From 14,000-foot mountaintops to roadside pulloffs and a lofty memorial site, passenger cars will have no trouble reaching these five scenic overlooks located within about two hours of Denver, from Rocky Mountain National Park to Pueblo.
We found three alpine lakes and four gushing waterfalls that offer refreshing, cool fun for the whole family, including those using strollers or wheelchairs.
Adventurer Quinn Brett, who is paralyzed from the waist down, thinks Colorado can do better when it comes to adaptive sports and recreational opportunities—and she’s helping to make that happen.
Enjoy the views, minus the exertion, on these five easy hikes, all 1.2 to 2.8 miles long and within about two hours of Denver.
Getting into the backcountry can be hard work, but not every adventure requires extreme exertion. We found six fun and easy ways to enjoy Colorado’s great outdoors without lifting a finger—or pulling a muscle.
From soaking facilities with ADA-compliant lifts to pools with ramps, handrails, and benches, we found a soothing Colorado hot springs experience for nearly every ability and mobility.
Meet the Denver couple sharing their passion for fare inspired by the flavors and traditions of Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico.
A locavore’s guide to the state’s tastiest animal-free proteins, dairy-less cheeses, and vegan-friendly desserts.
Denver Public Schools didn’t renew the teacher’s contract at the end of the school year, prompting student protests and allegations of racism.
The Mile High City boasts some of the best art collections in the country. We’ve rounded up where to see the best art in Denver—from paintings depicting the American West to eclectic outdoor sculptures.
The checks will begin arriving in Coloradans’ mailboxes this month.
From fried testicles to green-chile-smothered burgers, here’s your guide to the Centennial State’s famous fare.
One food writer tested five Colorado-made products to find out.
Connoisseur of cut-offs and founder of Boulder-based Ripton & Co., Elliot Wilkinson-Ray explains his plan to make people feel awesome, one pair of jean shorts at a time.
Last week, the Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency. We posed questions to local doctors and health officials to determine if you need to be concerned.
RTD is waiving its fares this month to combat air pollution. To help you take advantage of the feel-good moment, we’ve rounded up five of the Front Range’s best outdoor outings reachable by bus and rail.
Since January, two campaigns with different visions about psychedelic reform in Colorado set out to collect enough signatures to qualify for this year’s statewide election. Only one made it, but its critics aren’t going anywhere.
We rounded up the best of the foothill borough’s sun-soaked sipping scene.
From skin care to seltzers to supplements, check out our current hemp-derived favorites for National CBD Day and beyond.
Colorado’s iconic Olathe sweet corn season is in full swing. Find out what makes the sought-after ears so sweet and when to stock up on them.
In July, a tweet showing Denver landlords discussing how much to hike rents on their tenants blew up on social media. For Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, it’s just more evidence of a rental market gone mad.
A local author scopes out more than 100 spots in the Mile High City that everyone should visit.
If the Rockies would have gambled—literally—we all could have won big.
With singletrack galore, impressive art and food scenes, and (free!) sunset gondola rides, Snowmass Village is more than just a ski destination.
Beer makers like Arvada’s New Image use the powder, which is made from wine grapes, to amplify the fruity flavors of hazy IPAs.
After a successful contract was ratified between Meow Wolf and members of the Meow Wolf Workers Collective in Santa Fe, Convergence Station employees in Denver are hopping on board.
Meow Wolf’s Vortex music festival returns after a two-year hiatus—and it’s landing in Denver for the first time.
Denver designer Jess Knauf makes coastal style feel right at home in Wash Park.
With the help of designer Beth Armijo, the renovation merges old with new, soft with sleek, and elegance with ease.
A letter from the editor of 5280 Home‘s August/September Kitchen & Architecture Issue.
Their impressive designs have played a major role in making our state’s built landscape so unique.
In the foothills of Colorado Springs, a cozy patio seemingly floats among the trees.
Add a little shine to your cookspace with chic, jewelry-like lighting and hardware.
The recipe for updating a tired, Tuscan-inspired kitchen? A crisp-white—but not too white—color palette.
How to create an elegant bouquet straight from your backyard garden.
The eye-catching municipal space embodies strength and a sense of refuge.
The executive chef at Foraged restaurant creates custom knife handles using exotic materials such as mammoth tusk and mother of pearl.
Seven multitasking kitchens designed for whipping up gourmet meals, entertaining loved ones, and every bite in between.
Ahead of the Casa Bonita relaunch, the star chef reflects on two items that nod to her Mexican heritage and hospitable spirit.
They’ve got 6,000 legs, 3,000 horns, and an appetite for fire mitigation.
Get inspired by Denver Modernism Week and bring some sleek to your abode with the help of these local shops.
We found three lodgings whose renovations are only slightly less impressive than the iconic guests who have graced their beds.
From its new headquarters in Denver, Humanitix favors people over profits.
The vistas are even more spectacular when viewed from heated seats.
The Aurora native left professional football and found meaning in saving lives and changing mindsets.
On the menu this month: Italian tapas, summer’s freshest veggie fritters, and french-fry-filled Cali burritos.
Chef-owner Edwin Sandoval of Xatrucho serves up pastelitos, braised beef, and a plantain-based brunch dish inspired by his homeland.
Eco-activists might be frustrated with the governor, but could anyone do a better job?
The African diaspora seminar is attracting students from diverse backgrounds and helping to level the playing field in advanced placement classes.
Chef-owner Keonho Kim blends Japanese and Korean techniques and flavors to produce crave-worthy dishes at his cheerful, fast-casual restaurant in Aurora.
Also called oshá, the plant is sacred to many Native American and Indigenous people, who don’t want it commoditized by the American herbal products industry. Because it often grows on public lands, the U.S. Forest Service has been put smack in the middle of the fight.
Here’s a look at the lineup of personalities we think would make the casting for a hypothetical season one.
One in 10 Centennial Staters has a so-called orphan disease—the local medical community is trying to help them.
What started as a social outlet during the pandemic became a passion that took one writer from local courses in Denver to the 2021 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships in Utah.
One of the world’s best disc golfers, Eagle McMahon, grew up playing Colorado’s high-elevation courses. Here, his advice for navigating downhill tee shots, rocky terrain, and disc-eating pine trees.
From private, high-elevation mountain courses to wooded public layouts on the Eastern Plains, Colorado’s best disc golf courses are destinations worth traveling to.
We asked Colorado native Kona Panis what it’s like being a disc golf influencer—and the future of the sport.
Disc golfers are a famously welcoming group, but the quickest way to make friends in the scene is to join a club.
Discmania, one of disc golf’s premier disc makers, collaborates with pro players and a local artist to make limited-edition, collectable discs from its U.S. headquarters in Wellington.
We asked Joe Rovere, the winningest Colorado disc golfer of all time—who also happens to be a middle school robotics teacher in Longmont—to give us a lesson on the way discs soar. Plus: what those four numbers on your disc actually mean.
The Denver area has a plethora of disc golf stores where you can stock up on discs, bags, and merch—and learn more about the growing sport.
These 14 free disc golf courses in the Denver metro area are perfect for new players. Plus: the rules and etiquette you need to know.
A letter from the editor of 5280.
A little less than two hours from Denver, the Steel City of the West has more than enough charm to fill this 12-hour itinerary.
Channel your inner Joey Chestnut—the competitive eater who won his 15th Nathan’s hot dog–eating contest last month—to tackle these gigantic dishes, from six-pound burritos to 14-pound pizzas.
For nearly 30 years, 5280 has asked physicians in the Denver area whom they would trust to treat themselves or a loved one. The following 343 doctors—in 100 specialties—were nominated by their peers this year.
A new fabric collection, a local architect’s new documentary, and a can’t-miss house tour.
The new Charlie Papazian Brewing Education Lab, set to open in 2023, is named for the ‘godfather’ of homebrewing and one of the driving forces behind the craft beer movement.
From award-winning taprooms to themed watering holes, here are our favorite breweries within the city limits.
The VRBO of adventure guides, 57hours is a platform built for those with outdoor escapades in mind.
Local breweries are getting into the hard seltzer game in a big way, so we sampled gallons of the bubbly beverages to bring you this list of the best Colorado hard seltzers in a variety of categories.
From Greeley to Fort Collins to Loveland, venture up north to sip some of Colorado’s best craft beers.
The brewery and pizza joint, which employs adults with disabilities, unveils a new vibrating dance floor as their newest inclusive innovation.
Iron paths are popping up across the state to thrillseekers’ delight—and it’s both a good and bad thing.
Aurora just lifted it’s 65-year ban on ice cream trucks. Here’s the scoop on how to snag a sweet treat in and around the city.
The Denver Zoo has partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to replenish an ailing population of boreal toads in the state by breeding adult toads then releasing their tadpoles into the wild. Over several months, 5280 followed along to document the zoo’s journey to conserve the Centennial State’s only high-elevation amphibian.
Cindy Li, founder of Boulder-based Uproot Teas, is committed to selling loose-leaf teas sourced directly from farms that pay their employees an equitable wage.
Alex Sullivan was killed in the 2012 shooting, along with 11 others. His father, Tom, subsequently began a career in state politics focusing on issues related to gun violence and safety. In an interview, Sullivan talked about losing his son, the challenges of passing gun-violence legislation, and whether or not Alex would approve of Tom’s musical tastes.
The city of Boulder recently passed new gun control laws, including an assault weapons ban, but most people likely don’t know that Denver has one of the older assault weapons bans in the country.
Savor the cuisine—which melds Louisiana shellfish boils with Southeast Asian ingredients and techniques—at restaurants such as Lafayette’s Casian Seafood and Greenwood Village’s Tea+.
Marquette Carrington and her troupe of more than 40 dancers promote confidence through burlesque and aerial performances around the metro area. 5280 went behind the scenes at their latest residency at Cherry Creek’s new upscale bar.
Interior designers Lindsey Jamison and Valerie Stafford reimagine a tired office for a client with a taste for vibrance.
As Denver craft beer companies explore the world of non-fungible tokens, here’s what you need to know.
Inflation has reached historic rates, and food is more costly than ever. Here are a few tips to keep costs down at the grocery store.
Whether you’ve just discovered the two-wheeled bliss of mountain biking or consider yourself a seasoned singletracker, there’s tons of fun to be found on Colorado’s newest trails.
The annual competition draws the best-of-the-best in a range of off-road disciplines, but the actual entry requirements are relatively lax. With this year’s event going down at Winter Park, is it time for you to step up to the challenge?
Over the last 15 years, J.W. Lee of Mono Mono Korean Fried Chicken has opened nearly a dozen restaurants inspired by his homeland.
Competitive Kan Jam, aka discflect, is a thing, and you can try your disc-flicking hand at the growing sport at the Kan Jam World League tournament in RiNo on Saturday.
Local abortion providers have noticed immediate impacts—and worry about the long-term repercussions.
Farm Eats Direct serves seasonal dishes made from locally sourced excess food.
When Arise Music Festival bit the dust in May, it joined a long list of vanquished predecessors. The grim joke is that Colorado has a music festival curse, but paranormal speculation aside, what’s really going on here?
Applications are now open (again) for the city of Denver’s e-bike rebate program. Here, a guide to e-bike basics, as well as what you should know before investing in one.
Want to catch a wave but don’t have a boat to make one? eFoiling—essentially motorized wakeboarding—is the newest, coolest way to do it.
The podcast—two-and-a-half years in the making—focuses on the lives of people in the Latino, Hispanic, and Chicano communities. 5280 caught up with Ortega to learn more about ¿Quién Are We?
Whether you’re planning a getaway or just want to explore your own neighborhood, here are our favorite spots to grab a drink inside Centennial State hotels.
Rustic Station is one of three restaurants in the petite Park County city, located about 45 minutes from Denver.
Calli Swofford, proprietor of Berkeley boutique Miller Lane Mercantile, shares her favorite ways to throw together an easy summer night gathering—with a fresh-from-the-farmer’s-market menu, laid-back tablescape, and, of course, plenty of chilled rosé.
The husband, wife, and daughter behind Lakota Body Care and Corn Maiden Designs make authentic Native goods for everyone.
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ first-of-its-kind respite care center offers a safe space to recover—while cutting down on health care costs.
Cycling legend Lennard Zinn shares tips and tricks for upfitting your bike.
From founding the Old Chicago pizzeria chain to revitalizing the Hotel Boulderado, 90-year-old Frank Day has been operating restaurants for more than 50 years—and he isn’t slowing down just yet.
A rented camper van, 2,500 miles, and 10 days exploring the abyss between Instagram fantasies and open-road reality.
Six months after the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history ripped through the Boulder suburbs, we checked in with those who experienced the tragedy. They told us what they’ve learned—and what they think other Centennial Staters should know.
Stories of love, loss, and perseverance in the face of disaster.
Each year, hundreds of Colorado teens end up in wilderness therapy programs—but should recent calls for reform give parents pause?
