Red Rocks parking lot named Colorado’s most unexpectedly romantic spot
May 21, 2026, 10:11 AM
Forget candlelit dinners and mountain sunsets. The most unexpectedly romantic spot in Colorado is the parking lot at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, according to a new national survey.
Travel and lifestyle site ACE.com polled 3,024 people to identify the most unexpectedly romantic places in each state — everyday locations where strangers are most likely to strike up a connection. For Colorado, respondents chose the parking lot at the iconic Morrison venue, though the survey did not specify which of the amphitheater’s lots earned the honor.
Brian Kitts, communications director for Denver Arts & Venues, took the distinction in stride. “I don’t know why this would be unexpectedly romantic, but, um, which parking lot? Each one has its own love vibe,” Kitts said. “But, seriously: Every night at Red Rocks is a love song and, like any good romance — even a one-night fling — it’s hard to resist a heady mix of anticipation, starlight and the promise of a night’s desires fulfilled.”
Other Colorado spots that were mentioned were the Manitou Incline, Casa Bonita, Union Station and the REI Denver flagship store.
Colorado’s winner fit a national pattern of charmingly mundane locations. The survey also flagged the Block Island Ferry line in Rhode Island and the gift shop at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, among other states’ top picks — suggesting that low-pressure, everyday settings may do more for romance than any reservations-only rooftop.
