Understand
Denver is the Mile High City, a bustling city of over 579,000 people supporting a metropolitan area of nearly 3 million people. Though the city embraces its cowboy and mining past it also looks forward to the future with a vibrant arts, and performing arts scene, dozens of great outdoor festivals, awesome neighborhoods offering their own unique experiences, and pretty much everything a cosmopolitan city has to offer, not to mention great access to the beautiful Rocky Mountains only 15 miles west of town (Unlike the Denver seen in the television series "Dynasty").
Thanks to the
Denver Mint Denver Mint Tours, more U.S. money is made in Denver than anywhere else in the world. Fish a coin out of your pocket and look for the "D" on the face side of the coin (usually in the bottom right quadrant). The 'D" means the money was minted in Denver.
Still, Denver does have its growing pains. Sprawl is becoming a problem, with the metropolitan area sometimes growing faster than the infrastructure can really handle, especially with public transportation. Denver is generally a driving city, and problems with pollution and traffic are thus a part of every day life. In November 2006, the T-REX transportation construction along I-25 was completed (with a Light-Rail line as well), which is aiding in the traffic and transportation for this area of the city. Denver's grid system is fairly efficient as well, though there is often confusion at the intersections of the NE-SW, NW-SE downtown grid, with the N-S, E-W grid of the rest of the city.
The Denver climate is generally mild year-round, with mostly low humidity and spectacular seasons. Visitors are often surprised to see temperatures in the 50s and 60s even in January, although it certainly can get very cold in Denver on occasion during the winter months. Though summer temperatures can get into the 90s and even the 100s, the low humidity keeps the heat bearable, and afternoon thunderstorms often cool off the city by mid-day. No matter what time of year, Denver weather can be very unpredictable. Its position next to the mountains can quickly bring in storm systems as well as warming "Chinook" winds that quickly raise the temperature 20-30° in the course of a day. Weather in the nearby mountains changes even more rapidly. Don't be surprised by the weather -- pack a variety of clothes at all times of the year.
Late spring/early summer and early autumn are excellent times to visit Denver if you are an outdoor sports enthusiast. The weather is generally pleasant, there is an abundance of outdoor festivals at these times, and the mountains offer great beauty in the form of plenty of wildflowers in early summer and the fantastic color of the changing aspen trees in September.
Of course, for skiing enthusiasts, winter is the best time to visit Denver. There are many ski resorts about 1 1/2-2 hours west of Denver along I-70, though the weekend traffic to these resorts can be very...
