Red Rocks Travel Tips

This beautiful outdoor amphitheater carved out between two gigantic boulders, seats 9500 with 70 rows of wooden benches. It is one of the most beautiful venues on the Earth with acoustics formed perfectly by the man upstairs himself. Since it is a top travel destination for music lovers and artists alike, I thought I would write a blog with travel tips for first-timers.

Travel Tip 1- DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT wear shoes you can not walk in. Red rocks is made of steps and trails and is a workout even in tennis shoes. In fact if you visit during the morning, you will find many people running the steps and rows to get their workout in. If you end up in the lower lots or parking on the side of the road, plan for at least 70 steps up and at least a half mile walk.

Travel Tip 2-Red Rocks is at an elevation of 6,435 feet. If you are new to town or coming in for the concert, it is going to be a much harder workout getting up to Red Rocks because of the altitude. Altitude sickness is a real thing. Drink lots of water and take breaks if you feel low on air. Flying in a day or two before the concert will help you get adjusted if you can swing that.

Travel Tip 3- If being dropped off by an Uber, ask to go to the Upper Lots. Way fewer steps and you will be going down them instead of up. The upper lots are very popular for this reason so if you want to park there, get there early and tailgate! Tailgating is a fun Red Rocks tradition before most shows and a great way to meet new friends. Highly recommend going early with some drinks and a grill.

Travel Tip 4-Looking at the stage there is a bathroom to the bottom right by the concessions, but there is also a bathroom with way smaller lines if you go down the first set up steps you come upon on your left after passing the stage.

Travel Tip 5-The benches are wood, so it is nice to bring blankets to sit on in between sets and to warm up with when the sun goes down. The temperature will likely change drastically between when you get there and when you leave so dress in layers.

Travel Tip 6- Red Rocks rows are shaped like an oval with the longest row around row 50, 153 seats across. From there the rows get progressively less seats as you go down and up. Being towards the center is ideal.

Travel Tip 7- There is a brand new hotel not far from Red Rocks called the Origin, www.originhotel.com . If you are coming in from out of town for a show, this would be my recommendation for a place to stay.

Okay, I am done being biased about Colorado’s most prized venue. What venues do I need to add to my bucket list?