Looking for the best bars and nightlife in Lakewood? This Denver-metro city west toward the foothills has a casual nightlife of breweries, brewpubs, and neighborhood bars, with Belmar as its hub. This local guide covers Lakewood’s nightlife scene, the best neighborhoods to go out in, the kinds of bars the city does well, and how to find where locals actually drink.

Lakewood’s nightlife scene

Lakewood’s nightlife is laid-back and brewery-driven, typical of Colorado — think craft breweries, brewpubs, sports bars, and neighborhood spots rather than a dense bar district. The walkable Belmar district is the main hub, and downtown Denver’s bigger scene is a short light-rail ride or drive east.

Best neighborhoods for bars & nightlife in Lakewood

Belmar is the walkable downtown-style hub for bars, brewpubs, and restaurants-with-bars. The West Colfax corridor and areas near light rail have neighborhood bars and breweries, and Denver’s larger nightlife is a quick trip away. For how these areas compare, see our guide to the best neighborhoods in Lakewood.

What Lakewood does well: bars, breweries & more

Lakewood does craft breweries and casual brewpubs especially well (in classic Colorado fashion), alongside neighborhood sports bars and taprooms. It’s a relaxed, patio-and-brewery scene rather than a nightlife destination.

What to know about going out in Lakewood

Belmar is the walkable hub; elsewhere plan to rideshare or drive, as Lakewood is spread out. Light rail connects to downtown Denver for a bigger night. Altitude means drinks hit harder. The scene is casual and neighborhood-focused.

Where Lakewood locals actually drink

The best bars change constantly — the hot new spot, the beloved dive, the patio that’s perfect right now — and the honest picks rarely match the tourist lists. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Lakewood community, real Lakewood neighbors share where they genuinely go out. Planning a night out? See our guide to the best things to do in Lakewood too. Join your Lakewood neighbors free and get real nightlife recommendations →

Where this fits in Lakewood

The best bars here reflect the neighborhoods around them, so where you drink shapes the whole evening. The picks in this guide make the most sense once you know how Lakewood is laid out. Bear Creek Lake Park and Green Mountain (William F. Hayden Park) sit at the center of where locals actually spend their time, so planning a great night out around one of them rarely goes wrong. When you want something calmer, the Belmar plaza pulls you away from the busiest blocks, and Crown Hill Park is the kind of spot regulars mention but visitors miss. Anchor your plan to one of those and the rest of the day in Lakewood tends to fall into place.

Where to drink in Lakewood

Being straight about this from the start: Lakewood is not a nightlife city, and the search data agrees – there is very little demand here for bars compared with everything else the city gets looked up for. That is not a failing so much as a description. Denver is fifteen to twenty-five minutes east and carries the metro’s nightlife, and most Lakewood residents who want a proper night out drive.

What Lakewood has instead is a decent set of neighbourhood places and one genuinely good walkable district.

Belmar – the walkable option

The only part of the city where you can move between places on foot, which makes it the default for an evening out. Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, 7260 W Alaska Drive, Unit D is the anchor – one of Colorado’s established breweries paired with a full food menu rather than a taproom with snacks.

Around it, Lady Nomada Mexican Kitchen, 7167 W Alaska Dr runs a serious margarita programme alongside its Baja cooking, and TStreet Roadhouse covers the casual end. Add the cinema and the plaza and you have an actual evening without moving the car – see our Belmar guide.

Colorado beer, in context

Worth framing properly. Colorado has one of the strongest brewing cultures in the United States, and Lakewood sits in the middle of it geographically without being a brewery destination itself. Great Divide at Belmar is the significant name actually in the city; the wider scene – Denver’s brewery districts to the east, Golden to the west – is a short drive in either direction.

★ Golden deserves a specific mention for anyone interested: it is minutes west, it is where Coors has brewed since the nineteenth century, and it has a walkable historic main street that Lakewood cannot match. If beer is the point of the evening, that is the drive worth making.

Practical notes

★ Altitude changes how alcohol affects you, and this is not folklore. Lakewood sits above 5,000 feet, and visitors from sea level routinely find drinks hit noticeably harder, particularly in the first week. Pace accordingly and drink more water than usual.

Do not drive. Rideshare coverage across Lakewood and into Denver is good, and Colorado enforcement is serious. In a city this car-dependent, that is worth planning before the first drink rather than after.

The W Line light rail runs through Lakewood into Denver, which makes a night in the city genuinely practical without a car – worth checking against where you are staying.

Last call in Colorado is 2am, though most of Lakewood closes earlier than that in practice.

Eat first. The food here is stronger than the nightlife, and the sensible order is dinner at 240 Union or somewhere on Colfax then drinks at Belmar.

What a night out actually looks like here

For a realistic picture rather than a list: most evenings in Lakewood are dinner-led rather than bar-led. People eat somewhere along Colfax or at Belmar, have a drink with the meal or one after it, and are home by a reasonable hour. The city has very few late rooms, almost no walkable bar clusters outside Belmar, and a population that skews toward families and outdoor-oriented households who are up early the next day for a trail.

That is worth knowing rather than discovering. If you want a long night with several stops, the honest advice is to take the W Line or a rideshare into Denver and treat Lakewood as where you sleep. If you want a good meal, a decent local beer and a walk back to the car without any of it feeling like an effort, Lakewood does that well and does it more cheaply than the city does.

Where Lakewood beats Denver for a drink

There are two situations where staying local genuinely wins. The first is cost – a round at Belmar or along Colfax runs noticeably below the equivalent in central Denver, and parking is free rather than a paid garage, which quietly adds up over a year. The second is the after-outdoors drink, which is really what this city is built for: coming off Green Mountain or out of Bear Creek at six in the evening and being at a table twenty minutes later, still in hiking clothes, without anyone caring. Denver does not do that better, and it is the version of a night out that most Lakewood residents actually have.

A note on Colorado licensing

One quirk worth knowing if you are new to the state. Colorado sells full-strength beer, wine and spirits in liquor stores, and grocery and convenience stores now carry beer and wine as well, so stocking up is straightforward – but liquor stores keep their own hours and many close earlier than you would expect on a Sunday evening. Last call across the state is 2am, though the practical last call in Lakewood is usually earlier because most rooms here close before the law requires it.

More Lakewood guides

Lakewood rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Best restaurants in Lakewood, Date ideas in Lakewood, Things to do in Lakewood — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Ask a Lakewood neighbor

The best tips never make the guidebooks — they come from neighbors who know which spot is worth it this week. That is what the Lakewood community on Neighborhood Nurturers is for. Ask Lakewood locals what they would do, or join free and get honest answers from people who actually know Lakewood.

Frequently asked questions

What is the nightlife like in Lakewood, Colorado?

Casual and brewery-driven — craft breweries, brewpubs, and neighborhood bars, with the walkable Belmar district as the hub and Denver’s bigger scene a short light-rail ride away.

Where are the best bars in Lakewood?

The walkable Belmar district for bars and brewpubs, plus neighborhood breweries and sports bars along the West Colfax corridor.

Where do locals go out in Lakewood?

Locals favor Belmar and neighborhood breweries, and head to Denver for bigger nights — Lakewood neighbors share picks in our community.