The Best Denver, Colorado Neighborhoods for Adventure Dates

For adventurous couples, date nights might look a bit different from the ordinary dinner at the city’s best restaurant. Instead, many couples opt for activities like hiking, kayaking, or gaming at an arcade to keep their dates interesting. But of course, with unique alternatives, you’re limited by your options. For this study, the team at Shane Co. will map out the best neighborhoods around Denver, Colorado, for couples looking for an out-of-the-box date night (with a little help from Yelp).

Key Findings

• Five Points ranks as the best Denver neighborhood for adventure dates with a total score of 66.9 out of 100. It ranks well because it has plenty of parks, arcades, and music venues to choose from.
• CBD finished second with a score of 65.7 out of 100. It has well-reviewed adventure date locations like music venues and escape rooms.
• LoDo receives the bronze medal with a score of 63.5 out of 100. Its location leaves it relatively close to possible adventure date locations like parks and lakes for an outdoorsy date.

The Best Denver Neighborhoods for Adventure Dates

If you and your significant other are trying to find your next big adventure, Denver, Colorado, is the place to be. Denver is known for its beautiful nature parks and exciting activities that range from escape rooms and axe throwing to arcades and sightseeing at the zoo. Neighborhoods that rank high in our shortlist for the best adventure dates had a variety of outside-the-box destinations like parks, escape rooms, music venues, axe throwing spots, and arcades. For outdoorsy folk, neighborhoods closer to a zoo, lake, or similar natural attraction tend to rank higher. See if your favorite Denver neighborhood made the cut below!

Zooming in on Denver’s Top 5 Adventure Date Neighborhoods

When it comes to finding something different to do, no one does it better than Five Points. The title of “best adventure date neighborhood” is an easy win for Five Points because of its high number of arcades, music venues, and parks. If you and your significant other enjoy a bit of friendly competition, Five Points has a total of nine arcades for you to find out who is the best at Pac-Man (or Mrs. Pac-Man). Of course, to make things more interesting, you can raise the stakes; the loser pays for dinner!

For many couples, trying something new can be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes venturing into the unknown and away from your favorite date spots can mean throwing money down the drain and facing disappointment. If you and your partner are the types to read reviews with a fine-tooth comb before committing to anything, then CBD (Central Business District) is the place to be. When it comes to escape rooms and music venues, you can rest assured knowing that you’re likely in for a treat. On average, escape rooms and music venues have a rating of 4.6 and 4.2, respectively — and you know how hard it can be to impress Yelp users!

If axe throwing is your game, Baker has just the place for you. Axe Whooping is perfect for couples looking for something out of the ordinary to do on their next date night. Complete with a rage room, axe throwing league, and a nearly perfect score on Yelp, Axe Whooping is the Mile High City’s premier location for all things axe throwing. Did we mention that Axe Whooping also has a mobile unit? That’s right — they’ll come to you and their list of events includes wedding receptions, bachelorette parties, and birthdays.
Colorado is home to many beautiful views and nature parks. Of course, Denver is no exception. For couples who prefer a trek through the great outdoors, LoDo has more than enough parks to explore and keep you occupied. This Denver neighborhood has 11 parks where you can get your steps in and enjoy a breath of fresh air. LoDo is less than 20 miles away from Bear Creek Park, which allows slacklining and features a fascinating natural aquatic habitat. If you and your partner want to be in the heart of Denver’s natural beauty, Capitol Hill is less than 10 miles away from natural attractions such as Sloan’s Lake, Garfield Lake, and Cheesman Park.

Methodology

To determine Denver’s top adventure date neighborhoods, we began with a list of 24 of the Mile High City’s neighborhoods and researched individual factors on each that would be important for such an active date night. Once we pulled the data, we analyzed it and ranked the neighborhoods from 1 to 24 based on how well they are set up for adventure dates.

We assigned neighborhoods with a score of 0 to 5 for each factor we researched, with a score of 5 representing the most favorable conditions. We determined each neighborhood’s total score from the total of its individual factor scores, which were weighted based on how much they would impact an adventure date. Individual factor scores were then added together to give each neighborhood a final score from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate a neighborhood is better for an adventure date.

Adventure dates were categorized as date ideas that go above and beyond the generic dinner and a movie. Our data includes the number of locations and star ratings of places like parks, arcades, music venues, escape rooms, and more from Yelp. We also included data points to reflect how close each neighborhood is (in miles) to potential adventure date locations such as the Denver Zoo, Echo Mountain, and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, among others.

Closing Thoughts

There’s more to dating than just meeting the person you love spending time with — you have to find what to do with that time! For adventurous couples, location is often one of the most challenging limitations. Thankfully, that becomes less of an issue if you are lucky enough to live in one of the most exciting cities in the country: Denver, Colorado. From concerts to arcades to even more exhilarating activities like axe throwing, the Mile High City has a little something for every type of couple.

If you have an exciting spot in mind to pop the question, Shane Co. can help you prepare for the adventure of a lifetime. Before you ask your partner in crime to be your adventure buddy for life, check out our selection of gorgeous engagement rings that will endure the test of time and anything else you throw at it (even axes).