How To See Colorado in 24 Hours on a Budget - Denver, Boulder, and Red Rocks
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Recently my friend and I went on a quick trip to Colorado to see a concert at the amazing Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of my top bucket list items! If you ever have the chance, you have to see a concert here at least once in your life. It is an experience that you must feel/see/hear for yourself. Why not, let’s just add smell and touch just to have all five senses! Since I was making this trip all the way here for a concert, I of course wanted to make the most of it and see as much as I could. I know my itinerary below is very bare bones and that there is so much more to do in these locations, but based on my time and budget constraints I had the best time. I want to show that even if you don’t have a lot of time, it’s still worth getting out there. Here is how I spent my 24 hours in Colorado.
Summary
Day 1 – Flight, car rental, hotel
Day 2 – Denver, Boulder, Red Rocks Amphitheater
Day 3 – Red Rocks in the Morning, Flight home
How Much I Spent
Day 1
Flight from JFK to DEN
We flew from JFK airport in New York to DEN airport in Denver. We took a late flight, so my evening was spent picking up the car rental, getting In-N-Out, and right away passing out at the hotel.
Quick Additional Notes About This Evening:
I went with Ace Rent a Car at the airport, they were excellent. They were fast, helpful, and very personable.
Stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Lakewood, CO. It was nice, exactly what you would expect with a Marriott. I went within between Denver and Red Rocks for convenience and price. It’s a lot cheaper to stay outside of Denver than in the city. I didn’t mind driving everywhere and I enjoyed feeling like I saw a lot of Colorado, even if it was from the highway.
In-N-Out… not a fan of it when I was in California. (I know very unpopular opinion. I’m a Shake Shack girl.) I really liked it in Colorado, maybe it was the altitude. If you’re someone like me, give it a try here.
Day 2
Denver
We started the day late in the morning and headed into downtown Denver after a quick coffee run. Like I said before, I did stay outside of Denver, but the drive into downtown was only about 20 minutes. I easily found parking in a lot on the corner of Market St and Speer Blvd and walked over to Larimer Square. There is also a lot on the other side with access from Larimer St. Larimer Street between 14th and 15th street has been converted currently to a pedestrian only street and is beautifully decorated with Colorado’s flag and lights streamed across the street. There are plenty of places to eat and hang out here.
Afterwards, we decided to give ourselves the quickest walking tour of the city and just walk in a straight line until we felt like turning around. Downtown Denver really reminded me of downtown Chicago. We made it all the way down Larimer Street to 19th St and checked out Sakura Square.
We spent about an hour total here before deciding that we wanted to spontaneously run up to Boulder. There is a lot more to see in Denver, and very helpfully, this map was provided right next to Larimer Square.
Boulder
After a quick stop in Westminster, CO to visit a friend, we made our way to Boulder. The drive up was beautiful as we saw more and more mountains in the distance. We gave ourselves our own little driving tour with no plan, allowing ourselves to end up wherever. Boulder is the cutest city ever and I will make it a point to go back one day. Before leaving we found Boulder Canyon Drive and decided to follow it up for a while since it went straight into the Rocky Mountains, and I knew there were going to be some views. It was absolutely stunning and got better and better with every turn. We drove all the way up to Nederland, CO before turning around since we had to get back for the concert.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
We made our way back to the hotel in Lakewood, the drive was about 45 mins, but it felt like nothing at all. From the hotel Red Rocks was only 18 minutes away, another big reason why I chose this area. It wasn’t too bad to drive in, but this was an hour into the concert, we wanted to skip the first openers. I had no problem parking at all. The walk however felt like a hike before the concert! I found parking on the corner of Red Rocks Park Road and Trading Post Road, then walked up Trading Post Road until we reached the staircase. To enter the amphitheater, you have to walk up those stairs until to get to the people checking tickets, then you are inside. There are other sides to enter from but this one was closest to where I parked.
Note: Quick note for anyone not from a high altitude area. Flash back to picking up the car rental, I was small talking with the person helping me. He warned us that due to the altitude, one beer may feel like you’ve done a whole bunch of shots of liquor. This is definitely true. Completely forgetting about that conversation in the moment, I had two tall cans of white claw and they absolutely destroyed me. Had the most fun ever though! Just keep this in mind and stay safe.
Day 3
Morning at Red Rocks
Our flight home was leaving at 2:00 pm so I had the morning to get some last minute wandering in. After picking up some breakfast at Starbucks, I know I know I could have gone somewhere more interesting, but I needed my coffee, we made our way back to Red Rocks. The entire area is so gorgeous and picturesque. I’m so glad I got the chance to see it both in the day and night.
It was a quiet Wednesday morning, so we easily found parking in the parking lot at the top of West Alameda Parkway. If you follow the path from the Top Circle Lot, you will find yourself at the top of the amphitheater. This is where the visitor center is along with what looked like food stalls, but they were not open when I was there. The entrance to the main area is also located here. The entire seating area is open to wander through during the day. Many people were here working out along with sitting and enjoying the sun. You can see for miles from the top. This was the last stop of our trip. If you decide to do the same on the day you are leaving, the drive to the airport was only around 45 minutes. Once inside the airport vicinity there are many gas stations you can stop at before reaching the rental car area. If you also decide to go with Ace Rent a Car, the drop off was the easiest I’ve ever had and the shuttle to the terminals came quickly.
How Much I Spent
Flight – $393.60
This is the price of two roundtrip tickets.
Car Rental – $84.69
Hotwire deal where I didn’t know the company until after booking was complete.
Hotel – $175.06
Parking – $12.00
This was the parking lot in downtown Denver.
Gas – $34.48
Only had to fill up the car once!
Food – Around $48.16
This includes food, drinks at red rocks, and airport food purchases.
Fun – $120.00
Two concert tickets.
Total – $867.99 ($434.00 per person)
$747.99 (374.00) if you do not include the concert tickets!
Not terrible amount for an extremely fun short trip!
As I mentioned above, my trip was very bare bones and was centered around the concert we attended. I still had a blast, and I am very happy with what we got to see. I will remember those few days for the rest of my life rather than if I just stayed at home. 24 hours may seem like not a lot of time, but you can do so much. No matter how long you have, get out there and explore, have fun, and make all of the memories!
Hi, I’m Karen!Travel Blogger & Photographer + Founder of The Everyday Adventure
Here I share travel tips, packing guides, planning help, and photography from many different parts of the world. I help other working 9-5 adventurers get out into the world and see as much as they can with the little time they have available.
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