Things to do / Travel Guide
You won't have a rocky time getting to the Colorado Rockies region - with well-marked highways and routes, and plenty of options for air, train, and bus travel, transportation to the region will be smooth sailing.
By Air
Denver International Airport (DEN), the largest airport (by area) in the state and in the entire U.S. for that matter, is understandably a popular choice for arriving to the region from every destination, near or far. From there it is possible to take connecting flights to the Northwest Colorado towns of Aspen/Snowmass (ASE), Steamboat Springs (SBS), and Grand Junction (GJT), and the Southwest Colorado towns of Durango (DRO), Gunnison/Crested Butte (GUC), Montrose (MTJ), and Telluride (TEX). If you'd rather not make a connection in Denver, you can try flying directly into the region at one of these smaller airports from Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas-Fort Worth, but it will usually cost you more.
Grand Junction's Walker Field Airport in Northwest Colorado is the largest airport in Colorado west of Denver and is usually the most convenient choice for flying directly into the Colorado Rockies region. From Denver or Grand Junction you can either grab a rental car (during ski season, reservations are best made in advance) or a taxi. From Denver you can also choose to take one of the several airport shuttles that service the Northwest Colorado towns of Aspen, Breckenridge, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Snowmass, Steamboat Springs, and Vail/Beaver Creek, and the Southwest Colorado communities of Telluride, Crested Butte, Durango, and Gunnison. Shuttles usually travel to and from these destinations at least twice a day, if not more frequently. Shuttle companies and/or local transit authorities in Aspen, Steamboat Springs, and Telluride, among other communities, offer bus service between regional airports and the ski resorts or downtowns, and rental cars are also available from several of the regional airports.
By Car
Running east-west through the middle of the Colorado Rockies region, I-70 stretches from Denver (and beyond to St. Louis) in the east, to Utah in the west, passing the Northwest Colorado towns of Vail, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction along the way. U.S. Highway 40 runs from Denver to Steamboat Springs, in Northwest Colorado, and continues west, crossing the Colorado-Utah border. U.S. Highway 50 runs all the way from Kansas through the South-Central Colorado town of Salida, and Curecanti National Recreation Area, Montrose, and Delta in Southwest Colorado, Grand Junction in Northwest Colorado, and continues on into Utah. Though no major interstate highway runs a north-south trajectory through the region, U.S. Highway 550 runs from New Mexico, through the Southwest Colorado towns of Durango, Ouray, and Montrose. Also, from the north, State Road 789 runs from Wyoming through Northwest Colorado's Meeker and Rifle.
The following are approximate travel times and distances to Grand Junction, in Northwest Colorado, from other destinations outside the Colorado Rockies region:
- Salt Lake City: 285 miles, 5 hours
- Albuquerque: 385 miles, 8 hours
- Denver: 240 miles, 4 hours
- Las Vegas: 510 miles, 7 hours
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming: 430 miles, 9 hours
By Train
Amtrak's California Zephyr line, which travels daily westbound from Chicago and eastbound from Emeryville, California (near San Francisco), stops in both the Northwest Colorado towns of Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction. From Chicago, the trip to Glenwood Springs takes around 24 hours, and from Emeryville, you can expect to be in-transit for around 24 hours on the way to Grand Junction. The trip between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs takes about 2.5 hours. Other notable points along the route from which to catch this train line into the region are Omaha and Denver from the east, and Sacramento and Salt Lake City from the west. Grand Junction's Amtrak station is located on Second Avenue, while the Glenwood Springs station is on Seventh Street.
By Bus
Greyhound Bus Lines offers regular service from cities all over the U.S. to the Southwest Colorado towns of Delta, Durango, Montrose, and Silverton, and to the Northwest Colorado communities of Vail, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction,.
Airports Serving Vail, Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat Springs and the Colorado Rockies
Getting-There
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Peterson Field Airport (COS)
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