Colorado: the home of the Rocky Mountains is calling

The mountains helped shape the customs and cultures of the Ute tribe, they’ve offered a new life to daring gold rush pioneers, and today they call to people looking to live their lives in the outdoors. 

Staring up at the moonlight mountains from my hotel balcony in the foothills, the stars seem brighter here as The Big Dipper hangs over the tallest, snow capped peak in front of me. It’s time to start my Colorado adventure.

Colorado’s wild west past was full of the riches of mining and a sense of lawlessness which attracted throngs of eccentric characters. 

None more colourful than Spencer Penrose of Colorado Springs who founded The Broadmoor. Nowadays it’s a five-star, AAA five diamond resort, but it was founded in less glamorous origins. 

In 1918, when Penrose was denied a drink in a nearby hotel and in a monumental act of stubbornness, he supposedly rode a horse through the hotel lobby and announced that he would build the finest hotel that Colorado had ever seen so that he’d never be denied a drink again.

Over a hundred years later, I’m walking through the halls of his creation and the phrase ‘classic luxury’ springs to mind. Every touchpoint is plush and ornate, it feels like a place to come to and not leave, rather than using it as a base to explore the area.

Meandering around the resort, I make it to the outdoor infinity pool at the base of the mountains. Sunbathers relax along its edge, sipping on cocktails and soaking up one of the 300 days of sunshine that Colorado is famous for. 

I can’t say no to the water slides though and slip and splash my way down with the Rockies surrounding me.

With 11 places to eat and drink in the hotel, there are more than enough places to choose from during my short stay. 

As I enter the buzzing Ristorante del Lago I notice the hallway lined with photos of famous guests throughout the years including James Brown, George W. Bush, and Kenny Loggins. After a couple of spicy margaritas, salmon with a crispy pesto crust, and a great night’s sleep, it’s time to set off for Denver.

Even though it’s 165 years old, Denver feels like a new city. Waves of migration from across the US have flowed into ‘Cowtown’, most recently from the Midwest, which combined with the newly revitalised downtown area, makes the city feel like it’s blossoming.

Spearheading this buzz is undoubtedly the foodie scene. Although it mightn’t have the glamorous culinary allure of LA or New York at the moment, there are 26 restaurants recognised by the Michelin Guide with new contenders popping up all the time — not bad for a city of 713,000 people. From the family style plates at The Kitchen, owned by Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal, to the stylish, modern Italian dishes at the lively Tavernetta, Denver is quickly putting itself on the culinary map.

My pick of the bunch has to be Linger in the Highland neighbourhood. Back in 1917, Buffalo Bill’s remains were brought here when the building was a morgue run by the O’Linger family, but nowadays Linger focuses on street food from across the world. These dishes are perfect for sharing and I tuck into lemongrass and pork potstickers, hot honey waffle fries and Devils on Horsebacks, which are dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon. Incredible.

Colorado’s craft beer scene is no slouch either with more than 400 breweries in the state and 150 in the Denver area. Every bar and brewery seems to have its own take on lagers, IPA, and everything in between, but I hear stories of a unique stout over at Wynkoop Brewing Company in the downtown area. Pulling up a stool at the wooden bar, I order their special pint.

First advertised as an April Fool’s joke, the gag gathered steam and the brewery ended up making a Rocky Mountain oyster beer — that’s a beer with bull testicles to you and me. I’m not sure what to expect as I raise the glass for my first sip. It’s surprisingly light for a stout, and has the usual earthy and chocolate flavours, despite my best efforts to find a hint of Rocky Mountain oysters in my pint, I’m also quite glad that it just tastes like a regular, tasty stout.

As much as Denver feels like a city that’s looking to the future, there’s also a strong sense of pride in its wild west past. So much so that the champion bull of the National Western Stock Show is still paraded around the lobby of the swanky Brown Palace Hotel every year.

To get as much of an understanding of Denver’s past as possible in just a few hours, I head to the ultra-modern Denver Art Museum where eye-poppingly colourful landscape pieces by Native American artists hang beside deeply dramatic depictions of battles from a settler’s point of view.

Keen to pick up my own piece of Denver history, I step inside Rockmount Ranch Wear on Wazee St, where the shirt makers invented the now classic snap buttons to prevent bull riders from ripping their shirts apart when they inevitably got bucked by the bull. The rails are lined with classic styles and pieces with some creative embroidery. Expect to pay upwards of $100 or more for a shirt from this iconic Western shop.

After two days in downtown Denver, I have a craving for kitsch Americana. Heading south towards Pikes Peak, I find myself in the outrageously quirky Manitou Springs. There’s not a single McDonald’s or Starbucks in sight here, in fact, there are no chain businesses at all. Instead, each shop along the main street is a niche and independently owned shops like Red Dog Coffee, Marshall’s Curiosity Shop and Mushroom Monday Gifts.

Pikes Peak was named after the unlucky explorer Zebulon Pike who roamed this part of the US during the time of the Lewis and Clark expeditions, but he never made it to the top. There are efforts at the moment to revert to the Native American names for mountains, in this case, Tavá Kaa-vi — Sun Mountain, as the peak is the first thing the sun sees every morning.

Manitou Springs sits at the bottom of the mountain, which is one of Colorado’s most well known 14ers, and has a 2,744 step staircase that runs up its side called the Manitou Incline. “It’s the most efficient way to have a heart attack in all of Colorado,” chips in a local as I stare up at it. 

It’s not the only way up the mountain though. The steep incline is also where you’ll find Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, started by the same Spencer Penrose of The Broadmoor, the unclassified road race still runs today where competitors race whatever car they want to the top. My mode of transport up the mountain however is a very happy medium between the two.

Stepping onto the recently renovated Pikes Peak Cog Railway, my ascent begins at a glacial pace. Grinding its way up the mountain, cog tooth by cog tooth, the train climbs from the balmy town to the chilly snowline, where snowdrifts stop us 2,000 feet from the top at an elevation of roughly 12,000ft. The views up here inspired the American classic song ‘America the Beautiful’. As I gaze out east from the mountain tops across the plains of Colorado and into Kansas and Oklahoma, I’d have to agree with the lyrics.

The proximity to nature and the wilderness is astounding in Colorado. A short drive from downtown Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park brings me to a series of cosy mountain towns with Estes Park being one of the most alluring. Not only is it home to The Stanley Hotel which inspired Stephen King to write The Shining, but it’s also the main access route to Longs Peak, Colorado’s deadliest mountain.

As I go deeper into the park, the roads narrow and forests of aspens and pines grow denser. It doesn’t take long to get off the beaten track and I’m reminded that we’ve crossed the buffer between civilisation and the wild. An 8km hike along Bear Cub Trail crams in so many diverse landscapes and scenes, from open plain meadows to snow whipped lookout points and narrow singletrack trails lined with wildflowers.

“You hear that?” I’m following Rico, a trail-tough guide through the park. “That’s the wind blowing through the meadow grass. It’s like a song.”

To me it feels more like a soundtrack, setting the scene to the wild and almost never ending wilderness of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado’s big four live here: Elk, moose, mule deer, bighorn sheep. I’m lucky enough to see three during my two hour ramble with the sheep managing to stay hidden from us.

Heading north from Denver to Boulder, I can’t help but see a new sort of goldrush. Much like the people in the 1800s, a new wave is moving to Colorado, particularly Boulder for a new life. Instead of gold, these people are here for the great outdoors and a better lifestyle.

The University of Colorado gives the town a youthful feel, but as I cycle up the Boulder Canyon Trail for over two and a half miles, I see people of all ages cooling off in Boulder Creek, bookworms lounging in hammocks, and rock climbers ambling up cliff faces beside me. 

After riding the trail loops, I pop out of the woods and onto the Boulder River Trail, which takes me back into town. This is the new Colorado, and it’s what makes it so special.

Denver, and the state of Colorado, is so diverse. During my few days in the area, I see so many chapters of its stories and feel the irrefutable pull of the mountains and the wild. 

The area has so many strings to its bow where days can be spent eating pancakes in a trendy city diner for breakfast and watching a sunset on top of a fabled mountain. Settling into my seat to fly back home, I’m amazed that the flight to this entirely different way of life is only going to take eight hours and that it took me so long to visit.

Escape Notes

Aer Lingus operates 4 weekly flights from Dublin Airport to Denver International Airport. Flying from Dublin to Denver took nine and a half hours, while the return flight was eight hours. 

Economy fares start from €299 each way and business class from €2,699 return including taxes and charges. To book visit aerlingus.com.

Stay at the modern Limelight Hotel in Downtown Denver and enjoy the very spacious rooms that overlook Union Station. Its location makes it a great base to visit the city’s bars and restaurants. Rooms cost an average of $350 a night.

For more information on planning your trip to Denver and Colorado visit colorado.com.

Colorado’s Green Chilli:

A local delicacy made with Pueblo green chilies, this sauce is the pride of Colorado. 

This favourite combines pork, tomato and flour to the roasted chilli and is then used to smother burritos, burgers, omelettes, and just about anything else that can be covered in sauce.

Some say it's better in the south of Colorado, but downtown’s La Loma is one of the best in Denver.

Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs:

In the early 1900s, Colorado was a haven for people with respiratory problems thanks to its clean mountain air and spring water.

Emma Crawford contracted TB and moved to Manitou Springs, hoping it would help her and it did for a while. 

Her final wish was to be buried on Red Mountain, above the town. Years passed and heavy rains came, unearthing her coffin and washing it back into town for all to see. 

Now, every year in October, people come to town to race soapbox derby style coffins down the street in fancy dress in her memory.