Have fun. Save money. Denver free days and free things to do in Colorado.

Denver Cinco De Mayo Festival (May 3-4, 2014)

One of the best ways to experience Denver's rich Hispanic heritage is to visit the annual free Denver Cinco De Mayo Festival, one of the best things to do in Denver on a May weekend.

Wassail Days, Frisco | Dec 8-16, 2012

Frisco's annual Wassail Days celebrate the coming holiday season in typical Frisco style with a chili cookoff, free winter activities, and free cups of an Old English cider and spice mixture called Wassail. Local shops compete for your vote as the best Wassail in Frisco. 

For 2012, Wassail Days takes place December 8th through 16th.

Some highlights of this week long event:

December 8th: Santa Dash for Cash annual run.
                             Tree lighting. 
                             Chili Cook-off.
December 12th: Wassail night at Frisco's history park.
December 13th: Free Tubing at Frisco Adventure Park.
                            Free sleigh rides at Frisco Adventure Park.
                            Free Nordic skiing at Frisco Nordic Center! (I'll be at this one!)

Advance reservations are required for many of the events.
See the Wassail Days web site for reservation info: 

Parker Oktoberfest

The 8th Annual Parker Oktoberfest will be held in O'Brien Park in Old Town Parker Colorado on September 14th & 15th, 2013.

Clear Creek History Park, Golden (always free)

Clear Creek History Park in downtown Golden is now free to walk through, sunrise to sunset every day.

A Taste of Colorado (Labor Day Weekend)

A Taste of Colorado is Colorado's largest Labor Day Weekend festival. This festival highlights diverse cuisine from Colorado restaurants, offering bite size tastes to full meals.

City Park Jazz

Looking for free Denver music? City Park in downtown Denver has a free summer jazz concert schedule with top performers. 

Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland (Annually in March)

2014's Frozen Dead Guy Days will be celebrated March 7 through March 9.  The highlight of the event is really the Polar Plunge, where anyone can sign up to take a dive in a freezing pond. Some people do it for the thrill, some do it to raise money for charities, and some are just plain nuts. There is also a coffin race, hearse parade, music, and many other bizarre activities (frozen turkey bowling???). This is one of the most popular things to do in March for front range residents with cabin fever.

This is probably the wierdest festival I've ever heard of, even wierder than Manitou's fruitcake toss or Leadville's ski Joring. Come and learn about the history of the frozen dead guy and observe some of Nederland's finest citizens enjoying a day in the mountains.

Traffic can become a real problem for the small town so plan accordingly. Parking is available on the side streets but getting to them can take a while.

When:
March 7 - 9, 2014

Where:
The event is held in Nederland, Colorado (at the top of Boulder Canyon west of Boulder). 

As more people down in town learn about this festival every year, it has grown from a small event for members of the mountain community to a really crowded winter festival for everyone in the front range. If the crowds don't bother you, come check it out:

Frozen Dead Guy Days Nederland Chamber web site:

If you want to learn more before you commit to a trip to the mountains, read all about the frozen dead guy here:

Frozen Dead Guy Days Wiki: 

Loveland Ski Hooky Days (Second Thursday Monthly)

For the 2019 ski season, Loveland Ski Area and 95.7 The Party FM are offering $25 lift tickets on the second Thursday of each winter month.

They also offer a 2 for 1 ticket for the following week if you can't attend on Thursday. To get the $25 price, or the 2 for 1, you have to go to the "95.7 The Party" web site and sign up as a "Party VIP", then print the coupon.

When:
Thursday, February 14th, 2019
Thursday, March 14th, 2019

Where:

Loveland Ski Area is located off of I-70 just before Eisenhower Tunnel. Take the Route 6 exit (Exit 216) and you can't miss the ski area. Loveland is broken up into 2 distinct areas with a shuttle bus that runs between them. Loveland Valley (left off the exit) is considered the learning and training area and Loveland Basin (right off the exit) is the main ski area. A shuttle bus runs between both.

Ruby Hill Rail Yard

For about 6 weeks each year in January and February, Ruby Hill Park in Denver features a free ski and snowboard park known as Ruby Hill Rail Yard. 

Aurora History Museum (always free)

The Aurora History Museum is free and open every day except Monday and certain holidays. There is a permanent display of Aurora history as well as changing displays. This is a great Denver area free attraction, where you can gain a perspective on the real Colorado and the early days of settling this landscape.

Irish Snug Denver Happy Hour (Capitol Hill)

Happy hour at the Irish Snug just south of Denver offers cheap, quality food and more than affordable drinks. Their happy hour menu is offered every day from 3-7 and 10-12. A diner will encounter traditional Irish fare, such as corned beef sliders and sangers. If you don’t like Irish food, don’t worry. The Irish Snug also offers burgers, tex mex and sophisticated American bar food.

Peterson Air & Space Museum, Colorado Springs (always free)

The Peterson Air and Space Museum has one of the better displays of vintage and historic military aircraft in the western United States.

Colorado Ski Museum & Snowboard Museum at Vail (always free)

The Colorado Ski Museum & Snowboard Museum in Vail Village celebrates Colorado's rich ski history with a huge collection of artifacts and exhibits covering the whole of ski and snowboard history in Colorado.

Zengo (Downtown Denver)

The first thing that hits you when you enter Zengo near the 16th Street mall in downtown Denver is the atmosphere. The low lighting, the expansive bar and the couches in the lounge all say one thing- "I am hip and young in Denver."