Ten Great Denver Flea Markets to Shop This Summer

Flowers are blooming and the sun is out, along with higher temperatures and the call of the great outdoors. It’s the top of flea market season, calling out to all the bargain-focused putterers and treasure hunters and discerning shoppers to set free a few lucky finds as they browse through the ephemera of other people’s garages and attics. Leave behind the malls, the town centers, the big-box stores and even the thrift stores, and experience the essence of shopping well at these ten markets, listed in chronological order.

A Paris Street Market
Aspen Grove, 7301 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton
First Saturday of every month, May 5 through October 6, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A Paris Street Market has been around since 2001, so it’s safe to say they know what they’re doing. Through its history, the market first bounced around, but under the leadership of Tim Vandel and Sandi Newman-Vandel, it’s found a permanent home at Aspen Grove, with free parking and eateries nearby, and an easy style of give and take between buyers and vendors. You never know when you’ll turn around and find a complete set — well, almost — of hand-painted Mexican pottery, a paste jewelry bauble or the vintage gown of your dreams. You might even find a new pet when the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley drops by. Happy hunting!

TheBigWonderful Denver: Beerfest, Bluegrass & Bazaar
4400 Fox Street
Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, noon to 6 p.m.
Admission: $0 to $50

TheBigWonderful Stanley Marketplace
Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas Street, Aurora
Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, noon to 6 p.m. daily
Admission: $0 to $50

LOHI Bazaar & BBQ
Highland Tap & Burger, 2219 West 32nd Avenue
Friday, July 6, 4 to 10 p.m.
Saturday, July 7, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, July 8, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Free
TheBigWonderful is a bit of a chameleon, moving between different locations and bringing a singular character to every event. It’s way more than a market focused only on the vendors; instead it resembles a carnival —friendly to all ages, with shopping and food and music and dancing and partying. The first two events celebrate TheBigWonderful’s fifth anniversary by folding a beerfest and concerts with slam-grassers Leftover Salmon (May 6) and the Heartstring Hunters (May 20) into the basic bazaar, and both come with different ticket levels, depending on what you’re there to do. The LOHI Bazaar BBQ 2018, presented in collaboration with the LOHI Music Festival, Denver Bazaar and DiningOut magazine, is just what it sounds like: a big vendor market, a focus on barbecue (eating it and learning to make it) and nonstop music every day. You can drop a bundle there, on fancy cocktails, food and finds, but — yay! — admission is free.

Vintage Market Days of Central Denver
Douglas County Fairgrounds, 500 Fairgrounds Drive, Castle Rock
Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: $5 to $10 at the door
Vintage Market Days is a national brand with events in several cities in Colorado and across the U.S., after founders Amy Scott and Dianna Brown decided to franchise the concept in 2014. That means you'll find a deep well of vintage vendors you might not have seen in Colorado, backed up by old favorites, all selling upscale antiques, jewelry, clothing, handmades, food items and other one-of-a-kind items.

Horseshoe Craft & Flea Market
4345 West 46th Avenue
Saturdays, May 12, July 14 and October 6, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you’re a true flea fan, going to the Horseshoe Market is like going home. You always know it’s going to be great, with well-curated vendors and every detail looked after, just as it’s been for the past eight years. The Horseshoe returns to the Berkeley neighborhood in May with its first market of 2018, bringing 130 prime vendors along with it, with forty newcomers, including ice cream sandwich mavens Sprinkle Me Smitten, Modern Cherokee Jewelry and Dear Zoo, a local company that turns rock stars like Joey Ramone and Ozzy Osbourne into animal characters on children’s T-shirts. And it comes back in July and October; admission is free, but be ready to eat and shop for trinkets. Mark your calendar now for the Horseshoe Holiday Market on November 24 and 25 at the Highlands Masonic Temple (more info TBA online).

Jefferson Park Farm & Flea
2500 Federal Boulevard
Saturdays, May 19, July 21 and September 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The little sibling of the Horseshoe Market, the Jefferson Park Farm & Flea is run by the same team but has a twist all its own on a smaller scale. Along with a curated flock of seventy vendors, live music and food trucks, the JPFF makes room for urban-homesteading education and activities (including exhibits with live baby goats and chickens), and at the May kickoff, the market will be peddling ready-to-plant garden seedlings. Get back to the earth — in the middle of the city.

Sweet William Market
Founder’s Green, 29th Avenue and Syracuse Street
Saturdays, May 26 and September 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Another longtime Denver favorite, the Sweet William Market is a little smaller and more manageable, serving the Park Hill and Stapleton neighborhoods with an ample spread of handmades and vintage merch. Live music and food trucks are also part of the mix; bring the kids and let them run free. Sweet William also has a holiday market coming up later this year (scheduled for December 1 and 2 at an indoor venue); check in online for updated info.

Flea Market at the South Pearl Street Farmers' Market
South Pearl Street between Buchtel Boulevard and Evans Avenue
Sundays, May 27, June 24, July 29, August 26, September 30 and October 28, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The celebrated South Pearl Street Farmers' Market runs weekly on Sundays from May to October, but on the last Sunday of every month, a flea market joins the fray with tables full of antiques, collectibles and all kinds of must-have junque and curiosities. Kill two birds with one stone, and bring home fresh produce and some beautiful treasures. For variety, the September 30 flea will include a juried selection of Fair Trade/Hand Made booths.


Mile High Flea Market Free Fridays
Mile High Flea Market, 7007 East 88th Avenue, Henderson
Fridays, June 1, July 6, August 3 and August 10, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Mile High Flea Market is everyone’s market, a melting pot for all of humanity where you might uncover a bargain — or just find yourself sifting through someone else’s useless junk. Endless garage sale, collectors’ paradise, secondhand emporium — Mile High is the largest year-round, open-air flea in the region, and if you want to sample its particular ambience, the market hosts four free Fridays this summer to help you save even more. June 1, the first of those dates, also kicks off a Garage Sale Days weekend, with hundreds of sellers emptying out their attics and hauling them into the market to sell. The Mile High Flea Market is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and with the exception of free Fridays, admission is $2 to $3, $5 for a weekend pass, or $89 for an annual buyer’s pass. Children under age twelve are admitted for free.

Denver Punk Rock Flea Market
Fox Street Compound, 725 West 39th Avenue
Saturday, June 16, and Sunday, June 17, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
$5 daily, $7 weekend pass (free for kids twelve and under)
Nope, PRFF isn’t your typical flea market. You might call it more of a curiosity shop with a razor-sharp edge, peopled by kids with leather jackets, mohawks and safety pins in their noses. But it’s also too cool, and a one-stop shopping spree for everything DIY, vinyl records, pins and patches, animal skeletons, band memorabilia, ripped-up clothing, insect jewelry and all things punk and rock-and-roll. There’s a full bar for the 21+ set, food trucks, and tons of fun.

Summer Flea
Denver Rock Drill, 1717 East 39th Avenue
July 14 and 15
Details TBA
The Denver Flea’s bright, shiny concept is a sure thing, arranged so you’ll find food, drink, and local makers and vendors at your fingertips. Just turn around and you’ll find what you’ve always been looking for — hip clothing, a photo booth, jewels, handmades, trinkets and more. The Summer Flea is still in the planning stages, so mark it on your calendar and check back later for details online (see link above).