What to do in Denver with kids? Both in and around Denver, there are many fun things to do with kids. Denver is the capital of Colorado, but it is not a super big city and therefore, in our opinion, fun to visit with kids. In the Denver area, you can also visit fun destinations! Like Boulder, for example. Boulder is hipper than Denver and has more nature and you can eat good food there too. You can also visit the Netherlands from Denver, but of course we were also in this area because of the Rocky Mountains National Park. The Rocky Mountains themselves extend far into Canada, of course, but the park is well worth a visit if you’re near Denver with kids.
Best travel time Denver with kids
You can visit Denver with kids year-round, but it can get quite cold in Denver in the winter. That includes the necessary snowfall. This need not be a bad thing since you are visiting a city, but we still recommend preferring a time of year from spring through early fall (April through October).
During this time you can also go swimming in Denver and enjoy more of the playgrounds and life outside with the family.
Transportation in and to Denver
Denver is located in the central United States in the state of Colorado. You can fly to Denver just fine, and at the Denver airport you can possibly rent a car to explore the Denver area. You can rent a car at the Denver airport through Sunny Cars. Sunny Cars has an all-inclusive principle, which means you don’t need to purchase any more car insurance on the spot, and often the excess is included in the price as well. For more information on renting a car at the Denver airport, take a look here.
Children’s activities Denver
#1 Netherlands
First of all, we drove through the Netherlands. If you don’t have to go through this because of the route, we would skip it, because there is really very little about the background of the Netherlands here. Here used to be a village operated by the Dutch. The mine was high and the land below it was low.
Hence, it was also joked that the village below it should be called “Holland. So it happened. In Holland itself there is a nice (not too big) playground “Chipeta park” where you can make a nice stop to let the kids play for a while. Of course, you can take a picture at the Holland sign. That one is on the road to Boulder.
#2 Denver
You can have a great time in the city of Denver with kids for a few days. You have several children’s activities you can do in the city and we put below several tips you can do in the city with the family.
Ellitch Garden: this is an amusement park that includes a water park. If you are visiting Denver with some older kids, this is definitely recommended. Plans have been in place to close and relocate the park in the coming years. So check before you visit Denver to see if this amusement and water park is still open.
Children’s museum of Denver:. the Childrens museum has both a large indoor and outdoor section, so you are always sure to have fun with the family. There are Interactive exhibits, arts and crafts activities, indoor and outdoor playgrounds, and you can definitely have a whole day here.
There is also room at the Children’s Museum of Denver to invent, craft, carpenter and saw things for yourself. This activity is best suited for families with kids ages 0-11.
State Capitol Building: we went to this in Denver. You might initially think that this is not necessarily an activity you would do with kids. But it reveals so much about the history and culture of America that if your kids are a little bit interested in that, I would definitely go.
Paid parking is easy around the State Capitol Building. Note that when you go inside you have to go through a security check (so don’t put potato peelers in your bag like we did, haha). Even though security is super friendly and they confiscate it, write it down and you can pick it up later, it’s still not very convenient.
The building is known for its golden dome covered with 57 kg, 24-carat gold. That alone captures the imagination of kids, doesn’t it? The building, of course, houses the Colorado state legislature. So you can see various courtrooms and the room of governor (if you want you can knock on his door like that. No kidding, don’t do that of course).
The interior features marble staircases, elegant columns and historic murals that are really interesting to discuss with older kids. Portraits of all the presidents also hang there. We were here with a 4 year old, 7 year old and 10 year old. The oldest found it very fun and interesting. The 7-year-old to some extent and the 4-year-old had really seen it very quickly. We spent a total of 40-45 minutes inside. It is a public building and therefore free to visit.
Baseball Game: in the late afternoon we went to a baseball game at Coors field stadium. Here, the Philadelphia Phillies played against the Colorado Rockies. If you have the opportunity to book a ticket and want to experience something truly American I would definitely go.
The games are super family-friendly and, unlike other major sporting events, not too expensive for the whole family either. The stadium has playgrounds and, of course, a hot dog during the game is part of the package. Expect the competition to take some time. In our case, as much as 3 hours, because an extension was required.
The mascot regularly runs around and a ball is also thrown into the audience with great regularity, so catch it! Much to the kids’ delight, the Rockies won, because yes, we had to indicate who we were for when we bought the tickets. There is a flag parade beforehand, a whole replay including flashing lights and music when there is a goal, the national anthem is sung beforehand and they take this very seriously (hand on heart).
In addition, baseball is an important sport for Americans. In any case, we found it super fun and can recommend it to everyone.
Farmers Market: Denver has many places to store, but the most fun are the local farmers markets aka the Farmers Market. Ask when you are there which ones are when. In fact, this can vary quite a bit. In any case, there is a regular Saturday market in Denver.
Other children’s activities Denver: Denver also has botanical gardens, a zoo and a museum of nature and science. The latter has a whole section that is about dinosaurs (for all dino lovers). In short, you certainly won’t get bored easily in Denver, and with so many indoor activities, it doesn’t really matter what the weather is either. This is nice to alternate if there is less good weather around your visit to the Rocky mountains (see below).
#3 Boulder
A short hour’s drive from Denver lies Boulder. We stayed here for a few days because it has a very different vibe than the city of Denver. Residents in Boulder are incredibly athletic and love healthy food. Because of this, we found it a nice place to stay. In addition, it is quieter here than Denver and there are many biking and hiking trails. The place itself is also very clean and not too crowded. Estimate for yourself if this is also something for you or if you find it too much of a round trip.
In Boulder, you’ll find the Boulder Creek Path. Here you can enjoy biking, hiking, playing in the water or just relaxing along the shore. Downtown itself is Pearl Street Mall. This is not an indoor mall as you might think, but a car-free zone. In the summer, trains run here where kids can ride along, there is a carousel and lots of fun stores.
Because the area is car-free, we found it ideal to walk here. If you go to Boulder visit Into The Wind especially. A very nice store with hundreds of kites, fun toys and games.
We were in Boulder during Memorial day. This is celebrated extensively here with a 5k run, booths around the creek, children’s games and bouncy castles. In our case, F16 and F35s came over the stadium after singing the national anthem and paratroopers came down. So if you happen to be here around Memorial Day, check out the schedule of various places. Boulder may well be a very good place to celebrate.
#4 Rocky Mountains National Park
Of course, we were also in this area because of the Rocky Mountains (the national park). Keep in mind that there are 2 sides to this national park and it can be quite cold in spring and fall. For Memorial day (this is always late May/early June), the through road between the 2 sides of the national park is not open and you will have to detour for more than an hour to get to the other side of the national park.
We went to the Kawunechee Visitors Center and did some hiking and driving around by car from there. If you have to detour, we recommend visiting the other side only (i.e., on the Boulder and Denver side). Ask at the visitors center for the Junior Ranger Program for the kids.
This is where the kids can earn a badge. Super fun to save these in the various national parks in the United States as souvenirs. To do so, they must fill out a booklet and often follow a ranger program. This can be an explanation from a ranger, as well as watching the film of the national park.
Our kids always enjoy watching the movie and usually choose this. This way, you also have a quiet start to the day and, in the meantime, you as a parent can possibly take a look at the map or inquire about what hike(s) you might want to do. At the visitor center, they keep track on a white board of what wildlife was seen and where it was seen.
This is convenient because if you like to see wildlife, you can take a picture of this and watch yourself if you can spot any wildlife in the same area. In addition, of course, you must pay close attention to cars parked along the road. That’s often a wildfire. A traffic jam caused by crossing wildlife.
What we noticed is that you hike at quite a high altitude, which really made the kids tired faster than average. So keep this in mind as well when planning a hike. In addition, in our case (late May) there was still quite a bit of snow on some of the hikes. That also makes hiking more difficult.
Bring bear spray because you may encounter bears on your hike. We did not see bears here, but we did see moose. These can also be quite cranky when they have little ones, we’ve heard. So mostly stay away from them and admire them from a distance. We hiked the Colorado River Trailhead and this hike is truly beautiful!
We drove past Holzwart Historic Site where you can find something back to life here in the past and saw elk on the stretch between Holzwart Historic Site and the visitors center (from the car, that is). At the East Inlet Trailhead is a beautiful waterfall. Note that this is therefore quite a climb and the kids can be out of breath quickly.
On the other side, Glacier Basin is very beautiful. Around the Rocky Mountains there are plenty of wilderness camping spots or campsites. If you stay in a hotel, this is also great to drive to. An hour from Boulder or 1.5 hours from Denver.
Family-friendly restaurant Boulder
You can eat just fine in Denver with kids. You have plenty of family-friendly restaurants to eat at in this great city. In addition, of course, you have all the well-known fast food restaurants in Denver. Below we put another recommendation, where we ourselves had a nice meal with the family.
Santo in Boulder really comes highly recommended. What delicious food they have here! Skip dessert and cross the street to Sweet Cow’s. Here they have incredible flavors of delicious ice cream. And the fun part? You get to taste before choosing your flavor/flavors. It might be helpful to tell your kids in advance that they can taste up to 3 times, as our kids did want to keep tasting before buying.
You can visit Santo for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Santo is a Mexican restaurant, but in a trendy way.
Family-friendly hotel Denver
You can stay in the Denver area with kids just fine. You have plenty of family-friendly accommodations in Denver that you can book. We have listed the best rated accommodations in Denver for different price ranges. Click on the blue link for more information about the particular property.
Budget accommodation: Best Western Premier Denver East
Mid-range accommodations: Hyatt Place Denver Downtown
Luxury Accommodation: The Rally Hotel at McGregor Square
For a list of all family-friendly accommodations in Denver, take a look here.
About the author: this blog is written for Ilse Stelma on IG to follow under traveling_stelmafamily. Ilse has been to 34 countries and she loves to travel with her family. In addition, they love nature, (wild) camping, occasional luxury and places not yet frequented by many tourists.
