Outdoor Retailer PreShow - 2020 - 64

Outdoor + Snow Show 2020
H A P P E N I N G S
Head to The Cooper
Lounge when you
visit Union Station.

DO DENVER
RIGHT

These tips and tricks
from a local will ensure
you make the most of
your time in town.
By Stephanie Wilson
WELCOME TO THE MILE HIGH.

Bartending
is an art at
The Cooper
Lounge.

live. The influx of millennials has
created a booming city from what
was once a cow town at the edge of
the Rockies.
It kind of still is: The annual
National Western Stock Show, one
of the world's largest cattle shows,

just wrapped its 114th run on Jan.
26. Western wear can still be procured from the landmark Rockmount store on Wazee Street, and
Rocky Mountain oysters (read,
fried bull testicles) are still served
at Buckhorn Exchange, an easy

/ OUTDOOR + SNOW SHOW 2020

Light Rail ride from the convention center.
Denver's mild winters mean 60
degree days are not uncommon
and sunshine is abundant (300
days a year, rumor has it). However, the average low in January
is 16 degrees, so the name of your
sartorial game is layers. Pack lots
of layers for a pleasant transition
from hotel to convention center
and back onto the city streets when
the Show closes each day.
There are 11,000 or so hotel
rooms within walking distance
of the Show, but if you're not in
one of those (or you don't feel like
walking, no judgment), the Light
Rail is easy to navigate and there's
a station by the convention center's
Stout Street entrance. Otherwise,
ride shares are prolific, and Denver
also has a healthy smattering of
shared scooters and e-bikes, but
those might be a questionable

choice if it's snowed recently.
When you do leave the convention center, venture beyond
walking distance to get a real feel
for the city's transformation. Sure,
you can dine along the 16th Street
mall, and the tourism board will
tell you that you most certainly
should. But trust us, you can do
better. Unless it's breakfast time,
aka time for a breakfast burrito.
It's arguably Denver's most iconic
food, especially if it's got green
chile wrapped up inside. One of the

If you want to know more
about what to do in the Mile
High, check out Thrillist's
Ultimate Denver Travel Guide.
Out of all the how-to-Denvers
out there, this one is the most
up-to-date and comprehensive-and it's a fun read.

S COT T D R E S S E L M A R T I N ( TO P ), R E B E CCA TO D D ( L E F T )

First time? Drink some water; read
this guide. Fifteenth time? You,
too: Drink water; read this guide.
Even if you were just in Denver in
2019, things have changed.
Let's start with some constants:
Altitude is real, and the air is dry.
Staying hydrated takes constant
effort-and it's worth it. Chug
water. Do it. We'll wait.
Doesn't that feel nice? Sweet. Now
we can start. And holy eff, there's
a lot of places to cover-more, it
seems, every day. There's good reason for that: Denver's population has
been trending up for a decade, and
the downtown residential population has tripled since the turn of the
millennium. That's what happens
when a city keeps earning honors
as one of the country's top places to

Outdoor Retailer PreShow - 2020

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