Denver Offers a Summer of Adventure

New Website Provides More Than 130 Adventure Ideas in the Mile High City and Nearby Mountains

DENVER, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Denver is a city of adventure, and now it is possible to plan more than 130 personal adventures in the Mile High City on a new website developed by VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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The new site, www.visitdenver.com/adventure, lets visitors mix and match activities to create a variety of action packed itineraries that meet their individual tastes.  Because Denver's backyard playground is the scenic Rocky Mountains, the city actually offers two vacations in one. It's possible to spend your morning whitewater rafting, and your afternoon browsing art galleries. See a herd of wild buffalo, then taste buffalo at an outdoor cafe. Trek on hiking trails through the Rocky Mountains by day, then cheer on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field or the Colorado Rapids by night.    

The summer of 2011 is an especially good time to "get your adventure on" in Denver, thanks to a number of special events offering everything from Blackbeard to Billy the Kid.  For information on more than 130 Denver vacation adventures, along with special hotel rates, discounts and deals for attractions, and to build your personalized itinerary, visit: www.visitdenver.com/adventure.

Some sample itineraries for your Denver vacation:

MORNINGS IN THE NEARBY MOUNTAINS

With 300 days of annual sunshine, any Denver morning is the perfect time to grab a cup of coffee and make the short drive to the mountains for some easy day trip adventures. Options include:

• Drive up the highest paved road in North America to the 14,260-foot summit of Mount Evans, seeing Rocky Mountain goats along the way (the 14-mile summit road begins at beautiful Echo Lake, one hour from Denver; at the top, the breathtaking view from the summit takes in much of Colorado).
• Ride a narrow gauge steam locomotive over a 100-foot high trestle on one of the great engineering feats of the West, the Georgetown Loop, then shop for antiques in this cute Victorian village (40 minutes west of Denver).
• Feel the rush of white water rapids as you hurtle down the black rock walls of Clear Creek Canyon in a raft (35 minutes west of Denver).
• Admire the view of the plains and the snowcapped Rockies from the gravesite of the West's most famous scout, Buffalo Bill Cody.  Then see a herd of buffalo in a panoramic mountain setting (25 minutes from Denver).
• Watch wildlife including elk, moose and big horn sheep in Rocky Mountain National Park, then hike around beautiful Bear Lake with sheer, rugged, snowcapped peaks in all directions (1 hour and 15 minutes from Denver).

AFTERNOONS & EVENINGS IN THE MILE HIGH CITY

Back in the city, adventures and fun await on every corner, including:

• Learn about the true swashbucklers of the sea at "Real Pirates," some 200 artifacts from a sunken pirate ship at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
• Cruise to the Denver Zoo on a B-cycle, the nation's first large-scale bike sharing program, and along the 850-miles of off-street, paved bike trails.  
• Scream your head off on a roller coaster at Elitch Gardens Theme Park, then head to the adjoining Water Park for a wet and wild thrill ride.  
• Get your hands dirty in the "Mud Studio" or goof around on the "Clayground" at Denver Art Museum's celebration of all things clay, Marvelous Mud.
• Stare eyeball-to-eyeball with a Sumatran tiger, then dive into the tanks with giant groupers, moray eels, guitar fish and sea turtles at the Downtown Aquarium.
• Sharpen your repelling and rock climbing skills at REI's indoor climbing wall, and shop at the store where Lewis & Clark would have loved to outfit, complete with 100,000 square feet of hiking, climbing, paddling, pedaling and skiing equipment.
• Bid on the original tintype of Billy the Kid and thousands of other Old West memorabilia on sale at Brian Lebel's Old West Show & Auction (June 24-26).
• Snap up a Denver original, a Rockmount snap button Western shirt – as worn by Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and even Elvis – then wear your new duds to dance the night away in the 90 surrounding bars and clubs.
• Taste one of 100 craft beers made in Denver every day, then cheer on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
• Attend a concert under the stars at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a "bucket list" concert venue that has hosted everyone from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen (20 minutes from downtown).

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating more than 100 years of promoting the Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $2.8 billion in annual spending in 2009, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs. Learn more about Denver at VISITDENVER.com, on Twitter @VisitDenver and Facebook.com/VisitDenver, or by phone at 800 2 DENVER.

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:
Rich Grant – (303) 571-9450 or [email protected]
Deborah Park – (303) 571-9451 or [email protected]
Katie Adamson – (303) 571-9418 or [email protected]

SOURCE VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau