I'll be in Denver for 2 weeks for work. I have a friend that teaches in a suburb of Denver so I will have a bit of a tour guide.

I was hoping guys here could give me some good stuff to check out...and which bars are fun, cuz you know I'll be drinking!!

Best part of denver? Plane ride home.

Ha ha -- I was gonna say the best place to go in Denver is the airport, on the way out of town.

Actually it's okay. The downtown outdoor mall area has lots of shopping and restaurants wiht outdoor dining, and is a great place to hang out if the weather is nice. But the best thing about Denver is about an hour to an hour and a half west -- skiing! I love skiing. If you have time you can drive up to Estes Park and go through parts of Rocky Mountain National Park.

I've only been to the bars there once, several years ago, and all I remember is that we were not impressed. But it's a big city, and there must be some fun gay bars there. Anyway, you can make your own fun wherever you go, right stinger! wink

What do you like to do?

I have loads of suggestions I have lived in and around Denver my entire life, but it's easier to know what you like. I live a short distance from Estes Park and it is a beautiful place, as maxallen said.

Denver is a great town, those who bash it likely haven't spent enough time here to discover the charm.

Send me a Private Message if you'd like to hang out or get lunch. Or let me know what you like to do and I can point you in the right direction (culture, outdoors, shopping, bars) let me know.

During the week I will probably be pretty busy as I'm there to help bust out a huge project in 2 weeks. So my lunches will probably be spent with the people from our Denver office. In the evenings I just want to check out some local stuff...see the scenes and stuff. I will only have one weekend there. Part of that will be spent with my friend that is a teacher there. But I do want to go to a gay bar. I have a friend in L.A. who grew up in Denver so I plan to talk to him too. I just thought I'd see what other Outsporters had to say.

As for the bars The Wrangler is very popular. It's a bear bar, but attracks a varried crowd. The Triangle, not too far from the Wrangler, more of a leathery-dance club. Then on Broadway is the Crypt and the Compound. Both leathery but diverse also.

If there is one thing you shouldn't miss while here try to get to the Mountains once. Just a short drive up from Denver is the Gambling towns of Back Hawk and Central City if you like to gamble, that is. Along the way you could take a tour of Coors Brewing and some shopping in Golden is a fun day also.

Too bad we can't do lunch or something, I have yet to meet any other outsporters.

Anyway, hope you have fun.

I'm originally from Denver, but I only get back there about once or twice a year. The gay bar scene is notoriously changeable, but here are a few of the places that are fixtures of the gay scene in Denver.
Bars
The Compound (mostly a dance club)
The Triangle (denim and leather)
Charlie's (county and western)
The Longhorn (just a neighborhood bar)
R & R (another neighborhood bar)
The Brig (I'm not sure how to classify this place; it's only a few doors down from The Compound.)
Books
Relatively Wilde
The Tattered Cover (not a gay bookstore per se, but it has a comparatively sizable gay/lesbian section.)
Gifts
Heaven Sent Me (just a few doors down from Relatively Wilde on Broadway.)

Have fun!

There's some good flyfishing in the mountains just out of Denver, if it's not too cold. But it doesn't sound like you'll have time for that sort of thing.

Have been in Denver for a while, depending on the type of restaurants you are interested and where you are going to be, I have a bunch of recommendations. For upscale would recommend Adega, Lola, Sushi Den, Mizuna, Emma's, Aix, or Potage. For more every day fare, Little Ollie's, Emily's, Sugar Beats, Benny's, Mezcal, etc. feel free to contact me if you want additional suggestions.

With respect to gay bars, there is a JR's (chain) on 17th, that is especially popular on Thursdays (quarter beer night). Dance clubs, Serengehti and Dream (Serengehti on Friday Dream on Saturday), also compound can be really fun on Sunday (great DJ, strange crowd).

For shopping and entertainment, Cherry Creek area is good upscale shopping, 13th street has fun "clubby" cloths and stores, Broadway has the traditional gay stores. There is a decent art museum, the Natural History museum is showing an exhibit of Egyptian artifacts right now that is world class, there is also the Coors Tour, Red Rocks, and everything to do in the mountains (Boulder, Estes Park, Vail, Aspen, Breck, Keystone, Loveland, etc.). There are a couple of ski resorts open already (Copper Mountain just got 11 inches of new snow). Check coloradoski.com for more info. Hanging out places would include Cheesman Park and Coffee Shop on 9th and Downing.

If you have any specific interests, please feel free to ask.