Visiting Colorado on a Budget
Colorado's featured cities run the Front Range from college towns to the steel city. Denver leads with free U.S. Mint tours, the free gold-domed State Capitol, SCFD museum free days, and Red Rocks on non-event days. Colorado Springs may be America's best free-attraction city — Garden of the Gods is deeded 'forever free,' joined by the free Pioneers Museum and the Manitou Incline. Golden squeezes a free whitewater park, Buffalo Bill's $5 grave, and a free moon rock into one creekside town. Boulder pairs Pearl Street with Chautauqua trailheads, Fort Collins pours free brewery tours, and Pueblo brings the Riverwalk and Colorado's best free mural alley. Denver and the Springs work year-round; summer peaks everywhere.
Cities in Colorado
Pick a city to see free attractions, cheap activities, and budget travel tips.
Denver, Colorado
Denver earns its budget reputation the moment you learn the U.S. Mint gives free factory tours and the State Capitol walks you up into its gold dome for nothing. The Denver Art Museum is free for everyone 18 and under with several all-free days a year, the Clyfford Still Museum is free under 18, and SCFD free days rotate through the Museum of Nature & Science and Botanic Gardens all year long. Add the rebuilt 16th Street with its free shuttle, kayak-watching at Confluence Park, 330-acre City Park, and Red Rocks on non-event days, and the Mile High City costs surprisingly little.
14 listings →
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs might be America's best free-attraction city. Garden of the Gods — 300-foot red sandstone fins against Pikes Peak — was deeded to the city in 1909 on the condition it stay 'forever free,' and its visitor center costs nothing either. The free list keeps going: the Pioneers Museum downtown, Red Rock Canyon's trail network, Helen Hunt Falls in North Cheyenne Cañon, the 2,768-step Manitou Incline, and eight mineral springs you can drink from in Manitou Springs. Cheap museums fill the gaps — the $8 Money Museum, $12 ProRodeo Hall of Fame, $13 Space Foundation Discovery Center, and $14 Western Museum of Mining & Industry.
13 listings →
Golden, Colorado
Golden packs the Old West, dinosaurs, and free beer history into one creekside town under the foothills. Clear Creek runs straight through downtown with a free whitewater park where kayakers surf standing waves all summer, the free Golden History Museum and its 1800s history park sit a block off Washington Avenue's 'Howdy Folks' arch, and the Colorado School of Mines displays a real moon rock in its free earth-science museum. Buffalo Bill's grave and museum cost $5 on Lookout Mountain, the Colorado Railroad Museum runs $12, free Dinosaur Ridge tracks 250 fossil footprints, and the iconic Coors tour caps it.
9 listings →
Pueblo, Colorado
Colorado's most underrated city sits at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek — none of Denver's crowds or prices. The free Historic Arkansas Riverwalk (HARP) is a mile-long urban canal park with public art and gondola rides; the 3-mile Pueblo Levee Mural Project — certified by Guinness as the world's largest outdoor mural gallery — covers the flood-control walls along the river; Pueblo Neon Alley shows off restored vintage neon; and 57-acre Mineral Palace Park (1891) anchors the historic side. Pair with the $10 El Pueblo History Museum, $10 Lake Pueblo State Park, and the free hand-built Bishop Castle 60 miles southwest for a full Southern Colorado weekend.
11 listings →
Fort Collins, Colorado
A vibrant Front Range college town home to Colorado State University, with one of Colorado's best walkable downtowns and a fraction of Boulder or Denver prices. Old Town Fort Collins is a free pedestrian district that inspired Disneyland's Main Street, USA; the 22-mile Poudre River Trail follows the river through town free; the free CSU Annual Flower Trial Garden tests 1,000+ varieties for Rocky Mountain climates; and free tours run at New Belgium Brewing and Odell Brewing in the brewery district. Add Horsetooth Reservoir's swimming and trails ($10/vehicle), Lory State Park, and the $15.50 Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, and a weekend rarely tops $30 a day.
11 listings →
Boulder, Colorado
A mile-high college town wedged between the Flatirons and the plains — Boulder's free attractions punch way above the city's size. The free Chautauqua Park trailheads sit at the foot of the iconic sandstone slabs, the 4-block Pearl Street pedestrian mall hosts free street performers, NCAR's I.M. Pei-designed Mesa Lab is a free architectural gem, the Persian-style Dushanbe Teahouse is free to admire, and the 5.5-mile Boulder Creek Path runs through downtown. The free University of Colorado campus and CU Art Museum and the Boulder County Farmers Market round out the free side, while the $6 Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory tour and $10/vehicle Eldorado Canyon State Park anchor the cheap end of a Boulder weekend.
12 listings →
More on Colorado from TravelCheapUS
In-depth budget travel guides from our companion blog that mention Colorado.