Single in Denver, CO? 10 Places and Apps to Find a Date
Once he’d graduated from college, a politically engaged friend of mine relocated to Denver for a job as an environmental advocate. Knowing nobody in Colorado, he made it his top priority to go to a Young Democrats meeting and connect with fellow liberals. When the meeting wrapped up, he headed for the exit, unaware that a determined young woman on the far side of the room was charging straight toward him. She parked herself in the doorway, blocking his way out, and asked, “Hey, where’s the fire?”
And that’s the story of how my buddy found his wife. These days they’re a happily married couple who work side by side as progressive organizers and are raising their son to be Colorado’s most badass feminist.
Romance fell into my friend’s lap, but not every Denverite gets so lucky as to have the perfect woman chase them down for a date. Adult singles sometimes struggle to grow their social circles, so we’ve put together our top 10 ideas for meeting new people and building lasting relationships in the Mile-High City. Happy hunting!
Denver Dating Sites
These days, online dating is hands down the leading way to meet new people. It’s hugely popular, very simple, and reasonably successful. Still, with so many dating sites to choose from, picking the one that fits you can feel like a lot. You might go with a niche site built for singles like you, or sign up for a general site whose members are more of a grab bag. To help Mile-High City singles zero in on the right platform, we’ve spotlighted the top dating websites for singles of every age, career, ethnicity, and orientation.
Best Singles Site
For singles who want something real, Match.com does the trick. This premium site has been around since 1995, and no other dating site has brought together as many couples who went on to date seriously or marry. That impressive track record is why Match leads our list of online spots for meeting Denver singles.
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: “Match pairs a large dating pool with search filters specific enough to make that size useful rather than overwhelming.” Our Review »
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| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Singles | 49%51% | 14.6 Million | Try Match FREE |
Over 50 & Senior Site
Older singles have specific needs when they date online. To ease the way in, OurTime provides an easy-to-use site where daters 50 and up can meet someone new. There’s no need to be a tech genius here, since every tool and option is clearly organized. The site is so simple to get around that nothing gets between you and a new pal your age.
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: “OurTime makes dating after 50 feel simple, with senior-friendly search tools and an easy-to-use layout.” Our Review »
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| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mature Singles (50+) | 48%52% | 8.9 Million | Over 50? Try It FREE |
For Black Men & Women Only
With more than 711,000 residents from many backgrounds, Denver is Colorado’s most populous municipality. If you’d like to date within Colorado’s black community, BlackPeopleMeet offers easy chat and matching tools to help you find each other online. The niche network is a simple resource used by millions of biracial and black singles worldwide.
- Relationships: Deep Relationships or Just Casual Dates
- Match System: Search by location, age, more
- Our Experts Say: “BlackPeopleMeet.com is the one of the largest and most popular dating sites for black and biracial singles, and the site is used by more than 5 million people a month.” Our Review »
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| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Singles | 47%53% | 5.7 Million | FREE Trial for New Users |
Hookup & Sex Site
Millions of active members on Adult Friend Finder (aka AFF) embrace casual dating and look for sexual partners without worrying about being judged. The site offers easy chat and video features that link up hot singles, couples, and swingers. Browse AFF’s steamy dating scene, and you’ll discover every kind of intimate encounter.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: “Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about finding hookups and casual encounters. No adult site has a larger or more active user base of those seeking discreet fun.” Our Review »
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| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Singles | 65%35% | 25.5 Million | 3 Months @ $19.95/Mo |
Popular Dating Apps
Denver’s population is young and growing. Census data shows that the typical Denverite is 33 years old. A lively dating scene calls for a dating tool that can keep up, and an app helps singles stay on top of today’s quick-moving world of romance. Thanks to easy location-based searches, you can find someone in your neighborhood and chat late into the night. Here are our favorite apps for helping Denver singles meet each other with just a few taps.
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
- About the App: Match is built for browsing rather than swiping. You can search by location, age, and interest, then take your time reading profiles before reaching out. The app is free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
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OurTime
- Relationships: Dating and Relationships
- Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
- About the App: Made just for single seniors, OurTime is one of the most well-known niche dating apps. It’s a fun and straightforward app with simple swiping features. Once two people swipe right on each other, they can communicate. For more match options, visit the ConnectMe and I’m Interested pages.
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eharmony
- Relationships: Long-Term Relationships, Marriages
- Match System: Get daily match suggestions
- About the App: Responsible for 4% of marriages in the U.S., eharmony is among our top picks for relationship-minded heterosexual singles. To become a member, add the app to your phone (iOS or Android) and then take its 29 Dimensions® of Compatibility Matching Quiz. It’s absolutely free to do both these things — as well as receive matches and communicate during other special events.
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Denver Singles Bars
The internet isn’t the only place to find a mutual match. Long before swiping caught on, bars were a go-to place for meeting people. Their fun, social vibe gets people talking and bonding. Outgoing singles can visit a winery, a brewery, a pub, or another watering hole to flirt and land a date face to face. Downtown Denver is packed with places where singles can while away hours in easy conversation. Here are eight that we suggest. Check them out!
Star Bar
Right in the heart of downtown, Denver's Star Bar offers thirsty guests 20 rotating local craft beers and spirits. It opened in 1959, making it one of the oldest bars in Colorado. This one-of-a-kind dive puts the focus on authenticity and quality. Don’t expect sweet, frilly drinks; do expect smoky cocktails that get their heat from a blowtorch. For a taste of Colorado, it’s a refreshing spot to meet people, play skeeball, and enjoy yourself.
Denver Beer Co.
Denver Beer Co. applies a farm-to-table philosophy to the tasty beers it pours. The craft brewery is famous around town for artisan lagers and ales made with seasonal, local ingredients. Its founding brewmasters wanted the bar to mirror Denver’s upbeat, diverse community, so everyone is invited to grab a seat. Take a guided tour of the facility for an inside look at the brewing process, and you might learn some fun trivia to wow a date.
Lowry Beer Garden
Lowry Beer Garden sits on the former site of Lowry Air Force Base, where a sprawling 4,500-square-foot space became an entertaining Denver bar. Landing a date inside the former airplane hangar is as easy as challenging someone to pingpong, foosball, or cornhole. The lovely outdoor area gets a little cold in the winter, but Denverites still flock here when they crave local draft beers, a fresh-baked pretzel, or a gourmet brat.
5280 Burger Bar
Bring a hearty appetite to the 5280 Burger Bar, a bar and restaurant that takes loading your plate with great food as seriously as it takes its specialty cocktails and craft beers. The burgers use the freshest ingredients around. It’s all hormone-free and all-natural, and the kitchen doesn’t even own a freezer! From slow-roasted pulled pork to house-made American cheeses, quality stands behind every item on the menu. Next door, the creamery makes fresh ice cream daily in eight rotating flavors. When the munchies hit and you’re dying for a juicy burger, the wide-ranging menu at 5280 Burger Bar has you covered.
Truffle Table
Locals call The Truffle Table Denver’s cheese bar. It goes without saying that it’s a pretty elegant spot to sip wine and meet new people. The Truffle Cheese Shop branched out in 2013 into a full-service cheese bar, offering downtown Denverites plates of cheese and bottles of wine. It might sound a little cheesy, but this is a truly Gouda spot to discover your perfect pairing.
Denver Speed Dating
Denver, nicknamed the Wall Street of the West, is a busy city packed with active people, and not everybody has the time, patience, or desire to date one person after another. When did dating turn into a job interview? It’s supposed to be fun! Rather than devoting hours to one-on-one meetings, try a speed dating event and meet dozens of eligible prospects in one go. Mini-dates can last as little as two minutes, so you size up the chemistry fast and then move on. It’s an extremely efficient (and enjoyable) way to meet a match in a single evening.
Denver Singles Events
At a singles event, meeting people comes easily, since potential dates surround you from the minute you walk in. The theme of the party usually helps people break the ice with a game or a new skill to try. Lively, hands-on events can coax shy singles into the open and help them mix with a crowd that’s open to dating. Rocky Mountain Singles, whose motto is “where smart singles go,” has brought 8,000+ Denver singles together for in-person outings. With no membership fees, a ticket to a lock-and-key party or wine tasting run by experienced dating pros won’t set you back much.
Denver Singles Clubs
A nightclub frees you from building a dating profile or coming up with a clever opening line, because your moves speak for you. With a DJ or live band pumping out danceable beats, it’s easy to get swept up and click with the cutie beside you. Lots of young Denver singles are drawn to the buzzing energy on the dance floor. Whether you prefer a rowdy dueling piano bar or an industrial-chic club, the city’s hot spots can help you win over someone special on the dance floor.
Denver Chat Rooms
For introverts, heading out to hunt for a date can be draining. You have to push through crowds, worry about your appearance, and work hard to strike up conversations with strangers face to face. Thanks to the internet, though, meeting new people doesn’t require stepping out your front door. In chat rooms, singles gather in a virtual space where the way you talk counts for more than the way you look. Singles who join an adult chat room can pass hours getting acquainted and sharpening their flirting skills with little pressure.
Denver Personals
Not sure what a dating personal is? Picture a dating site minus all the extra frills. A personals site is a no-nonsense place to post a personal ad and meet someone who wants what you want. Creating a profile takes mere seconds, and afterward you can search the listings by keyword, location, or age. Here are the most popular dating personals sites for Denver singles.
Join a Hiking Group for a Dating Adventure
The Colorado Mountain Club, founded in 1912, is a community of energetic Denverites eager to explore Colorado’s mountains, plains, and rivers. For anyone ready for adventure, the club offers chances to bike, climb, hike, and forge new trails in the wild outdoors. Some outings even carry members across the globe to stunning summit hikes abroad.
Joining an active group such as the Colorado Mountain Club can help Denver singles reach new heights in dating.
Whether you’re perfecting your swing on a golf course or racing along a bike path, Denver’s recreational activities make meeting people feel natural.
Denverites can enroll through the Colorado Mountain Club in conservation projects, adventure trips, wilderness survival courses, and other outdoor pursuits. With a jam-packed calendar, it’s a simple way to meet people who like what you like.
Wilderness treks are a lot more enjoyable alongside a crew of outdoor lovers, and who knows, one of them could turn out to be your lifelong hiking partner.
Go to a Dog Park to Fall in Puppy Love
Denver is dotted with dozens of dog parks where pets can run off-leash and owners can get a break from city life and savor the simple joy of playing fetch. Our dog-loving experts ranked Chatfield State Park Dog Park in South Denver first thanks to its huge size, cool ponds, and winding trails.
Cherry Creek State Park boasts a 107-acre fenced area where singles can let their flirty side run free and chat up an adorable stranger by the water. Striking up a conversation with a fellow dog owner at a dog park is a breeze. Something as simple as “How old is your dog?” usually works.
The Cherry Creek State Dog Park, shown above, is ideal for pups who love the water and the people who own them.
On top of that, plenty of Denver bars welcome dogs of every breed, among them Denver Beer Co., Irish Rover Pub, and The Watering Bowl. Dog lovers can meet up and make friends at these spots. Dog-centered groups can help you sniff out even more chances to meet fellow dog people. On Meetup, the Denver Doggie Happy Hour Group brings together more than 4,200 local dog lovers for play dates, both outside and indoors, at dog-friendly spots.
Denver: Where Singles Get Active, Get Involved & Get a Date
My friend moved to Denver expecting a good time. He couldn’t wait to go skiing and mountain climbing. He wanted to have an impact on the city’s sustainability policies. He vowed to keep a special pan of brownies on hand for any visitors. He was thrilled to start over from the moment he unloaded his car, and falling in love turned out to be even better than he’d imagined.
Denver means different things to different people. To my friend, it’s the liberal refuge in the Midwest where he met the love of his life. Still, you don’t need to scale a peak or sign up with a political action committee to meet someone; a bar, a meetup, or a dating site will work just as well. Just take a chance and see where it leads. Good luck!
About the Author
By: Emma Wilson
Editor-in-Chief
Emma Wilson is the Editor-in-Chief at thecandiddate.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being 'boy crazy,' but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. Emma brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to thecandiddate.com.
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