Visitor's Information for Denver

Denver is the largest city in and capital of the state of Colorado, USA. Denver, ("The Mile-High City") lies at an altitude of 5,280 feet/1,600 meters, where the midwestern plains give way to the Rocky Mountains. The city officially records its "Mile High" status by a gold band embedded in the steps of the state capitol, located in downtown Denver.

Denver is a bustling city of over 579,000 people supporting a fast growing metropolitan area of nearly 3 million people. Though the city embraces its cowboy and mining past it also looks forward towards the future with a vibrant arts and performing arts scene, dozens of great outdoor festivals, awesome neighborhoods offering their own unique experiences, and pretty much everything a cosmopolitan city has to offer, not to mention great access to the beautiful Rocky Mountains only 15 miles west of town, (Thus the Denver of "Dynasty" is long gone).

Thanks to the Denver Mint, more U.S. money is made in Denver than anywhere else in the world. Fish a coin out of your pocket and look for the "D" on the face side of the coin (usually in the bottom right quadrant). The 'D" means the money was minted in Denver.

Still, Denver does have its growing pains. Urban sprawl is becoming a problem, with the metropolitan area sometimes growing faster than the infrastructure can really handle, especially with public transportation. Denver is generally a driving city, and problems with pollution and traffic are thus a part of every day life including bad road rage incidents. Large mass transportation and freeway expansion projects are underway to keep up with the city's growth included the popular light rail. Denver's grid system is fairly efficient as well, though there is often confusion at the intersections of the NE-SW, NW-SE downtown grid, with the N-S, E-W grid of the rest of the city.

Climate
Contrary to popular belief, Denver residents enjoy a mild climate, and tons of sunshine but they are subject to four very pronounced seasons.

The winter months of December through March can and do bring biting temperatures and heavy snow to the region. While Denver does receive a major blizzard every 6 years on average, most snowstorms bring less than 8 inches of snow, with the foothills locations directly west of Denver receiving copious amounts of snow. Winter is also when the Denver area gets pounded by a phenomenon known as the "chinook", when air flows over the mountains to the west and sinks on the leeward (eastern) slopes of the foothills and warms up, raising air temperatures dramatically, bringing strong wind gusts and lasting for several days. If you're planning to visit Denver during the winter, be prepared with full winter gear, but consider packing a light sweater or t-shirt - you never know what you may be treated to. The bright side is there is plenty of sunshine and blue skies!

Spring in Denver is pleasant, though generally rather brief. Trees begin budding by late March and are in full leaf by late April to mid May. March, on average, is Denver's snowiest month. Severe weather is most prominent in Denver during June, so keep your eyes to the skies if visiting during this time.

By the middle part of June, Denver enters its summer season. Temperatures typically rise in earnest by this time. Most heat waves begin in the latter part of June and continue through July, the hottest month in Denver on average. By the middle part of July, the southwest monsoon kicks in, when temperatures rise rapidly from morning through early afternoon before thunderstorms develop over the mountains and foothills to the west and spread east over the Denver area and eastern plains, producing heavy rains that can drop temperatures rapidly in a matter of minutes. The heat generally sticks around until the third week in August. By this time, there is a noticeable difference in evening and night time temperatures as the days are shorter and average temperatures begin to drop. Beware as the sun is strong and the air is dry and arid with temperatures reaching in the upper 90's on a regualar basis in the peak of summer in July and August. Air quality in the city likewise is poor as a result with smog a major problem.

Early to mid autumn is one of the best times to visit, with decent mild temperatures, little severe weather and the famous blue clear skies. This is also a wonderful time to see the fall colors, which typically peak around the second or third week of September in the mountains and in October in the city itself. October usually brings the first snowfall of the season to Denver, although it is not usually heavy. By November, it is clear that winter is on its way, with plenty of clouds and some snow, so be prepared for cool to frigid weather if visiting during November.

Outdoor Enthusiasts Rejoice!
Late spring/early summer and early autumn are excellent times to visit Denver if you are an outdoor sports enthusiast. The weather is generally pleasant, there is an abundance of outdoor festivals at these times, and the mountains offer great beauty in the form of plenty of wildflowers in early summer and the fantastic color of the changing aspen trees in September.

Of course, for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, winter is the best time to visit Denver. There are many ski resorts about 1 1/2-2 hours west of Denver along I-70, though the weekend traffic to these resorts can be very slow, especially in inclement weather. To avoid the drive, you can take the Ski-Train from Union Station to the Denver-owned Winter Park and Mary Jane ski resorts or the RTD bus service to the Eldora Ski Resort west of Boulder (by far the cheapest option). You can find information about the latter at the RTD bus station at the corner of 16th and Market streets in downtown Denver. To avoid the crowds, go skiing during the week or avoid the busy Thanksgiving to New Years season. There are also numerous mountain trails for snowshoers and cross-country skiers that are generally free.

Get in By plane
Denver International Airport [3], (IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN). Commonly referred to as DIA. It is located about 20 miles to the east of downtown. Frontier Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all maintain hubs at the airport in Concourses A, B, and C respectively. Most other major domestic carriers also have service here.

The airport is located amidst rolling plains, far from any conceivable local destination. Public transportation skyRide offers 5 bus routes from the airport with several stops each, delivering you to many "Park and Ride" locations in the metro area for $6-$10 one way. Purchase tickets at the RTD desk in the main terminal. The airport can be crowded due to its post-9/11 security redesign creating a single central screening station, followed by a train that passengers must take for access to concourses B and C. Forget the fifteen year old rumors about the baggage system, it is no worse than any other airport's, in fact it is perhaps even better than most. It can take up to an hour to get from the ticket line to the gate, so travelers should get to the airport at least 1.5 hours before the scheduled departure time. There are a number of Airport Shuttle companies that will deliver you to the city & points beyond.

Get around

  • Numbered streets run east-west in the north half of the metro area, including suburbs. Ellsworth Avenue is the "equatorial" street. Numbered streets increase as you travel north and are generally called avenues. Avenues south of Ellsworth are named.
  • Named streets run north-south. Broadway is the "meridian" street. Ordered alphabetically going up as you travel east or west away from city center. Adresses on named streets correspond to intersecting numbered streets. i.e. "1701 Broadway" is at 17th and Broadway. North-south streets are generally called streets.
  • Downtown Streets: The diagonal layout of the downtown area can be difficult to understand, especially for first-time visitors. North of Colfax and west of Broadway, the streets are canted 45 degrees from all other streets in the city. The transition between the two systems is confusing even for local residents. Southeast-northwest streets are numbered while southwest-northeast streets are named. As this was the original grid system of Denver, some vestiges of this system exist outside of Downtown, creating diagonal cuts in certain parts of the city. Some of those streets include Park Avenue, Speer Boulevard and Morrison Road.

 


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