Kid-Friendly Travel

The Mile High city is a wonderful family vacation destination. Loaded with historical offerings from dinosaurs to wild west, modern fun theme parks and museums, and breathtaking mountain views, Denver will keep you busy for days!

We couldn't fit it all in and we stayed downtown for 10 days. I'll have to admit, some places we visited more than once. ;)

Here's a quick overview of our favorite of Denver's many offerings:

16th Street Mall: A tree-lined shopping and dining bonanza with trolleys and horse-drawn carriages.

Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs: Unique wild-game hotdog experience with kosher beef for the rest of us. Get it with cream cheese... yum!

Children's Museum of Denver: We went here every day, practically. Huge hit with the preschoolers and toddlers!

Denver Museum of Nature and Science: Science museum with dinosaur fossils, planetarium, and super-fun Discovery Zone.

Denver Zoo: Very kid-friendly zoo, located next to the Museum of Nature and Science and across from a very nice park.

Dinosaur Ridge: A must for the dinosaur fan! Actual footprints and fossils to explore.

Downtown Aquarium Denver: Complete water cycle experience. Watch out for the waterfall...

Lariat Loop: Beautiful way to get out into the mountains for the day.

Red Rocks Ampitheater and Park: Must-see on the Lariat Loop, or a destination all its own.

Six Flags, Denver: Located near the Children's Museum. Who doesn't love a theme park?

Tattered Cover Bookstore: Historic independent bookstore with an eclectic kid's section. My toddler loved it, even without a train table.

We keep adding more, so check back often. Better yet, add your favorites to the comments section!

Copyright Stephany Wiestling 2006-2008. All rights reserved. www.kid-friendlytravel.blogspot.com

If you have a budding archaeologist, or even if you don't, Dinosaur Ridge is a definite must-see.


The first thing I noticed was how small the actual dinosaur footprint fossils were. (That's my 3-yr-old's foot... infant size 6!) From the movies, I'd expect much bigger feet. As I commented aloud, a 9-year-old dinosaur professor informed me which prints belonged to each dinosaur. I was really impressed... then I saw the chart around the corner mapping it all out. However, he learned something there that he was proud to share. And that's what traveling is all about.


I learned that rattlesnakes are more active in hot weather.

Thankfully, we were not the first ones to play in the dig pit, so (as I also learned) rattlesnakes would rather not be where kids are playing. We did not do the extended walking tour, but I imagine you'd want to watch your step there as well. Locals think of them like Minnesotans think of bees, an expected summertime pest. But, at least you know to avoid them.



This dig pit was so fun! My little guy could have stayed in here for hours! All around there's tons of educational information on attractive, colorful charts and signs. Between the walking tour, the self-guided tour of the grounds, and the gift shop with tons of dino-phenilia, there's really something for all ages here.

It's also part of the Lariat Loop and very close to Red Rocks, if you're charting your trip.


Here's a direct link to discover even more:
Discover Denver's Dinosaurs at Dinosaur Ridge - An outdoor museum in Morrison, Colorado

We stopped here on part of our mountain drive. The easiest way to get here is to go through the town of Morrison. Bring picnic supplies to have lunch up in Red Rocks, or eat at one of the restaurants in town.

I was surprised how smooth and roundy (is that a word? oh well) these HUGE stones were. It's something I'd expect by a seashore, but this area is practically desert in the summer. Way down at the bottom you can see the handrail for walking up to the stadium. The whole thing is a ramp, so you could easily bring a stroller up.

We're big aquarium fans and try to visit one in each city. This one had some really unique features. I'll say that I was surprised, however, that they didn't honor any discounts; not other aquarium/zoo memberships or even AAA. Oh well. I definately think it's worth the admission price, regardless.



I'll just skim, so I don't ruin it for you if you go.


When you first go in, there's the lake fish and otters. Be sure to look up or you'll miss the catfish swimming overhead. There's also a place to pan for minerals, which looked fun. Around the corner, that roaring you hear isn't the giant dinosaur skeleton, it's thunder. Hug the wall to your right as you round the next turn or you just may get wet from a powerful gushing waterfall!



The biggest surprise was the Sumatran tiger exhibit. They're on their own island surrounded by plexiglass. Sturdy stuff, I hope. Those guys looked hungry. I overheard an employee telling someone who asked about the fish in the tiger pond say, "Tigers don't eat fish. They eat meat. And the caretakers always use meals as a reward to get the tigers to behave. That way, the vets don't have to sedate them during checkups." That's probably good for the tigers, but still. I'm glad I'm not a tiger vet! Very cool rainforest exhibit!!

The theme goes from lakes and rivers to rainforests and eventually on to tidepools and oceans.
There are lots of places for kids to poke their heads into a 'bubble' and get a 'fish-eye-view' of the place. The shark area is pretty cool, with treasure chests and a place to look through the floor.

If you like aquariums, this one is really good. Take your time here, there's a lot to see!










Check out their website for more info:
Downtown Aquarium Denver

Our reciprocal museum membership back home got us in free here, so we went 3 days in a row. The first two days I had to drag Toddler out kicking and screaming. "Wait! I want to see something else!" he wailed at the top of his lungs. Luckily, he wasn't the only child to do this upon exiting. As you can guess, kids really like this place! The third day, I gave him more warning. I said, "OK, it's time to go. What would you like to do again before we go?" After going through the rabbit hole again, he walked out calmly and bubbling about how much fun he had.