Since our community service project is on the second day this year, we wanted to plan a few casual/optional city tours for those of you who will be arriving on Thursday afternoon or before.
We’ve got several options below. Some last 30 mins, others a couple of hours. Feel free to take multiple tours, or create one of your own and invite some friends.
Note: all tours require some walking and leave from the second floor foyer adjacent to the Imperial Ballroom.
The Denver Mint Tour #1
This tour will visit the historic Denver Mint. This is a free, 30 minute tour. We have made reservations for you. We will meet in the foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 2:15 and walk to the Mint. The walk is 0.6 miles and will take approximately 15 mins. The tour actually begins at 3pm, but we have to arrive 30 mins early. Limited to 40 people. Led by me, Philip Taylor.
The Great Divide Brewery Tour #1
This tour will visit the Great Divide Brewing Co.’s tap room and brewery. We will meet at 2:30 in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom and walk to Great Divide, which is 0.6 miles, or 12 mins, from the hotel. The tour actually begins in the Great Divide tap room at 3pm and lasts 30 mins. Limited to 30 people. Led by Sean Bryant.
Denver Art & Ice Cream Tour
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver
This tour will meet in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 3pm. You will take the free 16th street mall shuttle (one block from the hotel) up to Union Station and then walk to Little Man Ice Cream. It is about a 16 minute walk (.8 miles). And from Little Man Ice Cream to the MCA it is about a 13 minute walk (.7 miles).From MCA back to Union Station it is about 3 blocks. Admission to the MCA is $10, and you will have to pay for your own ice cream. No limit to attendees. Led by Anna Newell Jones.
Retro Beer Brewery and Pub Tour
The first stop on this pub hop will be Wynkoop Brewing Company – Denver’s oldest brew pub. After a taste, we’ll take a short walk over to the Falling Rock Tap House – they maintain a constantly changing selection of 75+ beers on tap. To finish our tour we will head next door to The 1Up – Denver’s twist on the arcade bar concept. The 1up features over 45 classic Arcade Games, 15 Pinball Machines, 3 Lanes of Classic Skee-Ball, and more. We will meet in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 3pm to start the tour and take the 16th Street bus to Wynkoop. Beers cost around $5. Games at 1 Up cost 0.25 cents. Led by Eric Rosenberg.
The Denver Mint Tour #2
This tour will visit the historic Denver Mint. This is a free, 30 minute tour. We have made reservations for you. We will meet in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 3:15 and walk to the Mint. The walk is 0.6 miles and will take approximately 15 mins. The tour actually begins at 4pm, but we have to arrive 30 mins early. Limited to 40 people. Led by me, Philip Taylor.
The Great Divide Brewery Tour #2
This tour will visit the Great Divide Brewing Co.’s tap room and brewery. We will meet in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 3:30 and walk to Great Divide, which is 0.6 miles, or 12 mins, from the hotel. The tour actually begins in the Great Divide tap room at 4pm and lasts 30 mins. Limited to 30 people. Led by Lauren Burke.
Denver’s Downtown Playground Tour
We will journey to Denver’s riverfront playground, home of Elitch Garden’s amusement park, the only urban theme park in the country. We will see kayaking at Confluence Park, visit the amazing REI flagship store, and marvel at the Denver Skatepark, the largest municipal park of its kind in the world. All these sights are within a few blocks of each other in the shadow of downtown Denver.
We will meet in the Foyer outside of the Imperial Ballroom at 4pm where we will make a quick walk to the 16th Street bus, which will take us to the “playground”. Led by Jason Steele.
Here again are the times and tour guides for each of the seven tours:
| Tour | Time | Guide | |
| Mint #1 | 02:15:00 PM | Philip Taylor | @ptmoney |
| Great Divide #1 | 02:30:00 PM | Sean Bryant | @onesmartdollar |
| Art & Ice Cream | 03:00:00 PM | Anna Newell Jones | @andthenshesaved |
| Retro | 03:00:00 PM | Eric Rosenberg | @denvereric |
| Mint #2 | 03:15:00 PM | Philip Taylor | @ptmoney |
| Great Divide #2 | 03:30:00 PM | Lauren Burke | @nefe_org |
| Downtown Playground | 04:00:00 PM | Jason Steele | @steelestreet |
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Have fun exploring Denver!
Image by Doug Letterman
