[blatz]

I'm headed to Denver in mid May, and need some advice.  Will be there for around 5 days, definitely staying in Denver for 2 days (girlfriend has a conference) but was curious if we should stay for the remainder in Denver or venture out to Boulder, Longmont, Vail etc for the other days?

priorities would be good restaurants and hiking - will make it a point to hit good breweries no matter where we stay - Avery, O'Dells and maybe Lefthand are on the wish list.

suggestions/thoughts welcome

[hopfenundmalz]

Don't overlook Ft. Collins. We really liked that town. O'dells and Equinox were really good, New Belgium is said to have a good tour, but you need to see if you can sign up now! Restaurants were good there too. Zwei brewing is said to be doing really good German styles, I have not been.

Boulder was fun. We were more between the Pearl Street mall and campus. Went hiking up to the Flatirons one afternoon. Plenty of trails around there. Good eats in Boulder too.

In Denver we always end up at Falling Rock. If we want some decent German beers we go to Prost. There was a guy who was on the forum some that is an owner/Brewer at Station 26.

You could go to Leadville and see Sean Terrill, and check out the progress on 2MBC. Crazy Mountain just off of 70 not far from Vail was petty good. They have a place in Denver now if you don't go up there.

[BrewingRover]

+1 to Falling Rock in Denver and Pearl Street in Boulder.

We had a nice lunch at West Flanders Brewing in Boulder last month. The name made me think it would be all farmhouse ales, but it's standard American fare with a couple of Belgians. Very nicely done.

[a10t2]

If you do come up this way I'd suggest staying in Summit Co. (Frisco/Dillon/Silverthorne/Breckenridge) rather than Vail. More varied (and generally less expensive) lodging and dining options, six breweries plus another eight or so within half an hour, and you can summit two of the less technical 14ers (Grays and Torreys) in one day. If you stop in Boulder on the way to or from Denver it makes for a nice day with some beautiful mountain driving.

[Iliff Ave]

There are so many good places around. I would decide which areas you would prefer to hit then we can provide better direction. If you are headed up to the mountains, I would go to summit county as suggested especially due to its proximity to Denver.

[blatz]

hmm... we got recommendations from friends to stay in Larimer county and hike in Estes and/or Rocky Mountain national park.

looks kind of far from where you guys are recommending though.  will have to research more.

[hopfenundmalz]

hmm... we got recommendations from friends to stay in Larimer county and hike in Estes and/or Rocky Mountain national park.

looks kind of far from where you guys are recommending though.  will have to research more.

remember you will be going from sea level to 5000+ ft. In RMNP there are some paths up in the alpine tundra that are 12000+. This flat lander was feeling it.

[pinnah]

First off, I'll say I am glad for you. Nice to hear the reason you are coming.
Second, these front rangers have you covered...all that northern stuff is pretty close really...Longmont, Fort Collins, Boulder. What is an hour drive out west...a short commute...

Third, RMNP and Estes might be nice for set up hiking and touristy venues, although mid May might preclude the alpine....or bring your gaiters!

Enjoy the research.

[jeffy]

We stayed in Estes Park a few years back, at the Stanley, which is the hotel that inspired "The Shining".  Not a lot to do there other than RMNP.  The drive between Boulder and there is nice and like Pinna says, not a difficult drive.
I like Ft. Collins for the beer and the attitude.

[FlipMasterFlash]

Visited Denver and Ft. Collins last fall.  Really enjoyed Crooked Stave and Prost Brewing in Denver.  Old Major for their steaks/pork/charcuterie is worth mentioning.  Many other good places too but since I like sours and German styles those two stood out.  On the drive up to Ft. Collins we stopped at Avery which I enjoyed quite a bit, nice taproom with a large selection.  In Ft. Collins both O'dells and New Belgium are obvious stops, for a tap room I liked O'dells since they had a giant list of beers that were either taproom only or seemed to be for very limited distribution.

I'm not sure if it opened yet but the CSU Fermentation Science department is planning to open a brewery in the student center that serves beers.  Stopped at the student center with a CSU alum I was traveling with, first student center I've been too that had such a large beer selection (which included a sour).

Headed to Estes Park this summer to hike RMNP.  A friend said to stop at The Barrel which has 50+ craft taps and Smokin' Daves for some BBQ.

[Iliff Ave]

White Labs is opening a tasting room in Boulder like the one in San Diego. Not sure what the timeline is....

EDIT - looks like it opened in January. It's above Upslope brewery in North Boulder which makes quality beer in my opinion.

[reverseapachemaster]

There are so many good breweries from Denver to Fort Collins. Even the suburbs around Denver have some good breweries. You could easily pick a couple neighborhoods in Denver and find several good breweries. You can find pretty much everything in that I-25 corridor.

[Deaner]

Went there summer '14

Boulder brew co was awesome. Free tours, you can bring your beer from the bar with you, and they bring out a pitcher of each brew on tap at the end and let you drink your hearts desire for an hour.

Toured Coors also in Golden, CO.  That was tight. 2 free drinks at the end

[hopfenundmalz]

Two weeks ago we drove from Santa Fe to Denver, knew we would hit some snow, but not blizzard conditions. Had a meet up with a friend who just started a new job in Broomfield. 4-Noses was pretty good. Went to The Post, and had good beer and really good food, Louisville I think. Stopped into a couple places in Erie the next day, that is where his house is being built, and those were Good to.