The Denver area has an improving public transportation system operated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), dubbed 'Reasons To Drive' by some locals! Public transport includes a light rail system, which mainly covers points southward and an extensive bus service with an associated Park & Ride system. For most travel outside Denver city center a car is virtually essential.
Denver rail and bus
Denver's modern light rail network opened in 1994 with the Central Corridor line. There are now six routes serving the Downtown area, with routes C, E, F, G and H serving the southwest or southeast. Route D travels northeast.
All routes link with the 16th Street Free Mall Ride which extends along the Civic Center station in the east to Market Street station in the west.
The Light Rail provides a convenient link to Denver's major sports stadia - Coors Field; Pepsi Center and Invesco Field at Mile High. Routes C and D extend out to the attractive town of Littleton while E, F and G reach Lincoln. There is a spur out eastwards to Nine Mile on lines G and H.
RTD operates 160 bus routes around the Denver metropolitan area and an extensive Park & Ride system for those heading in to the city centre. There's also a wide range of taxi and limo services.
Getting around Colorado
Your own transport is pretty well essential unless you plan to stay in one resort - something that can work out fine as local transportation is excellent in many ski resorts. Assuming you want to explore, however, get a vehicle, ideally a 4x4 as you may well be tempted off the main highways.
The main routes out of Denver are I-70, which winds westwards through glorious mountain scenery. It provides access to major resports such as Idaho Springs; Georgetown; Copper Mountain and Leadville; Summit County; Vail and Aspen. Glenwood Springs is right on I-70 which then passes by Grand Junction on the western slope of Colorado before it crosses into Utah.
Other major routes westward include 285 towards Buena Vista while the short drive northwest on 36 takes in the attractive university town of Boulder. You can then drive on to the Rocky Mountain National Park and nearby resorts of Estes Park and Grand Lake.
I-25 is the main north-south route. It's just over an hour north to Fort Collins and then a short drive on to Wyoming and the city of Cheyenne. Southwards, I-70 heads to Colorado Springs, the state's second largest city. Beyond is Pueblo and Trinidad before crossing the New Mexico border. It's a seven hour ride to the historical city of Santa Fe, New Mexico's capital, and another hour further to Albuquerque.
Eastward, Colorado is thinly populated prairie with little to appeal to visitors. There are lengthy trips via I-70 or I-76/I-80 to the somewhat scattered attractions of Kansas and Nebraska.
There's a useful network of flights to more far-flung Colorado destinations such as Aspen, Durango and Teluride - each of them worth the journey - from both DIA and Colorado Springs.
16th St Bus
Scenic cycling
To the mountains
Balloon Classic
Snowmobile
