Things to Do with Kids in Denver, CO

53 qualified activities: museums, parks, zoos, restaurants, and more.

4.6 avgacross 53 rated

18 free

38 stroller-friendly

By Kit, KidPaths editor

Reviews family planning details across KidPaths city guides.

Denver is one of the cities I cover most closely, which is why this guide gets the kind of timing detail other Denver guides skip.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is the city's all-weather anchor and the place Denver parents tell me they send every visiting cousin. The Discovery Zone wing is built for ages 0 to 8 and Space Odyssey is what holds the older siblings who have decided dinosaurs are for babies. They are wrong, and I will die on that hill.

Family of four with general admission runs about $80. I think the dome shows are the best add-on for the price; I'd skip the special exhibits unless one specifically maps to your kid's current obsession. The recurring note in parent reviews is to bring a snack from outside. The cafeteria is fine, but I'd save that money for the gift-shop fight you are going to have anyway.

Denver Botanic Gardens looks its best in May and again in late September. I'm a sucker for botanic gardens with a real Children's Garden, and this is one of them. m. turn into stroller traffic and shoulder-to-shoulder water play. m. arrival is the call. Family of four runs about $60, and the membership pays for itself for any family planning more than two visits a year.

Top kid-friendly places in Denver

Downtown Aquarium4.3 Denver Art Museum4.7 Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park4.0 Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum4.7 Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge4.6 The Hudson Gardens & Event Center4.6 Butterfly Pavilion4.7 Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms4.6 The Wild Animal Sanctuary4.6 Molly Brown House Museum4.7 Ruby Hill Park4.6 Malibu Jack's Thornton4.7

Parent planning notes

How to use this Denver guide without overplanning

Start with one anchor activity, then keep one nearby backup in mind. That keeps the day flexible if naps, weather, parking, or meal timing change the plan.

The current public guide has 53 KidPaths-vetted activities, including 28 indoor or mixed-weather options. The strongest shelf right now is parks & playgrounds, with 19 picks.

Each visible listing has cleared the public listing gate for original description depth, venue-specific photo quality, and basic family-planning usefulness.

Rainy-day backup

26 weather-safe picks

Denver has options that still work when weather changes.

Budget scan

18 free picks

Free does not always mean easy, so check parking, shade, and visit length.

Parent logistics

38 stroller-friendly stops

Listings call out stroller access, age fit, and practical notes that affect the day.

Freshness

Checked during editorial review

Average public rating across rated picks is 4.6. Send corrections when hours, prices, access, or photos change.

City planning playbook

Build Denver days around weather swings and altitude

Denver works best when families keep one indoor anchor and one easy outdoor stop in the plan. Visiting kids can run out of steam faster here, so leave space between a museum morning and anything active.

Best timing

Start early for summer gardens, playgrounds, and zoo days. Afternoon storms can move fast, especially from June through August.

Weather plan

Keep the Museum of Nature and Science, the Children's Museum, indoor play, and tropical garden spaces in the backup lane.

Budget move

Use free parks and gardens-adjacent walks for the second half of the day, then spend on one ticketed anchor if it clearly fits your kids' ages.

Age fit

Toddlers need short loops and stroller-friendly stops. Bigger kids do better with climb, science, arcade, or active indoor choices.

Do not overbuild the day

Do not stack altitude, a long drive, and a paid timed ticket on the first full day if your kids are visiting from lower elevation.

Plan Denver by age, weather, and budget

Jump straight to the pages parents search for most, with only indexable KidPaths listings linked here.

One day itinerary →

No admission feeFree Activities18 picks Weather backupRainy Day Activities26 picks Climate controlledIndoor Activities28 picks Fresh airOutdoor Activities34 picks Easy accessStroller-Friendly38 picks

Toddler43 Infant11 Little Kids51 Big Kids47 Tweens31 Teen30

Paid attraction planning

Check pass savings before booking Denver tickets

If your plan includes several major museums, aquariums, observation decks, or tours, a city pass may beat buying every ticket separately. Always compare against direct prices for your exact dates.

Compare Go City passesGood for packed attraction days Check CityPASS savingsUseful for major museums and attractions

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Denver with kids: common questions

What's the best museum in Denver for kids?

For families with mixed ages, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is the higher-yield pick. The Discovery Zone covers ages 0 to 8 with hands-on stations and Space Odyssey, Expedition Health, and the Gems and Minerals halls keep older kids engaged for the same admission. The Children's Museum of Denver is the right call if your kids are all under 7. Adventure Forest alone is worth the visit. I think parents underrate how much of the year DMNS is the right answer in Denver; the weather makes the indoor anchor more valuable here than in most cities.

What's free to do in Denver with kids?

Wash Park, City Park, Central Park (Stapleton), and Sloan's Lake are all free and stroller-accessible. The Denver Public Library Central Branch runs free Saturday family programming. Denver Botanic Gardens hosts a free admission day on the first Tuesday of November and the first Saturday of January. Confluence Park downtown is free year-round, with wading water from Memorial Day through Labor Day. I'd build the rainy-day rotation around the library plus one paid indoor anchor and let the rest of the week run free.

Is Denver kid-friendly in winter?

More than people expect. The Wash Park sled hill, the free skating rink at Skyline Park, and the dome at Denver Botanic Gardens during the Blossoms of Light run all keep cold days workable. The museums are at their least crowded in late January and early February, which is the underrated window every Denver guide I read skips. I think most visiting families overcorrect for the cold and miss what's actually the easiest time to do indoor anchors.

How does altitude affect kids visiting Denver?

Most kids feel altitude more than adults do, especially above 6,000 feet (Denver itself sits at 5,280 feet). Plan 24 hours of light activity on arrival, push water before kids feel thirsty, and skip caffeine the first day. Add an extra acclimation day before any mountain hike above 8,000 feet. The headaches and crankiness many parents blame on travel are usually mild altitude sickness.

What's the best Denver neighborhood for families visiting?

Stapleton and Wash Park are the easiest to base out of for visiting families. Both have walkable parks, accessible restaurants, and short drives to the museum corridor. LoDo (downtown) works if you want walkable food and the 16th Street Mall, but parking is expensive and the morning quiet matters more for kids than walkable nightlife.