All Things Gophers at Colorado Road Trip Thread

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Clark W. Griswold

Clark W. Griswold

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Anyone have any tips for where to stay in Boulder or Denver for the game? We've never been to either city.
 


Clark W. Griswold said:
Anyone have any tips for where to stay in Boulder or Denver for the game? We've never been to either city.
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One of my kids went to CU Boulder, so my wife and I would try to go to at least one football game each fall. Recommend you look at hotels in Broomfield, Louisville, Westminster, Lafayette, and Longmont. Am trying to convince my brother to join me in Boulder for the game. On game day, it was a blast to see the students run Ralphie (the Buffalo) on the field before each half. I believe the university has stopped that tradition, which is too bad.
 

I'm thinking about this game too. It seems that with COVID "under control" they would open all seats for the game. Anyone heard anything to that effect?
 

We will be spending two plus weeks in RMNP camping and taking in the game with two other couples who live in the area. As in the past we plan on getting our tix thru UMN ticket office prob after they announce it usually early July.
 


I live here and graduated from CU - but still all Gophers.

The hotels are a bit more limited in Boulder and probably expensive for game weekends. Boulder is nice to check out for the day but not sure about the whole weekend.

Are you renting a car?

Also, do you want more of a city experience (Denver is absolutely amazing) or a college town experience?

I'd probably suggest staying in Denver and making a day trip to Boulder for the game. You can check out a lot in a full day there. Boulder is a very unique town too - definitely one of the nicer "college towns" you'd go to.

Let me know what your interests are outside of the game and I can make some strong suggestions. Also, how many nights?
 

Clark W. Griswold said:
Anyone have any tips for where to stay in Boulder or Denver for the game? We've never been to either city.
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Depends on your budget. There are places you can stay in Boulder and walk to the game.
 

WriterGoph said:
I live here and graduated from CU - but still all Gophers.

The hotels are a bit more limited in Boulder and probably expensive for game weekends. Boulder is nice to check out for the day but not sure about the whole weekend.

Are you renting a car?

Also, do you want more of a city experience (Denver is absolutely amazing) or a college town experience?

I'd probably suggest staying in Denver and making a day trip to Boulder for the game. You can check out a lot in a full day there. Boulder is a very unique town too - definitely one of the nicer "college towns" you'd go to.

Let me know what your interests are outside of the game and I can make some strong suggestions. Also, how many nights?
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What!? Denver over Boulder?! Boulder is awesome...hiking trails everywhere, tubing down the creek, rock climbing, biking, Pearl St. Mall, the best restaurants, etc. Denver is boring compared to Minneapolis however the bar scene in Boulder is more boring than Denver but hanging for the day Boulder I exponentially better. I've lived in both places and Boulder hands down the best. Personally, I'll be walking to the game.
 

CoMn said:
What!? Denver over Boulder?! Boulder is awesome...hiking trails everywhere, tubing down the creek, rock climbing, biking, Pearl St. Mall, the best restaurants, etc. Denver is boring compared to Minneapolis however the bar scene in Boulder is more boring than Denver but hanging for the day Boulder I exponentially better. I've lived in both places and Boulder hands down the best. Personally, I'll be walking to the game.
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To each their own. I live in Golden now. But the food scene is astronomically better in Denver. The bars in Boulder suuuuuck. I lived there for 5 years and it's nothing like it was in the late 90s. I also lived in Minneapolis for 5 years and in Denver for 20.

Yeah, if you wanna be outside and hike, Boulder rules. But that is why I asked what the OPs interests are better. If walking to the game is someone's main goal in life, then you're missing out on a lot.

Minneapolis wishes it was Denver 365 days of the year. I was born in Minneapolis and spend weeks there every year. Denver has more sunshine than San Diego. Denver has some AMAZING restaurants and food halls. Denver is basically the hottest city in the country to move to.

Anyway, when you ask people questions you are able to gauge their interests. Unless you know the OP, how do you know he wants to hike or rock climb? Some people may want to spend a day in Boulder - which is 1000% all you need if you're efficient - and also check out one of the best cities in America while they're at it. I, personally, would rather give someone specific recommendations as opposed to assuming because you love Boulder, you assume everyone else wants to walk around and have trustafarians try to sell you "kind nugs".

You sound like someone who has been in the Boulder bubble for a long time. I'm glad you're enjoying it. But there is a lot more to our state than Boulder and it's million-dollar home prices.
 



WriterGoph said:
I live here and graduated from CU - but still all Gophers.

The hotels are a bit more limited in Boulder and probably expensive for game weekends. Boulder is nice to check out for the day but not sure about the whole weekend.

Are you renting a car?

Also, do you want more of a city experience (Denver is absolutely amazing) or a college town experience?

I'd probably suggest staying in Denver and making a day trip to Boulder for the game. You can check out a lot in a full day there. Boulder is a very unique town too - definitely one of the nicer "college towns" you'd go to.

Let me know what your interests are outside of the game and I can make some strong suggestions. Also, how many nights?
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It will be a short trip and the game is going to be the focus for us. We will only have one other day for sight seeing. Haven't decided on a car yet. We ended up getting a hotel in Boulder.
 



Clark W. Griswold said:
It will be a short trip and the game is going to be the focus for us. We will only have one other day for sight seeing. Haven't decided on a car yet. We ended up getting a hotel in Boulder.
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Cool, yeah if you're just going in and out, enjoy Boulder. Wasn't sure if you were making it a long weekend. If you want some restaurant or other recommendations, let me know.
 



WriterGoph said:
Cool, yeah if you're just going in and out, enjoy Boulder. Wasn't sure if you were making it a long weekend. If you want some restaurant or other recommendations, let me know.
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Yes, please share recco's...thanks.

Go Gophers!!
 

Going to one away game this year and it's Iowa City. Now I'm feeling like a fool and an idiot.
 

Lived in Louisville for 2.5 years (right outside Boulder) and in Denver for 4. If you want a casual gameday experience, stay closer than Denver just to make travel easier. But Boulder is not that cool. Life here is crowded, and that includes not just the streets but the major trails like Chatauqua. If you go midweek - great, but it's not a cool weekend experience. Could always dip over to start at NCAR but most out-of-towners want the Chatauqua type view.

If outdoors is not your focus, stay in Denver for sure. I don't know why 16th is even mentioned. Find a better neighborhood like LoHi, Rino, Tennyson, or Cherry Creek. Each is different depending on what you want but all are miles ahead of Boulder.

A good split is Louisville. You can hit their downtown stretch - a 3 block grouping of bars, restaurants, and knick-knack shops and such.

Those are my thoughts anyway.
 

BleedGopher said:
Flights and hotels booked for Boulder! I can't wait!!

I was at the Gopher game at Colorado State a few years back and had a blast. I've been all over Colorado but never to Boulder, and I can't wait to see the town.

Go Gophers!!
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I was at the CSU game as well. Planning on making the drive to Boulder from Billings if I can snag some tickets.
 

BleedGopher said:
Flights and hotels booked for Boulder! I can't wait!!

I was at the Gopher game at Colorado State a few years back and had a blast. I've been all over Colorado but never to Boulder, and I can't wait to see the town.

Go Gophers!!
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Same here, that game/experience in Fort Collins was awesome.

I've been to Boulder a couple times, and snuck into Folsom Field to look around a few years ago. Really looking forward to this one.

My gal and I are doing 1 night in Denver and staying Friday/Saturday in Broomfield.
 

BleedGopher said:
Yes, please share recco's...thanks.

Go Gophers!!
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If you're going to stay in Boulder, I'd recommend trying to stay near Pearl Street (very nice pedestrian mall with a lot of shops and restaurants and always interesting people-watching). The Hotel Boulderado is right off Pearl and the St. Julien (if you want to ball out and money is no object is the best hotel in Boulder). Most of the other hotels in Boulder are kind of spread around the town and you won't be super close to as many walkable things.

The one exception is there are a grouping of chain hotels near 28th and Canyon, which is pretty walkable to Folsom Field:

-- The Millenium Harvest House (an older hotel), but definitely the closest to the stadium) is there. Borders a strip mall with a grocery store and some restaurants.
-- Then there is a Marriott Residence Inn, Embassy Suites and Hilton Residence Inn that are all much newer and close to a lot of restaurants and a huge outdoor mall called 29th Street. You'll have a lot of restaurants within walking distance of here too, but it's definitely a bit busier (not on a pedestrian mall). These hotels are on 28th, which is the main road in and out of Boulder, so it's quite busy.

Restaurant-wise (just gonna throw some stuff out off top of my head):

Breakfast -

The Buff is always good, but busy. But is close to the second grouping of hotels I mentioned above. Been around for at least 20+ years.

The Village Coffee Shop is an old school greasy spoon near Folsom and Arapahoe. Solid food, but nothing fancy. Also no booze. Think Al's Diner in Dinkytown.

Lucille's Creole is near Pearl Street and is a legendary New Orleans style breakfast/brunch spot. HUGE favorite of mine, but the food is heavy for sure.

Foolish Craig's is also very good and on Pearl.

Lunch and Dinner:

BJ's is on 28th and (while a local CO chain) has some great beers and solid food. Also a lot of TVs for other games.

The Lazy Dog (not 100% if still open) is/was a major sports bar on Pearl Street. Good for some game-watching and pre-game action.

The Rio Grande has a great rooftop and the strongest margs you will find (the Mexican food is average though), but a good place for some drinks and hanging.

The West End Tavern is a bar with really nice food. Great rooftop for hanging. Also on Pearl Street.

Riff's (also on Pearl) is very good new American fare. A little pricier.

The Kitchen (on Pearl) is also very good farm-to-table food.

For Italian, Pasta Jay's is the classic spot, but I wouldn't say it's anything special. Also on Pearl, just been there forever.

Frasca Food and Wine is one of the best restaurants in the country. Much much nicer Italian. You will need a reservation a ways out and be prepared to drop at least a couple hundo for a pair.

Bartaco (also on Pearl) has good tacos, a great patio and nice drinks.

If you want great seafood and a fancy meal, Jax Fish House on Pearl has been crushing it for decades. Also prob need a reservation.

Sushi - Hapa is on Pearl and has a lot of fun specialty rolls, definitely more of a scene with music and good happy hour deals. Blofish, Tasuki or Japango may have better quality fish and are a bit more traditional Japanese sushi.

Finally, if you want really good Indian food, Sherpa House is quite amazing (also close to Pearl).

BARS:

The bar scene in Boulder has died down quite a bit in the last decades, but plenty of places to grab drinks on Pearl Street. Not a ton that are great college football pre-game spots. There is a bar with some great cocktails under the Hotel Boulderado, but the name is escaping me.

For the best pre-game spots, you might want to wander up to The Hill (which borders campus). Much more of a college scene. The Sink (where Robert Redford used to work in college) has been open for 50 years and is definitely a popular pre-game spot if you can get in. Easy walk across campus from there. I'm honestly not sure what other bars are called or are open on the Hill anymore, but there are definitely bound to be some spots and lots of people walking around before the game.

If you want to "tailgate", you can usually park on campus and then wander to Farrand Field or the open lawn near Coors Events Center and people will be set up pre-gaming and drinking and throwing the football around. There is a private tailgate lot just east of the stadium, but people have permits for those spots. So you might wander and find some friendly folks to stop and hang, but I don't believe they have alcohol or food for sale to the general public on that field.

***This is the best I can do off the top of my head, but let me know if you have more specific questions. I'd definitely suggest saving some time to walk through the campus a bit before the game. It's a very picturesque campus with beautiful buildings and the coeds are equally as impressive.***

Hopefully this helps a bit!
 


Staying at the newly refurbished Milennium Harvest. Just a few minutes walk from the stadium and $90 a night reserved now. No penalty cancel.
 

highwayman said:
Staying at the newly refurbished Milennium Harvest. Just a few minutes walk from the stadium and $90 a night reserved now. No penalty cancel.
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Nice. I forgot they refurbished it. Definitely closest to the stadium. You'll just have to walk a bit (or grab a Lyft) to get to the better restaurants and bars from there, but that's no biggie.
 


Anyone staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park? Watch the Gophers REDRUM the Buffs!
 


GopherRock said:
Is Silver Mine Subs still a thing?
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They got in trouble for tax evasion at some locations but the one in Boulder may still be there. You can probably do better on the Hill though or at Snarf's
 

46Gophers said:
Anyone staying at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park? Watch the Gophers REDRUM the Buffs!
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We r at the KOA in Estes Park. Excited to be in Boulder for the game. Did the Colorado State trip and had a blast there.
 

WriterGoph said:
To each their own. I live in Golden now. But the food scene is astronomically better in Denver. The bars in Boulder suuuuuck. I lived there for 5 years and it's nothing like it was in the late 90s. I also lived in Minneapolis for 5 years and in Denver for 20.

Yeah, if you wanna be outside and hike, Boulder rules. But that is why I asked what the OPs interests are better. If walking to the game is someone's main goal in life, then you're missing out on a lot.

Minneapolis wishes it was Denver 365 days of the year. I was born in Minneapolis and spend weeks there every year. Denver has more sunshine than San Diego. Denver has some AMAZING restaurants and food halls. Denver is basically the hottest city in the country to move to.

Anyway, when you ask people questions you are able to gauge their interests. Unless you know the OP, how do you know he wants to hike or rock climb? Some people may want to spend a day in Boulder - which is 1000% all you need if you're efficient - and also check out one of the best cities in America while they're at it. I, personally, would rather give someone specific recommendations as opposed to assuming because you love Boulder, you assume everyone else wants to walk around and have trustafarians try to sell you "kind nugs".

You sound like someone who has been in the Boulder bubble for a long time. I'm glad you're enjoying it. But there is a lot more to our state than Boulder and it's million-dollar home prices.
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I moved to Denver in 2008 after grad school at the U. I have lived in the core near City Park, and in the suburbs near Mt. Falcon. Moved away and then moved back I liked it so much. Wife's job pulled us away again but it would be one of my top few places to live if I had no constraints (Bend, Boulder, Bozeman, Durango are a few of the others). Such incredibly good weather. Always sunny, snow usually melts by the next day if not the afternoon, no humidity.

Both have good restaurants, but Denver is just so much bigger that is has more to offer.

My biggest problem with the future of Denver is the road situation in both the summer and the winter. We used to be able to leave Denver at 7AM and get to Breck/Winter Park for first chair. By the time we moved away in 2019, you had to be on the road no later than 5:30AM. And then leave by 2PM to avoid the rush home. Even summer started to have stop and go traffic on I-70 on Sunday evenings from people hiking. I don't know that a good long term solution is gonna happen as the population grows and more people get into outdoor rec.
 

eker0016 said:
I moved to Denver in 2008 after grad school at the U. I have lived in the core near City Park, and in the suburbs near Mt. Falcon. Moved away and then moved back I liked it so much. Wife's job pulled us away again but it would be one of my top few places to live if I had no constraints (Bend, Boulder, Bozeman, Durango are a few of the others). Such incredibly good weather. Always sunny, snow usually melts by the next day if not the afternoon, no humidity.

Both have good restaurants, but Denver is just so much bigger that is has more to offer.

My biggest problem with the future of Denver is the road situation in both the summer and the winter. We used to be able to leave Denver at 7AM and get to Breck/Winter Park for first chair. By the time we moved away in 2019, you had to be on the road no later than 5:30AM. And then leave by 2PM to avoid the rush home. Even summer started to have stop and go traffic on I-70 on Sunday evenings from people hiking. I don't know that a good long term solution is gonna happen as the population grows and more people get into outdoor rec.
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Agreed on the I-70 situation. Pretty much have to leave mid-afternoon on Fridays to beat the rush and definitely be aware of time on any Sunday drive back. It's pretty much why I stopped snowboarding unless I go rent a place or stay with a friend for the weekend.

The Light Rail situation is getting better all the time in Denver though. Bummer they haven't been able to build to Boulder yet.

I think now that the wife and I were lucky enough to land a house in Golden, I don't see us going anywhere soon - especially not with the way this housing market keeps going crazy. Although, if I could live in Steamboat Springs full time I'd seriously consider it.

From what I have seen from my friends, once you get past 25, Boulder is probably one of the worst places to live as a single guy. So many of the women are attached. If you're a couple or a family and have some loot, Boulder could be pretty ideal. Even most of the big hitters at my company (which has headquarters in Boulder) end up living in Superior or Louisville or Broomfield. Pretty much looking at close to a million-plus for any house worth a damn in Boulder proper.
 

Not to derail the thread...but my family is going to Colorado this summer and planning on going to Vail Wed. (from Denver) and coming back Saturday....
We gonna hit major traffic?
 

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