Route details: The eastbound (EB)-westbound (WB) route 44 runs every hour on weekends and weekdays from the 40th & Colorado station through RiNo, downtown and LoHi, then along 44th Avenue through Wheat Ridge. There are two extra downtown-to-Wheat Ridge buses during weekday rush hour. See the full schedule.
Where to eat: Both Señor Bear (WB Tejon & 32nd stop) and its sister restaurant Mister Oso (EB Larimer & 32nd stop) are along this route. Mister Oso offers sharable snacks like empanadas ($14), tuna and apple ceviche ($20) and tacos (served family style for $12-$16), while Señor Bear offers a more upscale menu, with lamb shank carnitas ($55), sazón chicken ($38) and appetizers ranging from $16 to $21.
Cafe Brazil's specials have been served in the Highland neighborhood for more than three decades.
Kristin Pazulski
Downtown, hop off at Italian eatery Panzano (EB 17 & Arapahoe stop) for its generous happy hour, which is available from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Enjoy $12 personal pizzas like the Al Funghi, with mushrooms, mozzarella, chili honey and arugula; a $10 cheese and meat board; $7 glasses of select wine; and $5 drafts.
Tocabe (WB 44th & Meade stop) is Denver's only American Indian owned restaurant, serving dishes that honor Osage Nation recipes with a modern American Indian twist. The menu includes make-your-own bowls, medicine-wheel nachos and stuffed fry bread. The website educates you about the why and where of its kitchen's ingredients, like the Seka Hills elderberry balsamic vinegar and the Red Lake Nation wild rice, both used in its Posu bowls; and Rock River Ranches' bison, which is used in Tocabe's favorite dish: the 24-hour cured bison ribs.
Where to drink: Route 44 is asking to be a pub crawl. You can drink through Denver's bar history, starting with My Brother's Bar (WB 15th & Platte stop), which has been a watering hole since 1873; Billy's Inn (WB 44th & Meade stop), which has been around since 1933; and longtime dive Carioca Cafe, better known as Bar Bar (EB Broadway & 21st stop).
There are several Wheat Ridge watering holes along this line as well, including Long Shots Bar & Grill (WB 44th & Ward stop) and both Rockette Tavern and Rambling Rose (WB 44th & Kipling stop).
Our preferred places to drink along the line in RiNo are the Matchbox (EB Larimer & 26th stop) and Embassy Tavern (EB Larimer & 34th stop), both of which have maintained low-key, divey vibes in the trendy neighborhood.
Crow Bar (WB 44th & Xavier stop) is an eclectic neighborhood dive with a video game room (including a Super Nintendo console), a photo booth and mounted deer heads across from a wall of piñata heads, which are reconstructed after being demolished during the bar's anniversary party each year.
Accessible right off Route 44 is the original Great Divide taproom (EB 17th & Lawrence stop) which opened in 1994 at 22nd and Arapahoe.
The MCA Denver Cafe and Bar (WB 15th & Delgany stop) is a rooftop escape above the three-floor Museum of Contemporary Art. It's a great place to enjoy a glass of wine with a view, and it often hosts events including comedy shows, craft nights and concerts.
Bonus Stops: Route 44 stops at the Oriental Theater (WB 44th & Tennyson stop), which has hosted musicians, film screenings and other entertainment since 1927. Bike riders can hop off at Confluence Park (WB 15th & Little Raven stop) to access the nineteen-mile South Platte Trail or at Anderson Park in Wheat Ridge (WB 44th & Field stop) for the Clear Creek Trail, which connects to Golden.
At the eastern end of the route, the bus stops at Huerta Urbana Farmers Market (EB 48th & Columbine stop), a pay-what-you-can market typically open Friday afternoons in the summer and fall. Dates for its 2024 season are still being determined.
