Things to do / Travel Guide
The eastern Colorado and Wyoming Rockies region is pretty much the easternmost point on a trip to the mountains and deserts of the western United States. Because of this, Denver has been as a transportation hub since its inception.
Flying to Denver, Colorado Springs (DEN, COS)
Denver International Airport (DEN) is one of the busiest airports in the country, and has been acclaimed as the best and the most on-time in the U.S. Virtually every major US airline flies to Denver and operates at one of its three concourses. It is world-famous for its efficiency, and it's the largest airport by area in the U.S. (twice as large as Manhattan in terms of land area covered!).
Alternatively, you can fly from Las Vegas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, the major California airports, and a few other cities directly into Colorado Springs. Flying into Colorado Springs Airport (COS) is a somewhat more expensive way of reaching the region, but it might be ideal if your vacation plans don't take you to the northern areas of the region.
Airport Shuttle - Denver to Colorado Springs and Laramie, WY
Bear in mind that Denver International Airport (DEN) is a good 40 minutes Northeast of the city center, off I-470. There is public transportation available from the airport into the city by means of Denver's Regional Transportation District. You can take the DASH (Denver Airport Shuttle), which departs every half-hour. By reservation it will come to pick you up at your hotel. It's a bit of a ride to the airport, usually around 40 minutes from downtown Denver, at a cost of around $50.
You can take the airport shuttle bus from Denver to Colorado Springs. The shuttle operates on a fixed schedule between Denver airport and Colorado Springs airport with stops along the way, along I-25 in and near Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs Airport is located just outside the city to the southeast, and you can reach the city via the Colorado Springs Shuttle. The shuttle stops at the major hotels in the area.
Additionally, if Boulder is your destination, you can take the Boulder Supershuttle from the airport. Pick-up at the airport and from Boulder is once an hour, and from Boulder you can call in advance and they'll pick you up from your hotel.
An airport shuttle from Denver to Laramie with stops in Cheyenne and in between operate on a fixed schedule. Reserve a day ahead and allow two and a half hours from Laramie and two from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Denver Shuttle to Vail and Rockies Ski Resorts
Heading west to the ski areas of the Colorado Rockies? The resorts are well-served by several shuttle companies. For many people, a shuttle is preferable to renting a car, especially if the resort is self-contained, as many of them are. You may find your car sitting in a Vail parking lot for your whole vacation, so why pay for that privilege and also pay for the rental?
If you are from a place with less slow and lower elevation, which is probably try for just about everyone visiting the Colorado ski resorts, you will find that the economy car which was great driving around Florida, may have a very hard times at 7000 feet on I-70. You get the idea.
Fortunately, you are not alone – the Denver to Vail Shuttle route is crowded with competitors, so pick the one best for you. Bear in mind that some involve sharing the van with others. So, really you might not be alone. Shuttles from Denver serve Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Steamboat Springs, as well.
Taking the Train to Denver, Colorado
Union Station provides a station stop for Amtrak's California Zephyr line, which whizzes daily through the Great Plains, and sometimes tunnels underneath great mountains between Chicago and San Francisco. Other stops along the route include Omaha, Grand Junction, Salt Lake City, Reno, and Sacramento. Taking the train to Denver, Colorado is certainly a great travel experience, but it takes time – allow 17 hours from Chicago to Denver, and over 30 from San Francisco. One arrives at Denver's Union Station, on the west end of 17th Street in LoDo. LoDo, for the as-yet uninitiated, is one of Denver's main centers for entertainment, food, shopping. The station is also the terminus for the C Line light rail route.
Driving to Denver, Colorado
Denver is also pretty convenient to arrive at by car. It's located along I-70, which splits the nation north-south from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City, and I-25, which runs from Montana to the Mexican border at El Paso. Denver is also the termination point of I-76. I-76 meets up with the great I-80, which, running from Chicago to San Francisco, passes through Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.
If Denver isn't your destination, then the other main east-west highways crossing the region are I-80, passing Cheyenne and Laramie, and I-70, reaching and terminating at Colorado Springs from the east.
Below you'll find the approximate distances and driving times to Denver from other places outside the region:
- Chicago to Denver: 1000 miles, 16.5 miles
- Yellowstone to Denver: 565 miles, 12 hours 45 minutes
- Salt Lake City to Denver: 530 miles, 9 hours
- Las Vegas to Denver: 750 miles, 12 hours 45 minutes
- Albuquerque to Denver: 445 miles, 7.5 hours
- Dallas to Denver: 880 miles, 14 hours 45 minutes
- Kansas City to Denver: 600 miles, 10 hours
- Aspen to Denver: 160 miles, four hours
- Durango to Denver: 340 miles, 7.5 miles
- Grand Junction to Denver: 240 miles, 4.5 hours
Airports Serving Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Cheyenne Wyoming and the Eastern Rockies
Getting-There
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Peterson Field Airport (COS)
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