Scavenger Hunt in Denver: Explore the Mile High City's Historic Core
Denver sits exactly one mile above sea level, the altitude is stamped into the steps of the State Capitol in gold, and the city's elevated position between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains gives it a character unlike any other American city. The mountains are visible from virtually every downtown street; the light at altitude is sharper than at sea level; and the combination of Western frontier history and contemporary Rocky Mountain lifestyle has produced a city with a distinctive self-confidence.
A city scavenger hunt in Denver reveals the layers beneath the contemporary outdoor-lifestyle reputation: the gold rush and silver boom that created the city, the railroad history that made Denver the commercial crossroads of the Mountain West, and the architectural legacy of the 1880s-1920s boom years that still defines the visual character of Lower Downtown.
Best Neighborhoods for a Denver Scavenger Hunt
LoDo (Lower Downtown) is the historic core of Denver: the red sandstone warehouse buildings of the late 19th century, the Larimer Square commercial strip (the oldest block in Denver, saved from demolition in the 1970s), the Union Station renovation (the 1914 Beaux-Arts station transformed into a hotel, restaurant, and transit hub), and the Coors Field neighborhood that has anchored the revival of the district over the past 30 years. LoDo is the richest scavenger hunt environment in Denver, compact, walkable, and full of historical detail.
Capitol Hill, the neighborhood immediately east of downtown, centered on the Colorado State Capitol with its genuine gold dome, has the Victorian and Craftsman mansions of Denver's early wealthy class alongside the cultural institutions: the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Public Library's main branch, and the History Colorado Center.
Five Points, the historic African American neighborhood northeast of downtown, called the "Harlem of the West" for its jazz culture in the early 20th century, has the cultural heritage and contemporary revitalization that makes it one of the most interesting neighborhood discoveries in the city.
What a Denver Scavenger Hunt Reveals
The Questo city quest in Denver connects the gold rush origins (Denver was founded in 1858 as a supply town for gold prospectors heading to the mountains), the railroad economy that replaced the mining boom, and the architecture that the resulting wealth created: the Daniels and Fisher Tower (the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built in 1910), the Molly Brown House (where the "unsinkable" Titanic survivor lived), and the landmark buildings of Larimer Square.
The Brown Palace Hotel (1892, in continuous operation for over 130 years) and the Oxford Hotel (1891) are two of the finest surviving examples of Victorian hotel architecture in the country, both within the LoDo scavenger hunt area.
Denver Scavenger Hunt Tips
Denver's REI flagship store occupies the former Denver Tramway powerhouse building on the Cherry Creek just east of downtown, the adaptive reuse of the 1901 building is excellent, and the outdoor equipment concentration (plus the free parking) makes it a convenient logistics hub for any outdoor-oriented Denver visit. The 16th Street Mall pedestrian/transit corridor connects downtown to LoDo and is free to ride. Denver's craft brewery scene (over 100 breweries in the metro area) is the densest in the country per capita. Great Divide Brewing's taproom in LoDo is the natural post-quest destination.