Winter Date Night Ideas in Denver, CO

The Toyota Elephant Passage is massive. Go on a weekday morning — half the crowds, double the animal activity.

2300 Steele St, Denver, CO 80205 · Daily 9am-4pm

The outdoor Adventure Forest is worth the price alone. Under-1s are free. $12 Tuesday nights in summer.

2121 Children's Museum Dr, Denver, CO 80211 · Daily 9am-4pm · Ages 0–8

The dinosaur exhibit alone is worth the price. Go on a Tuesday — it's dead.

2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205 · Daily 9am-5pm

Three-acre children's garden on top of the parking garage. Kids dig in dirt, pump water, climb. Free kids days in June, July, August.

1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206 · Daily 9am-7pm (summer), 9am-5pm (winter) · Ages 0+

There's a tiger exhibit inside an aquarium. Also a stingray touch pool. Restaurant overlooks the fish tanks.

700 Water St, Denver, CO 80211 · Sun-Thu 10am-6pm, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm

Kids will crawl through portals, push buttons, and lose their minds. Not a museum — more like being inside a video game.

1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204 · Sun-Thu 10am-8pm, Fri-Sat 10am-10pm · Ages 3+

It's in an actual WWII-era Air Force hangar. Kids can sit in cockpits. The space exhibit is surprisingly good.

7711 E Academy Blvd, Denver, CO 80230 · Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm · Ages 4+

Only theme park in the country in a downtown. Water park included with admission. Kiddieland has 10+ rides for little ones.

2000 Elitch Cir, Denver, CO 80204 · Hours vary — check website for daily schedule

$3.50 gate, rides are 50 cents each. Retro vibes, Art Deco tower, Kiddies' Playland. The anti-Elitch.

4601 Sheridan Blvd, Denver, CO 80212 · Hours vary by season — check website

Free. 1.5-mile loop through massive red rock formations. Easy enough for a 4-year-old. 25 minutes from downtown.

18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison, CO 80465 · Daily 5am-11pm (amphitheatre access varies) · Ages 4+

Always free for kids 18 and under. The building itself looks like a spaceship. Art-making studios on every floor.

100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204 · Daily 10am-5pm

Free for kids 17 and under. Maker Mornings, Art Crawls for infants, hands-on studio. Right next to the Denver Art Museum — do both.

1250 Bannock St, Denver, CO 80204 · Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Fri until 8pm

$5 adults, $4 kids. Miniature village with 100+ tiny buildings and a real train you ride through the canyon. Ages 2-8 lose their minds.

6249 S Turkey Creek Rd, Morrison, CO 80465 · Sat-Sun 10am-5pm, summer daily 10am-5pm · Ages 0–8

$7 per person. Live puppet shows, a play area, and a puppet museum. The whole thing is charming and unhurried.

3156 W 38th Ave, Denver, CO 80211 · Thu-Fri 10-11:30am, Sat-Sun 1-2:30pm · Ages 3–10

23 climbing walls, 15,000 sq ft of trampolines, separate toddler area. Indoor playground heaven when it's 10 degrees outside.

5560 S Parker Rd, Centennial, CO 80015 · Sun-Thu 9am-9pm, Fri-Sat 9am-10pm · Ages 1–12

Indoor mini golf in LoDo. 18 holes of weird, artsy courses. First-come first-served. Full restaurant and bar for parents.

1201 18th St, Suite 110, Denver, CO 80202 · Tue-Sun, check website for current hours · Ages 5+

315 steps across 69 rows, 145 feet of elevation gain at 6,450 feet. People run stairs here year-round. Trading Post Trail is a 1.4-mile easy loop, Red Rocks Trail is a 6-mile loop with 1,300 feet of gain. Stairs close during concerts and events.

18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison, CO 80465 · Daily, sunrise to one hour before events

Ten lighted hard courts in Washington Park, free and first-come first-served. One-hour courtesy limit when others are waiting. Park around it has a 2.6-mile jogging loop and a lake.

1499 E Louisiana Ave, Denver, CO 80210 · Daily 5am-11pm

Public outdoor pool with an Olympic-sized swimming area, regular swim area, and kids splash area. Open June through early August. $3.50 drop-in for adults, free under 3. Gets busy.

850 Josephine St, Denver, CO 80206 · Summer season: Daily 11:15am-6:30pm (Jun-Aug)

Public tennis and pickleball facility with indoor and outdoor courts. Pay-as-you-play, no residency requirements. League play, clinics, private lessons. Court fees start at $6.

3300 E Bayaud Ave, Denver, CO 80209 · Mon-Fri 6:45am-10:15pm, Sat-Sun 6:45am-9:15pm

Well-maintained park with lighted basketball courts, tennis courts, walking/biking path, soccer and softball fields, playground. Free. Good courts for southwest Denver.

850 S Bryant St, Denver, CO 80219 · Daily 5am-11pm

53,000+ square feet of climbable terrain with 65-foot walls. Lead, top rope, bouldering, fitness center, yoga. Formerly Earth Treks. Day pass $29. Kids programs available. 10-minute drive from downtown.

1050 W Hampden Ave, Englewood, CO 80110 · Mon/Fri 6am-10pm, Tue-Thu 6am-11pm, Sat-Sun 8am-8pm

7.5-acre free mountain bike park with slopestyle course, dirt jumps, pump tracks, and skills course. All levels. Free to ride, free parking. Bring your own bike, no rentals on-site. Winter snow tubing when conditions allow.

1200 W Florida Ave, Denver, CO 80223 · Open 24 hours

8 lighted outdoor pickleball courts, free, first-come first-served. Quiet equipment pilot location so you must use foam Librarian Pickleball balls. Busy mornings and evenings, midday is your best bet for open courts.

4300 E Dartmouth Ave, Denver, CO 80222 · Daily 5am-11pm

Denver's largest recreational social sports league offering kickball, sand volleyball, soccer, flag football, softball, dodgeball, bowling, cornhole, and more. Leagues run year-round across parks and indoor facilities. Season typically 6-8 weeks plus playoffs. Individual registration available if you do not have a team. Prices vary by sport, typically $50-80 per player per season. Post-game bar sponsors included.

Various locations, Denver, CO · Games typically evenings and weekends

Lighted outdoor basketball courts at the former Lowry Air Force Base, well-maintained. Free, first-come first-served. Also has tennis courts, playground, open fields, and a rec center. Less crowded than City Park. Free parking.

1000 Yosemite St, Denver, CO 80230 · Daily 5am-11pm

Walk through portals into different worlds — part art, part theme park, fully weird.

1338 1st St, Denver, CO 80204 · Mon/Wed-Sun 10am-10pm, closed Tue

Cliff divers, indoor lagoon, cave maze, mariachi — revived by the South Park guys.

6715 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214 · Wed-Sun, timed reservations

Soak in a cedar hot tub filled with hops while drinking craft beer — only in Denver.

1229 N 27th St, Denver, CO 80205 · Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-8pm

Looks like a used bookstore from outside — walk through the bookshelf to find the bar.

3160 Tejon St, Denver, CO 80211 · Mon-Sat 5pm-1am, closed Sun

The club that launched national careers. Two-drink minimum, tight room, no bad seats. New Talent Night is $8.

1226 15th St, Denver, CO 80202 · Shows Wed-Sun, times vary

Improv every night, no drink minimum, free pizza at every show. Tickets under $20.

1260 22nd St, Denver, CO 80205 · Shows 5 nights/week, times vary

65 seats, craft sake brewed on-site, Japanese bar food. Comedy club meets izakaya.

3559 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205 · Show nights vary, check schedule

Live jazz 7 nights a week. Sunday brunch has two seatings. Two-item minimum, no exceptions.

1080 14th St, Denver, CO 80202 · Mon-Sat 3pm-late, Sun 10am-8pm

9,500 seats between 300-foot red sandstone monoliths. Best outdoor venue in America. Free to visit on non-show days.

18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison, CO 80465 · Park: sunrise-sunset daily. Concerts: seasonal schedule

Moving stage, tiered floor so short people can see, best sound system in Denver. Opened 2019 and already the top room.

4242 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80216 · Event nights only, doors vary

550-cap room from 1913. Three tiers with a balcony. Where you see bands right before they blow up.

3317 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206 · Event nights only, doors vary

Free for anyone under 18. The building itself is a Libeskind sculpture. Best Indigenous art collection in the country.

100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204 · Sun-Mon/Thu-Sat 10am-5pm, Tue 10am-8pm, closed Wed

One artist, 3,125 works, 93% of everything he ever made. Next door to the DAM but a completely different vibe.

1250 Bannock St, Denver, CO 80204 · Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, closed Mon

Dinosaur bones, space exhibits, IMAX, planetarium — plus Friday nights open until 9pm with a bar.

2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205 · Daily 9am-5pm, most Fridays until 9pm

23 acres of gardens that peak in summer but the holiday lights in winter are the real draw. Concerts on the lawn too.

1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206 · Daily 9am-4pm (winter), 9am-8pm (summer)

Titanic survivor's actual house. The tour is better than you'd expect — less 'unsinkable' kitsch, more actual history.

1340 Pennsylvania St, Denver, CO 80203 · Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Thu until 7pm, Sun 12-4pm

Second-largest performing arts complex in the US. Broadway tours, original plays, opera. $25 DCPAccess tickets if you qualify.

1101 13th St, Denver, CO 80204 · Box office Tue-Sat 12-6pm, show times vary

Converted church, 90 seats, fearless new plays. The theater people in Denver go to when they want to be challenged.

1080 Acoma St, Denver, CO 80204 · Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm

Third-oldest Chicano theater in the US, $20 tickets, gallery on-site. Oldest theater company in Denver, period.

721 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO 80204 · Box office Mon 2-5:30pm, Tue-Fri 9am-5:30pm

Burlesque, drag, comedy in the basement of the D&F Clock Tower. 100 seats. Nobody's more than 15 feet from the stage.

1601 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO 80202 · Show nights only, box office opens 2hrs before

Restaurant-bar-music venue in an 1890s Victorian brothel building. Weekend brunch with bottomless mimosas and live music.

1215 20th St, Denver, CO 80202 · Wed-Sat 5-11pm, Sat-Sun brunch 10am-2pm

Multiple themed rooms, $30-35/person, 60 minutes. The Ghostlight Lounge room is their best one.

1529 Champa St, Denver, CO 80202 · Daily, time slots 10am-10pm

20,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor beer hall with 100+ taps, sand volleyball, free live music most nights, dog-friendly patio.

3560 Chestnut Pl, Denver, CO 80216 · Daily 11am-late

BBQ joint with a live music room in the back. Small, loud, cheap. The kind of place that doesn't exist anymore.

4483 Logan St, Denver, CO 80216 · Restaurant daily, show times vary