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Haunted, Conspiracy & Roadside Oddity · Curated route

A Bad Night at 7,500 Feet

A one-day sweep from the Rocky Mountain hotel that inspired The Shining, down through an airport whose murals and rumored underground tunnels have made it a conspiracy-theory landmark in its own right, ending with cliff divers and enchiladas at Denver's favorite rebuilt cult-classic restaurant.

Mode
Drive
Distance
99 mi
Pace
1 day
Stops
03

The Field Guide

  1. 01
    Estes Park, CO · United States
    The Stanley Hotel
    The Stanley Hotel

    A historic hotel built in 1909 in Estes Park, Colorado, famous for inspiring Stephen King's "The Shining" after his 1974 stay and widely reputed to be haunted ever since.

    Start in Estes Park at the hotel where Stephen King's unsettling 1974 stay became the inspiration for The Shining, a visit that turned a century-old mountain resort into one of America's most reputedly haunted hotels.

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  2. 02
    Denver, CO · United States
    Denver International Airport
    Denver International Airport

    The primary airport serving Denver, Colorado, notable for its distinctive tented roof and a cluster of conspiracy theories alleging secret underground facilities and coded symbolism in its public artwork.

    Drive down out of the mountains to DIA, where blue mustang statues, an infamously abandoned automated baggage system, and murals depicting environmental collapse have fueled decades of theories about secret bunkers beneath the runways.

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  3. 03
    Lakewood, CO · United States
    Casa Bonita
    Casa Bonita

    A giant pink Mexican restaurant with cliff divers and a fake cave system became a cult legend through a South Park episode, then reopened in 2023 after a $40 million rebuild by the show's creators.

    End the day at the giant pink restaurant immortalized by a South Park episode, complete with cliff divers plunging past your table. Closed for years, then rebuilt from scratch by the show's own creators in 2023. Reservations are essential.

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