In the true spirit of #TheFunTour2Point0, a few stops were made on the way up to the Bally’s Colorado Poker Championship to take advantage of the beautiful area surrounding Black Hawk in the Rocky Mountains.
There wouldn’t be enough time to check out everything in the surrounding area in one day – if you were lucky enough to bag up and chill during one of the starting flights before Day 2 – but here are some fun options.
In addition to the world-class skiing surrounding this casino, there is also great hiking to be found just by walking outside the casino’s front door. Aspen and Vail are the big names for skiing found in the region, but you can find dozens of world-class mountains all along the I-70 corridor, one of the most scenic drives in America. Hiking in Colorado is famous for the immense number of 14ers – mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation – but an easier introduction to hiking in the Rockies can be found in Rocky Mountain National Park on a day-trip.
The Denver area offers many great sights (like the Denver Art Museum pictured above), restaurants, and is well-known for its breweries as well. In addition to the art museum, other top cultural spots would be the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Union Station is a great starting point for restaurants from around town, and two particularly unique ones to add would be the Buckhorn Exchange that serves all manner of wild game on the menu, and Casa Bonita from South Park animated fame (it really does exist).
The top of Lookout Mountain (pictured above) on the road up to Black Hawk is the spot famous Western showman Buffalo Bill chose as his final resting place (pictured below), and judging by the view from the foothills of the Rockies of Denver you can see why. There is also a museum open daily that chronicles his life and exploits.
If breweries are your thing, – well, they are OUR thing – then this region has that in spades. Denver doesn’t host the Great American Beer Festival for nothing every year, and many of the breweries in the area take home medals at the yearly festival.
You can try them at any number of places around town or up in the mountains like Copper Kettle (pictured above), or you could sample some of Comrade Brewing’s award-winning beers (pictured below). Other heavy hitters include Great Divide and those found further afield like New Belgium, Weldwerks, and Avery, while the most well-known in the area with interesting brewery tours would be Coors and Blue Moon.
In addition to all of that, you have teams in every major sport to catch a game from on your day off. Depending on the season you can watch the Avalanche (NHL), Broncos (NFL), Nuggets (NBA), and Rockies (MLB). They all play in arenas or stadiums close to the downtown Denver core. Another great entertainment option can be found at Red Rocks Amphitheater in the foothills of the Rockies, which offers a great lineup of concerts in one of the best outdoor venues for live music you will ever find.
Ryan is one of the original PokerLiveUpdates team members, a veteran poker tournament reporter who provides live updates reporting from the World Poker Tour, along with other tours and locations. He developed the FunTour2.0 concept of providing tremendous tournament coverage while exploring the world's best craft beer venues.
