Englewood, CO Outdoor Activities

The Denver Outlaws joined Major League Lacrosse as an expansion team in 2006, immediately staking out their territory with a Western Conference title and a trip to the league championship. In the years since, they have never once missed the playoffs, even when something good was on TV. From their inception, the Outlaws have marauded the league record books, setting attendance records in their inaugural season and improving from there, with recent Fourth of July games drawing more than 30,000 fans to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. This year’s Independence Day game continues the tradition of fireworks exploding over the field and a wave of apple pie filling flooding the parking lot.

Whether it’s the tiny town buildings, flowering gardens, or obstacle-like oddities that capture one's imagination, Putter's Pride evokes an ambiance of adventure as guests traverse its three 18-hole mini golf courses. From a toilet seat left ajar to a pink windmill and a purple dragon protruding from the turf, the unusual hole designs keep golfers guessing and scratching their heads with their clubs as they match putts with opponents during a round, which takes about 45 minutes. Around the greens’ edges, streams splash down tiered stone waterfalls, colorful blossoms overflow from wooden flowerboxes, and farm animals look out from the side of a pink barn to referee putter swordfights to determine the authenticity of an alleged hole-in-one.

The whimsical decor facilitates fun at birthday parties, where guests can chow down on their own snacks and cake around multicolored picnic tables before hitting the pintsize putting grounds.

Lyle Phetteplace fell in love with the outdoors and his home state of Colorado at an early age. Today, he runs Renaissance Adventure Guides so they can continue their passion and allow others to experience adventure, too. The excursions they curate include everything from hiking, kayaking, climbing, backpacking, and even sea kayaking, a skill beginners hone on the lakes of Colorado before moving on to distant ocean destinations to paddle, such as Costa Rica. Renaissance designs guided travel tours of the country, which presents excellent terrain for hiking, backpacking, and other activities in addition to sea kayaking.

Renaissance Adventure Guides believes outdoor adventures have the ability to bring people closer to their fellow participants and the environment, so they treat each experience differently. They customize adventures to suit the abilities and goals of their customers, while also keeping groups at a manageable size so everyone receives personal attention and a unique secret high-five. Since safety is always at the forefront of any expedition, they also offer avalanche training taught by American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education–trained instructors. Additionally, having learned to love nature at a young age, they strive to pass along their love for exploring to children through kids camps filled with days paddling the river.

Even though they haven't always played under the same name, or even in the same city, the Avalanche franchise has consistently enjoyed success on the ice. It was 1972 when the Quebec Nordiques joined the now defunct World Hockey Association, which eventually merged with the NHL prior to the 1979-80 season. The Nordiques played a total of 16 seasons in the NHL before moving to Denver, where they became the Avalanche and immediately won the Stanley Cup—the first NHL team ever to do so in their first season after relocation. In 2001, the Avs struck again in dominating fashion, collecting 118 points, reclaiming the sports world's best trophy. In total, the franchise has made 21 playoff appearances, highlighted by a string of 11 straight from 1994–2005.

Total Chaos Paintball brings video games into vivid reality, hosting colorful, officiated skirmishes on a 12,000-square-foot indoor battleground modeled after the Wasteland map from Call of Duty 2. Under constant pursuit by the opposing team, combatants duck down alleyways, hide behind urban debris, or outwit fast-moving opponents with quick presses of the pause button. The center can also simulate the stress of nighttime operations, killing the lights while a sound system broadcasts high-octane tunes to keep heart rates accelerated.

For the past 24 years, the Denver Boat Show has served as an annual port of call for modern-day sailors of all stripes. The latest incarnation is bound for the Denver Convention Center, where spectators and interested buyers can kick the rudders of vessels from exhibitors such as Colorado Boat Center, Rocky Mountain Boat Co., and Great Lakes Boat Company. In addition to rows of boats and boating accessories, the convention center’s halls will also ring with happy laughter elicited by family-friendly activities, including indoor wakeboarding demos and daily performances from Twiggy, the waterskiing squirrel.