It isn’t called the “Mile High City” for nothing. Grab your ski poles and snow boots and get ready to hit the slopes – the city teems with people who have booked flights to Denver purely for ski season. Stand atop any one of Denver’s mountains and you’ll be able to see miles of breathtaking Colorado landscape. Savvy travelers booking flights to Denver also know that Denver got its nickname from the 13th step leading up to the State Capitol, which is precisely 5,280 feet above sea level. The altitude you get on your flight to Denver is just a little introduction to what it’s like in the Mile High City.
When your flight to Denver arrives, you’ll be in the largest city in Colorado is known for more than its steep incline and sensational skiing. It is the financial, business, political and transportation center of the Rocky Mountain region. Of course, its numerous ski and mountain resorts fuel the tourism industry with skiers booking flights to Denver. With more than 11 million visitors booking Denver flights, accommodations, ski weekends and business conventions in the city, it’s no wonder Denver continues to thrive for tourists.
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Thanks to its location in the Rockies, Denver has a mild climate with over 300 days of sunshine a year. Colorado weather is famous for its fluctuations, during any season and any day, which also means that most weather conditions are temporary. The average temperatures in January range from the mid-teens to the low 40s (Fahrenheit) and in July from the upper 50s to the upper 80s.
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Peak Season:
Summer offers the best chance for good weather with the warmest temperatures, and the wildflowers are at their peak in July and August. Ski season runs from mid-November to mid-April.
Off Season:
Spring and fall are when you’re more likely to find a cheap plane tickets to Denver. There’s a chance of snow, but it will probably melt quickly. Spring is typically colorful and wet where Fall is usually dry. September is the time to catch the foliage change color and is the favorite time of year for many locals.
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Denver International Airport (DEN)
Distance: 23 miles northeast
Drive time: 35-45 mins.
Buses, taxis, and limousines provide transportation between the airport and downtown, and most major car-rental companies have outlets at the airport. Information on skyRide and the hotel shuttles is available on the Ground Transportation page of the airport web site. Because many major hotels are some distance from the airport, check the availability and cost of hotel shuttle services when making your reservations.
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You can walk around downtown Denver easily or take public transportation. The 16th Street Mall has a free bus service running down the length of it. It stops every two blocks. To get around Denver, its suburbs and outlying communities, like Boulder and Evergreen, you can take the Regional Transportation District (RTD). It offers bus and light-rail services and has free transfer tickets, but you’ll need exact change. A great way to sightsee is hopping on the open-air Platte Valley Trolley, which has half-hour tours on its “Denver Sightseeing Route” in the warmer months. If you’re heading out of town for the day, you’ll need to rent a car. Be mindful of driving conditions during winter; storms can make driving treacherous.
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- The Colorado State Capitol has murals depicting the history of water in the state on the walls of the first-floor rotunda. On the first floor, the west lobby hosts revolving temporary exhibits. When you stand on the 18th step of the State Capitol, you are 5,280 feet (one mile) above sea level.
- Two museums of interest are Museo de las Americas, showing the artistic and cultural achievements of Latinos in the Americas, and the Colorado History Museum, with exhibits including Ancient Voices, a look at Colorado’s ancient peoples through artifacts and film, and Soldiers on Skis, the story of WWII soldiers who trained for battle in the Colorado Rockies.
- One of the top five U.S. botanical gardens is here. The Denver Botanic Gardens are 23 acres of local, Australian, African, and Himalayan flora.
- There are 80 different beers brewed in the Denver area. Coors Brewing Company offers free tours, with stops in the sampling areas. The tours are limited and conducted on a first-come first-served basis, so you may want to get there early. The brewery is in Golden, about 30 minutes from Denver.
- When you ask for directions, people usually instruct you to “turn west off of” or “then go south” and so on. Just remember that everything is Denver is relative to the mountains, and that the mountains are west of the city.
- For gifts to take back home, take a look a fossils. Fossils tend to cost less in Denver because they are more abundant here than in other places.
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