Downtown Denver

Most people wouldn't consider a day in downtown Denver a hike. Unless of course you turn it into one. Growing up in Denver I have seen many things the city has to offer and know a few places of interest. One of my favorite places to visit is Civic Center Park and the surrounding area. I am a fan of architecture and pretty buildings and Downtown Denver is a great place to see what beauties mankind has to offer. Kevin and I figured this would be a fun change of pace for the kids as they don't live in a big city, let alone one with such old and grand buildings.

Sunday the 14th of November we left the hotel around 9 am and went to Civic Center Park. If you can find and stay on Colfax Avenue you will eventually hit the square in the middle of Denver. I suggest going on a Sunday or Holiday as all parking meters are exempt on these days; the down side being most buildings are closed and there are no tours! We parked in front of the Colorado Congressional Building, which had many of its displays up for the Parade of Lights. We spent a few minutes running up and down the stairs and trying to see if we could find all the holiday decorations. Then we crossed the street and went into the park. There isnt a playground here so don't expect one but there are still many places to explore and play. The summer is when the park is at its grandest, with big square lawns of green grass bordered by beds of flowers. Even in fall however it is still a place full of architecture and grandure. As we headed into the park we took the path to our right that lead to an ampitheatre. The kids loved running down the staris and through the back enterances and hallways.

As we headed out the front of the ampitheater we head striaght across the lawns to the left hand side of the park where there was an empty fountain. The kids again dove right in and started playing on the statues of seals and cherubs. then we headed up to the capitol building.  We didnt get to go inside but we did explore around the building and the steps. In the square are plenty of statues and memorials and you could spend a day winding in and out of streets never knowing what kind of historic places you will find embedded among the newer bigger buildings of the city.

We even walked up the Capitol Steeps and saw the two mile-high markers on the steps!

The most exciting part of the downtown hike was finding an unlocked empty building. On our way back to the car we decided to check if we could get into any of the buildings and look around. Most buildings were locked, however we found one, It was originally the Colorado Museum, the intended purpose still etched deep into the marble above the entryway. Now its function was something less exciting I think having something to do with the Legistlave process, but dont fully recall. Anyway it was an extradionary building with marble floors and glod stair cases. Open echoing hallways and large soild wooden and brass doors. We spent a while going up and down the stair cases and looking out windows. Then took the elevator down to the basement area where we found a way out through a tunnel.