREE! I’m sure you’ve seen these formation of rocks on your instagram feed and boy do they look even more astounding in person.

Glen Eyrie Castle: Built in 1871, this is an English-styled castle in Colorado Springs. You can visit the castle for free and walk around and take great photos or pay fee of $12 for a castle tour or even join inside for tea time for $36/person.

Seven Falls: Located in Colorado Springs this is a fairly easy “hike” with amazing views of waterfalls. This is a privately-owned tourist attraction so expect to pay a little bit more (about $16/adult). There is a complimentary shuttle fee but if you don’t want to wait for about 10-20 minutes for the shuttle, I suggest arriving as soon as possible or closer to their closing.

Manitou Springs: Just a tad bit away from Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs is known for its mineral springs, local shops and restaurants, and gorgeous mountain landscapes. I for one enjoyed the creative art galleries and delicious dessert shops!

Red Rocks Amphitheatre: At no cost, you can visit the open-air theatre built within a rock structure on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado.

Pikes Peak Mountain: Located in Pike National Forest the scenic route to the top of Pikes Peak was truly amazing. Make sure you have a well working car and a driver who feels comfortable going around tight curves thousands of feet in the air. However, don’t let that scare you. There are many other options to get up to Pikes Peak such as their official train, and different tourism companies.

Overall

You can really have a great time in Colorado! I’m looking forward to the next time I can visit other areas in this state. This state is known for its outdoor activities so you definitely need to capitalize on all of the parks and mountains when you visit!

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