Fort Collins/Greeley/Loveland area:
Loveland Museum/Gallery - the local art/history museum. Looks pretty nice.
Greeley Stampede - large rodeo in Greeley (runs the whole week leading up to July 4th). Gets some big Country/Western musical acts too!
Nokhu Crags - impressive rock formation west of Ft Collins
Pawnee Buttes/Pawnee National Grassland - National park - mainly grasslands, but has some very impressive formations - east of Ft Collins. Very deserted, and even has some fossil formations
Horsetooth - a 7300 foot high local landmark surrounded by a park with some decent hiking trails, streams, waterfalls, forests, and other natural beauties.
Poudre Canyon - supposedly good hiking
Boulder:
Celestial Seasonings - Free tour and tasting at the plant in Boulder
National Center for Atmospheric Research - has free tours at noon everyday.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics - apparently has a fascinating tours (must be reserved in advance) - can see satellites, rockets, clean rooms, and their mission control. At UC Boulder.
Fiske Planetarium Offers space shows and has exhibits. On Friday at 9 PM, can look through the telescopes of the Sommers-Bausch Observatory. Both are at UC Boulder.
University Colorado Museum On UC Boulder campus - has exhibits on Fossils (including Dinasaurs), Native American Cultures of the SW, and local fauna/flora
Boulder Creek Trail - 7 mile long path that is part of city park system, and has some great vista's.
Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park:
Mills Lake Trail
The Emerald Lake Trail at Rocky Mountain National Park: well recommended by Frommers and other guide books. At end of Bear Lake Road. 2 mile hike with great views.
Lots of great scenic drives, hiking, tramways, etc.
Golden:
National Earthquake Information Center - offers free tour (need to reserve in advance).
Colorado School of Mines - Has a geology museum that looks like it has some interesting exhibits
Coors Brewery - offers tours of their famed brewery.
Denver:
Six Flags Elitch Gardens Has rollercoasters, Tower of Doom, other rides.
State Capitol Building - free tours from 9 AM to 3:30 PM
Colorado History Museum - exhibitions on the history and people of Colorado.
US Mint at Denver free tours - but they book weeks in advance...
Larimer Square - an Historic Shopping District in downtown Denver
Mizel MuseumJewish museum with exhibitions on Jewish culture. Closed weekends and Jewish holidays - looks kind of hit & miss depending on the special exhibit of the moment. Main permanent exhibit is Bridges of Understanding.
Denver Botanic Gardens 23 acres of gardens and conservatories
Denver Art Museum Largest art museum in the western plains/Rockies. Mostly closed (but free) while the building is expanding (fully reopens Fall of 2006). Closed Mondays
Denver Museum of Nature and Science Natural history museum with exhibitions on gems & minerals, space, wildlife, Native Americans, fossils and more
Mile High Comics - biggest in country
Downtown Aquarium (formerly Ocean Journey)
Colorado Springs:
Garden of the Gods - a very impressive park in Colorado Springs. The website has some coupons
Fort Collins:
Nyala - Ethiopian food
Pulcinella Ristorante - one of the better Italian restaurants in the area
Bisetti's - voted Top Italian by locals in 2005, though I read some grumblings that Canino's, Nico's and Pulcinalla were better...
Nico's Catacombs - underground restaurant, French (supposedly one of the top dining experiences in the area)...very pricey...
Jay's Bistro Voted best restaurant for a special occasion (I can see why it would need to be special- its expensive!)
Rio Grande - voted best Mexican in Fort Collins (its actually a small chain in Northern Colorado) - though I've seen complaints that its actually the best Margarita - and everything else is so-so.
Youngs Cafe - voted best Vietnamese food in Fort Collins (it has another location in Greeley too). More pan-asian than Vietnamse based off what I've seen. Little Saigon Café might be a better pick for Vietnamese cuisine...
Sri Thai - voted best Thai by local residents.
Star of India and Taj Mahal - tied for best Indian food
Cozzola's Pizza - voted best pizza (Pulcinella Pizzeria #2)
Charco Broiler - local landmark - apparently has great steaks
Egg and I- the most popular breakfast spot (by a huge margin apparently) in town.
Greeley:
The Magnus -well spoken of bar/restaurant - looks good for lunch (and martini's)
Potato Brumbaugh - one of few upscale restaurants in Greeley. Possibly one of the best restaurants in town (though possibly not as good as the better restaurants in Loveland/Ft Collins)
Fat Albert's Food & Drink - apparently a local favorite bar/restaurant
The Armadillo - one of the better, if not best, mexican restaurants in town. Apparently its some sort of local chain...
Loveland:
The Black Steer - steakhouse - good local reviews
4th Street Chop House - another well reviewed local steakhouse
Inglenook American restaurant, also well recommended locally.
Canton Palace - voted best Chinese in Loveland by readers of local paper
Adelita's Fine Mexican Food - voted best Mexican in Loveland by readers of local paper
Justines Pizza - apparently the local favorite for pizza, based off all the reviews/newspaper
Monaco Trattoria - best reviewed non-chain Italian restaurant in Loveland. Might be the best Italian in Loveland.
Schmidt's Bakery - highly regarded local bakery/deli/eatery.
Boulder:
Brasserie 1010- very well reviewed French Bistro - looks fantastic!
The Mediterranean Restaurant - Big menu - and like it says - all Mediterranean dishes. Looks very good.
Aji - well reviewed latin american
Zolo Grill - another well reviewed latin american restaurant
Flagstaff House - THE upscale restaurant in the area. Too upscale for my underdeveloped palate :)
Frasca - The hot restaurant of 2006 in Boulder. Upscale Italian. Apparently their dessert is to die for. Dinner menu seems a bit much for me...
Juanitas - one of the top mexican restaurants in Boulder. Looks good to me.
Orchid Pavilion - best Chinese in Boulder, according to Boulder Weekly
Bacaro - voted one of the top Italian restaurants in Boulder by Boulder Weekly. Menu looks good to me.
Khow Thai - one of the best Thai places in Boulder.
The Kitchen - critically acclaimed restaurant featuring fresh ingredients and an ever changing menu.
Denver:
Aix - Good French restaurant - well reviewed.
Le Central - well reviewed affordable French restaurant/bistro.
Vesta - A dipping restaurant - get your appetizer or entree and a bunch of great dipping sauces. Looks pretty neat.
LoLa - very well reviewed upscale Latin American restaurant.
The Capital Grille - well regarded local steak house.
Nine75 - very well reviewed american bistro
Ristorante Amore - one of the top Italian restaurants in Denver - menu looks excellent
Virgilio's Pizzeria - according to some, the most authentic NY pizzeria in Colorado.
Anthony's Pizza & Pasta - probably the best NY style pizza chain in Denver
Links:
Loveland oriented website run by local paper
Blog with some Fort Collins and surrounding area restaurant reviews
Best of Fort Collins 2005 - Coloradoan Best stuff in and around Ft Collins as voted by local readers.
Westword - Great website - has good reviews of lots of restaurants in Denver & Boulder.
The Rocky Mountain News dining guide - list of their favorite restaurants in Denver and Boulder.
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