Fizz’s Top 5 Day Trips From Denver

I love living in Denver. But occasionally, the urge to escape the endless highway construction and $7 iced lattes becomes overwhelming. As a Colorado native and a guy who talks for a living, people frequently ask me for weekend getaway advice.

Here is my personal ranking of the top five day trips from Denver, designed for anyone who loves our Rocky Mountains.

No. 1: Estes Park This is the crown jewel of the Front Range. I drive up to Estes Park for two specific reasons: to buy exorbitant amounts of saltwater taffy and to be bullied by local wildlife. It is the only place on earth where an 800-pound elk will casually stroll through a crosswalk, make direct eye contact and dare me to honk. It’s my favorite mountain town.

No. 2: Idaho Springs Let’s be honest with each other. Very few locals actually plan a day trip to Idaho Springs. It is the official surrender point of Interstate 70. I usually leave Denver at 7 a.m. with big dreams of hiking near Vail. By the time I hit the Floyd Hill traffic bottleneck, my ambition evaporates. I pull off the highway, eat a 5-pound Beau Jo’s pizza crust dipped in honey, and tell myself that looking at an historic mining water wheel is just as rewarding as alpine trekking.

No. 3: Boulder Just a quick 45-minute drive up 36 takes me to a parallel universe where gluten is considered a felony and everyone’s dog has a therapist. I love visiting Boulder when I need a healthy dose of humility. There is nothing quite like wheezing my way up the Mount Sanitas trail, only to be aggressively passed by a 75-year-old man running uphill in barefoot sandals while listening to a podcast about kombucha fermentation.

No. 4: Mount Blue Sky If I haven’t felt a spike of pure, unadulterated panic lately, I drive the 14-mile paved road to the summit of this 14,000-foot peak. It is a guardrail-free ribbon of asphalt that forces you to confront your own mortality with every hairpin turn. I highly recommend taking your significant other on this drive. If you can navigate a sheer 2,000-foot drop-off without screaming at each other about braking technique, your relationship is legally bulletproof.

No. 5: Golden Golden is literally right next door, which means I spend less time in traffic and more time engaging in Colorado’s favorite summer pastime: TUBING. Nothing says “weekend relaxation” quite like renting a $15 inner tube and hurling my body down Clear Creek. It is a waterway comprised entirely of jagged rocks and snowmelt that was solid ice roughly 40 minutes prior. Floating past the Coors brewery with a bruised tailbone and zero feeling in my extremities is a rite of passage I refuse to skip.