Colorado Dive Bar Guide

The combination of rugged terrain, rugged drinking and rugged patrons makes for potent dive bar hunting ground and though Denver steals most of the state’s dive bar notoriety, the winding curves through the Rocky Mountain are packed with partly, semi and fully remote drinking stops that make traveling through Colorado’s glorious scenery even better.

The Bucksnort Saloon in Pine, Colorado, is an excellent example, tucked well off of I-70 and only accessible if the weather allows it, this log cabin of a dive bar is covered in dollar bills and probably soaked a million times through by spilled Coors Banquet (of course). This formula is played out through Colorado’s mountain towns, each one a little more gnarly (in a good way) than the last.

In downtown Denver, historical Colfax Avenue is iconic, long the bastion of the kind of clientele that could support countless dive bars up and down what has long been one of the rougher stretches in the city. Though gentrification has dipped its toe into cleaning up the area, Colfax remains delightfully raw and home to one of our longtime favorites, Nob Hill Inn.

Sure, you may be drawn to Colorado for its clean air, healthy population and outdoor recreational opportunities. We say all things are best experienced in balance, so let’s temper all of that with a dark bar and a two-for-one-happy-hour (legal in Colorado). Excellent options are available below.