Suggestions for a short trip to Denver?

RMNP is a couple hours outside Denver, and I believe you need a timed entry permit, so plan ahead of you plan on heading that way. However, you can hike all around Red Rocks Park(as long as there's not a concert) on the west side on Denver... and they have a cool little museum of all the music acts which have played there by the restaurant on site. Also, I really like Deer Creek Canyon park, on the south west side of Denver, it's beautiful with a lot of hiking trails and wildlife.

I really like the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, it's right downtown with lots of neat stuff in walking distance. They have this neat section where you can watch archaeologists at work with artifacts and ask questions.

My favorite diner is nearby, Steuben's. It's got great food and a great vibe. For breakfast, try Four Friends Kitchen out in Stapleton (a Denver suburb). They do these incredible ramen-style grits, which is so much better than I can articulate. Bonus: if you go on a weekend morning, there's a huge farmers market across the street in the summer.

There's a newly-opened Meow Wolf which is an immersive art exhibit. It's very unique experience, but may not be for everyone.

Hi OP! There was a similar ask in May and I made a detailed comment about places to see and food to eat. Hopefully some of the info is of interest. https://tildes.net/~hobbies/15fx/anyone_here_in_or_familiar_with_denver_and_the_surrounding_area_going_on_a_trip_and_have_zero_idea#comment-7vkw

If you've got a couple hours to kill and even vaguely like sports, Coors Field is a great stadium with incredible views.

Seconding the other recommendation in here for Red Rocks Park.

I also had a short work trip to Denver, and went to Cuba Cuba Cafe for dinner one night, and I loved it. We sat outside in what felt like somebody's front lawn. Excellent food and cocktails.

Wings Over the Rockies isn't bad; it's pretty cool, but don't expect to spend the entire day there, as while it's in a hanger, it's limited as far as things go. I take my kids there semi-frequently when we're bored.

I haven't been since the Pandemic, but the Forney Museum of Transportation is an underappreciated gem, especially if you're in to cars, trains or motorcycles. They have a vast collection to check out.

The Golden Train Museum is cool for similar reasons and I ended-up spending a lot of time there in the middle of the Pandemic, as everything is pretty much outside. It's a little bit like taking a mild hike, if you're into that and you can climb up and go inside many of the trains.

Tiny Town is awesome, especially if you have kids or like miniatures. It seems further away than it is, but it's about a 25 minute drive or so from Denver and worth an afternoon.

Georgetown is a historic mountain town with restored buildings; it's lovely to walk around and they also have a "Cog Railway" that goes up the side of the mountain. There's a local restaurant called The Happy Cooker that's kind of an institution. I've been going there since I was a kid.

Nearby, there's Cherry Creek State Park, which is a nice walk, as well as has lots of biking. There's also the Family Shooting center located on the south side; never been, but I believe you may be able to rent a gun and do some shooting, if that's your thing. Cherry Creek is damn near in the middle of the city, right on the south end.

In the North end of Denver, you have the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where you can drive through and see a bunch of wildlife; I've not been myself, but I'm fairly certain we have Buffalo there, as well as many other wild animals.

There's also The Cherry Creek Trail which is something like 100-miles long and runs from like Boulder in the West to Cherry Creek State Park and possibly even further, but I'm not sure. Might be worth it to rent some bikes and use the trail, which will also get you into the State Park for free.

As for food, shopping, etc, you have the Stanley Marketplace which has a wide variety of food and shops, a brewery, ice cream. It's a good way to get out of the heat.

You also have Mango House which is like a little mall full of tiny ethnic food and shops. The area can be a little sketchy, but it's worth a visit for the sheer variety of foods from around the world.

One of my favorites for Ethiopian food is Megenagna, service can be slow, but it's a cute little restaurant and grocery store and the food is great. I highly recommend the beef tibs; I can't recall the name off the top of my head, but they are so spicy, but absolutely amazing. Their housemade Mitmita seasoning is worth picking up and taking home.

There's Katsu Ramen if you're in to Ramen. It's not my favorite ramen place, but it's pretty good and my wife absolutely loves it.

I believe owned by the same family (who live in my hood) is Sushi Katsu. Again, not the most amazing sushi you'll ever eat, but $30 for all you can eat sushi and it's a deal I'll take every time.

One place I've been meaning to go the for the longest time, but just haven't gotten there yet is Cafe Paprika. I've heard it's fantastic, but always forget about it on the rare occasion my wife and I get to go out to eat.

Also in the same strip mall is Seoul Mandoo for Korean dumplings. Very good, huge and come with all kinds of different stuffings.

If you're in to beer, one of my favorites in the area is Spice Trade; their beer is not amazing, but it's passable. More important is their fantastic patio, a place I could just sit all night and drink if I didn't have children to get home to. Their food is surprisingly good too, probably better than their beer.

On the other end of the beer game, you have Copper Kettle, who have really great beer. Unfortunately, their patio is middling at best, but the interior is pretty nice; no food, but they do often have food trucks. You can usually call and ask if they've got one and what it is.

Yak & Yeti is a cool place and there's 3 in the state, if I remember right, but I've pointed you to the one closest to me. They brew their own beer, which is decent and they make some pretty damned good Indian food if you're into it.

If you're in to catching some live music, there's almost always something at two of my favorite venues. The Gothic and The Bluebird and there are often free or cheap concerts at the outdoor venue The Levitt Pavilion

Anyway, that's what I've got for now. I've lived in Colorado all my 39 years and all over, from the Boulder area where I grew up, to living in downtown Denver as a young man to now living on the outskirts of Denver in eastern Aurora as an adult with a family, which is what I tended to focus on here. I feel like this area tends to be a little less explored, so I wanted to bring some attention to it. Hope you enjoy your stay!

Edit: I see I formatted all my links wrong. I'll have to go through and fix them, time permitting.

Edit Edit: I think everything is fixed, let me know if a link is incorrect and I'll fix it.

OP, this information might interest you.

Golden

Golden is a city and former gold rush town at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado. Clear Creek Trail is a network of paths running along a waterway. It passes Clear Creek White Water Park, a kayaking course. The Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum has exhibits on earth science and mining history. Northeast is the Colorado Railroad Museum, with vintage trains and an 1800s-style railroad depot.

Try Rodizio https://www.rodiziogrill.com/denver/ which we found to be quite nice.

Not for everyone, but if you get to Boulder try this tea tour
https://celestialseasonings.com/pages/tea-tour. The mint room is almost overwhelming.

Wings over the Rockies has some neat planes, although my only experience there was for my junior prom in high school. If you're into transportation more broadly, the Forney Museum of Transportation is just north of downtown and has an excellent collection.

Aside from the main Denver Art Museum, there are both the Clyfford Still Museum and the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art within a block of DAM. I enjoyed the more industrial design focus of Kirkland when I went.

If you're going to be in town during the first Friday of the month, the arts district on Santa Fe (a mile or so west of the DAM) hosts First Fridays where all the galleries open up, many of the restaurants in the area do specials, and it's just a nice vibe, especially this time of year.

For food, one place I have to recommend is this absolutely excellent Creole place called Lucile's on Alameda and Logan that makes just incredible breakfast and brunch food. Their house bloody Marys are to die for, and they even make their jams in house.

I hope you and your SO enjoy your time here in Denver!

I was just out there a couple weeks ago and planned to return to RMNP via Estes Park, but their national parks page notes that the park entrances and the city itself are underground major construction and to expect delays.

We opted for going up Mt Evans instead, and it was (kinda literally due to altitude) breathtaking. $17 gets you a three day pass for all of the park sites, which are beautiful. But the star of the show is a trip on the highest paved road in the continental US from about 7,000 feet up to over 14,000 over the course of a couple of hours. We saw marmots, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. We saw Denver and Pikes Peak. When it was about 99° in Boulder, it was in the 60s at the summit, which was a big seller for my cold-loving self. The views are unreal.

Just be aware that the drive looks a bit scary, and the short hike from the summit parking area to the actual summit is more strenuous than it looks sure to the altitude (though I'm a little out of shape, and there were cyclists riding up the entire altitude change, so YMMV).

Hogshead brewery - They have like 7 beer engines and specialize in British style cask beer. They also have regular beer too which is really goodaswell. It's over by Sloans lake.

Santiagos - Get a half and half breakfast burrito. Various locations around town.

Take the G line from Union station to Old Town Arvada. It's a walkable area with lots of bars, restaurants, and shops.

The Denver Art Museum and if you feel childlike, Casa Bonita. Keep in mind that CB is for the show, not the food. After your meal just wander around the place. If you like Eritrean/Ethiopian food, there's a surprising number of restaurants between Denver and Aurora.

The highlights of my recent trip were an immersive art exhibit called Meow Wolf and a beer themed spa (including open bar) aptly called The Beer Spa.

I know this is not very helpful, but when I went to answer this question, I realized I can't.

I was born there. I grew up there. But after leaving over 10 years ago, I know it is nowhere near the place I left.

I went back last year and found it to be so completely different from the place I grew up in, it really struck me that it is no longer my home.

I'm going to have to watch this thread to see some of the places I should visit next time since I'm the tourist now.