Half Day in the Denver Foothills: Lookout Mountain, Evergreen, and Red Rock Amphitheater

This half day trip was my favorite experience on my Colorado journey. I really wanted to experience the nature scene of Colorado and this trip seemed like the easiest way to do it. With views of the Rockies, a feud over a corpse, a quiant 1880’s hotel now turned coffee shop, a frozen over lake, dinosaurs, and the Red Rock amphitheater, this trip allowed me to encounter just some of the God given beauty Colorado had to offer.

The was a 4 hour tour by Aspire Tours CO. It was very comfortable and convenient. We were taken from Union Station and traveled through these destinations and back. There were only four of us which made for an intimate and personalized experience but the vans can fit up to twelve.

Lookout Mountain and Buffalo Bill Cody Museum

The view at Lookout Mountain was absolutely breath taking. Straight ahead are the Rockies, from this point you can also overlook the Great Plains, Denver, and Colorado Springs. As a Californian, the fact that it was all covered in snow made it even more magical.

Lookout Mountain also contains the Buffalo Bill Cody museum and grave site. Buffalo Bill Cody was a Wild West Entertainer who traveled the country. I was surprised to learn that he had not only held vaudeville shows in my current town, San Diego, but also in my hometown of Riverside! Yes, he went everywhere and was one of the most famous men in his time. He also helped found Cody, Wyoming.

In his will, he asked to be buried here, at Lookout Mountain. This began a controversy as those from Cody, Wyoming felt like his body belonged there. Wyoming went as far as to offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who could bring the corpse to their town. To prevent theft, the bronze casket was enclosed in a second casket, sealed in iron and concrete, with tons of concrete were poured on top of it, and Colorado National Guard was stationed to keep watch over the grave!

Small herds of Buffalo, in which Cody took his nickname, can still be seen alongside Denver’s hillside.

Evergreen

This quaint mountain town was one of my favorite stops. The coffee shop, Muddy Buck, is a historic building which was once the Evergreen Hotel in the late 1800’s. They built around the rock of the mountain and included it into its architecture, transformed the hotel counter to a bar, and still use the same bathroom pull to flush system. It was a very charming and calm place, I could have spent all day in there.

Outside the coffee shop are more remnants of the hotel. For example, this beautiful staircase and a hallway of what use to be guest rooms (as seen in the video).

Head West down Bear Creek Road and you will soon come by Evergreen Lake. Great for Kayaking in the Summer, the lake was completely frozen and snowed over (as seen in the video). It just looked like a field! But the nearby dam made for some great icy photos. I particularly enjoyed the ducks floating in the small unfrozen segment of the falling water.

Red Rock Amphitheater

Here, the Rockies meet the Great Plains. The Red Rocks color and structure reminded me of Zion, UT. It was especially beautiful against the white snow background.

Two, 300 ft monoliths, provide acoustics for this gorgeous area. Before it was transformed into an amphitheater it was used by Native Americans for its natural acoustics as well.

The Red Rock Amphitheater is most notable for its Summer concerts and has hosted famous names such as the Beatles. During its off season it is covered in snow and open for tours.

Also located among these Red Rocks is Dinosaur Ridge, where dinosaur tracks and three types of dinosaurs (including one of my favorites, the stegosaurus!) were first discovered.

My only regret on this tour was that I didn’t have a full day trip to explore more. It was great value and easy access to some of the amazing places Colorado has to offer.

Colorado Trip FAQ: Budget and Recommendations

STAY:   

            We stayed at a quiet Airbnb in aurora for $20 a night! It was just a room, but we had the floor to ourselves which felt very private. Aurora was just a half hour or a bus ride from Denver and RiNo.

TRAVEL:

               To get around we used the $6 bus day pass and the RDT app.

               Flights were booked from Frontier and were only $40 a ticket.

OTHER: