Things That People Get Wrong About Denver
I grew up in both Denver and Boulder, Colorado. I’ve lived in both towns as a kid, teen and adult. Denver, though, has become the place that I’ve lived the longest and for the United States (as it currently is) likely where I’ll continue to live for the foreseeable future. One of the things that I’m consistently amused by are all of the misconceptions people have about the city of Denver and even more broadly-about the state of Colorado. If you’e Colorado curious, thinking about visiting, moving here, or live here already I hope you’ll enjoy the following list of TK things that people get wrong about Denver.
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Book a Tour
Before I share the itinerary, I do recommend that you also make sure to book a tour while you’re here. There are so many places to visit such as Rocky Mountain National Park, Garden of the Gods and Red Rocks. If you’re not planning to rent a car, don’t feel like dealing with mountain driving conditions (a nightmare during the summer and winter) then I strongly encourage you to book a tour with Viator. Leave the driving and planning in their hands.
It’s Not Always Snowing
Or, maybe a better way to say is that Denver isn’t always cold. In fact, the weather is significantly nicer than most people think it is. After living out on the East Coast for college, I was both baffled and confused by the constant questions concerning Denver’s weather. Then I noticed that whenever there was a snowstorm in the mountains or a exciting weather event in Colorado, the reporters would report the story as if Denver was in the Arctic and that the city was buried underneath a ridiculous amount of snow. In reality the snow would be gone, the skies would be blue and the only remaining patches of snow would be on the North facing side of most buildings. IYKYK. The weather is increasingly more mild and at times it can feel like how I imagine life is in California. Mild with occasional inconvenient weather.
There’s Nothing to Good Eat
For the past 20+ years in particular slowly but surely the food scene in Denver has gotten a lot more consistent. Enough where I as a bonafide foodie can unironically say that there’s good food in town. I get so tired of the “There’s no good food in Denver” complaints. If you’re making those complaints then I think one of the following things is likely happening.
- You only follow food influencers who actually have a limited palate when it comes to food-Some people who’ve decided to become “Food Influencers” are actually the worst people to speak on the food experience in town. They often lack culinary and cultural curiosity, are nervous to go anywhere that has cultural diversity and don’t eat enough spicy food. I said what I said.
- You expect all of the food cultures you grew up with to be in Denver and forget that different immigration patterns and places people settled influence the food that’s in a town. If you’re from NYC or Chicago, there’s no way that Denver can compete with some of the rich food histories that are a part of those towns.
- Not understanding that gentrification has dispersed certain types of restaurants and food concepts throughout the Denver Metro Area.
I have more thoughts on good food in Denver, but I’ll write a post about it or record a podcast episode to share a deeper context around the food scene in town.
Everybody Knows How to Ski
I hate to tell you this Margaret, but most Coloradans who grew up here and are 32 years or older probably learned how to ski as an adult. It wasn’t until the last 10 years where kids in Colorado (and Utah) were offered free ski lessons as part of a program to introduce skiing to local kids. The effort was designed to make skiing more affordable for families and to deepen the future base of ski clientele who would be interested in skiing in Colorado. If you grow up skiing, it’s not a weird thing to eventually go skiing as an adult. Not everyone has the time, the energy or the money to go skiing regularly. Many Coloradans live entire lives without ever hitting the slopes.
There’s No Public Transit
As a lifelong user of public transit, I’ve watched as the transit infrastructure has improved and expanded throughout the state of Colorado. In fact, one of my biggest pet peeves about transit in Colorado for most of the time that I’ve lived here is the lack of access to the mountains if you don’t have a car. Happily, that issue has improved because we now have public transit that serves the entire state. Here’s what I want people to know specific to Denver and the rest of the state.
- Denver has a light rail system-It’s not perfect, in fact the further you are to the city center the more challenging it is to enjoy the system…especially if you’re in Aurora where it seems like a lot of service cuts have happened in the past. This is an ongoing issue that I feel like the RTD is always tinkering with.
- Did you know that you can take a train from DIA (Denver International Airport) direct to downtown Denver’s Union Station? Literally the last stop on the train. It’s $10.50 and even though I would love for the price to drop, it’s a quick 37 minute ride and safe to ride because they have security on it. I haven’t driven to the airport in YEARS and am always amazed when I hear that people have no idea that there’s a train to the plane. By the way, this train is called the A-LINE or “The Train to the Plane“
- Bustang-I’m obsessed with Bustang. I believe it’s a public/private transit partnership that services many points throughout the state. Basically, it’s a bus service. I remember not so long ago when you couldn’t hop on a bus and make your way to Frisco, Vail, Glenwood Springs or even Aspen. Now you can use Bustang to get to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and many points throughout the states. If you hate driving or just hate all of the
- Colorado CarShare-I’m a proud current member and former board member of this amazing resource. Colorado CarShare is a non-profit car sharing program that has cars in Denver, Boulder and Summit County. Members pay a monthly fee and then the cost for the amount of time you’ve booked your car, mileage and gas. Colorado CarShare has a large number of hybrid and EV vehicles so it can be a very reasonably priced car usage experience.
- Colorado Drivers COOP-This is a new project that I’m keeping my eyes on. It’s similar to Lyft or Uber but is a Colorado launched, community led ride share experience.
There’s Nothing to Do in Denver
This is so weird to me. There’s actually too much to do in Denver and I often find myself working through several different activities or experiences that I could go and enjoy on the same day. Denver is not a clubbing city, but there are a lot of live music, raves and other types of concerts your could enjoy. Love art? There’s a surprising number of art forward experiences, theater to enjoy and beautiful outdoors experiences to enjoy. While Denver isn’t for everyone, it’s a great city with a ton of fun things to do.