What to do in Boulder/Denver?

[mama-aya]

Hi!
We'll be in Denver (well, DH will be in Denver, the kids and I will be in Boulder at a hotel with a pool and free breakfast!) next week, for the Democratic convention, plus a couple of extra days to play.
I anticipate that during the convention DH will be busy doing convention stuff, and the boys (8 and 2) and I will be on our own. Our hotel is near the University and two blocks from Whole Foods, in Boulder. We will also have a rental car, so we can do day trips and things, too.
What's walkable?
What's fun?
What's cheap?
What's can't miss?
What are decent kid friendly restaurants, particularly in Boulder?
Where are the great playgrounds, neat local features, photo-ops, parks, museums, historical features, etc.?
Thank you!

[tanyab]

There are lots of things to do in Boulder. Pearl Street Mall is great, and there is an information booth there that you can get ideas of things to do. Most places are child friendly. Chataqua park makes for some great, and easy going, hikes. Dependeing on your concept of walking distance, everything in Boulder pretty much is - it's not really a huge town.

[milehighmonkeys]

Go to NCAR!! It's free and the kids (all ages) have a lot of fun with the displays. Just go west on Table Mesa and you end up in their parking lot. Here's a link: http://www.eo.ucar.edu/visit/

Today we went to Berry Patch Farms. It'll be a bit of a drive, but it's fun, again for a variety of ages. www.berrypatchfarms.com They had a pig running around, turkeys, chickens, roosters and baby chicks. You can pick strawberries for sure. There might be raspberries next week and they have other items to pick, just check their website. They're an organic farm. If the main parking lot looks too wet/muddy, there's another parking lot just past the first one, on the same side of the street.

There is a nice zoo in Denver and the aquarium is fun.

We like to go to Pei Wei to eat. I don't think it's any less kid friendly than anywhere else. My kid loves it and they do have a few items on the "kids menu". It's at 29th Street, just north of Arapahoe. There are a few restaurants in there, like California Pizza Kitchen, but Pei Wei is one of our faves. We also like Moongate Asian Bisto on Pearl. It's east of the pedestrian mall. They don't have a kids menu, but they always fuss over DD when we go there and they usually give her a special plate. She just shares whatever I'm having. We've never had to wait for a table in there, but the food has been really good.

[balancedmama]

I agree, Pearl Street mall is a must-see. It's great on a Friday or Saturday evening because there are lots of street performers to entertain the kids.

You could also drive down to the Butterfly Pavilion, which is in Westminster (?) but only about 15-20 minutes from where you're staying.

[PMolly]

Originally Posted by milehighmonkeys

There is a nice zoo in Denver and the aquarium is fun.

Originally Posted by balancedmama

You could also drive down to the Butterfly Pavilion, which is in Westminster (?) but only about 15-20 minutes from where you're staying.

We just spent the weekend in Denver at the Butterfly Pavilion and the zoo. Very fun! I miss Colorado.

[mama-aya]

Thanks everybody!
I'm loving the ideas- I was thinking Boulder would be a walkable and relatively kid friendly place. We live in a really small town with one little museum and lots of good Mexican restaurants, so we're looking forward to being in the city and doing city things! Butterfly Pavilion looks really perfect!

[Realrellim]

The Butterfly Pavilion is really easy to get to from Boulder: just take Hwy 36 to the Church Ranch exit, go east over the overpass and it's on the SE corner of the first light at Westminster Boulevard.

[RootBeerFloat]

We live at the Butterfly Pavillion, it's fantastic. Ras Kasa's Ethopian Restaurant in Boulder is also great. Maybe a little pricey, but so much fun to eat with your hands with the kids.

If you're into hiking at all, you shouldn't miss Chataqua Park, which is on the west end of town, not too far from the CU campus. You can hike right up along the Flatirons, and it's beautiful.

[mama-aya]

Yay!
We're on the way in a couple of hours. NCAR looks great, just up DS's alley. Pedestrian Mall, and we're only a few blocks from Chautaqua park, I think. So, yay!
Here we come, Colorado!