Group of hikers in a field

 

Big City, Big Mountains & Big Opportunities

Colorado history and mountains offer a unique and grand culture. Enjoy the following facts about Denver and the stunning state of Colorado:

  • Colorado has 26 ski areas and resorts to enjoy activities year-round.
  • Denver has the second highest number of college graduates per capita in the U.S. (after Washington, D.C.).
  • The mountainous area of Colorado is six times the size of Switzerland.
  • Denver is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the United States.
  • At 5,280 feet above sea level, golf balls fly 10 percent farther in the Mile High City.
  • Denver has the nation's most highly educated downtown workforce.
  • Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year – more than San Diego or Miami Beach.
  • The Denver metro area receives only 15 inches of precipitation a year, about the same as Los Angeles.
  • Mid-winter temperatures of 60 degrees are common.
  • Denver has seven major professional sports franchises.
  • The Colorado Trail – a 500-mile hiking trail – crosses eight mountain ranges, seven national forests, six wilderness areas and five river systems.
  • The Denver Center for the Performing Arts hosts over 10 Broadway productions each season.
  • Colorado is the only state in history to turn down the Olympics. In 1976 the Winter Olympics were planned to be held in Denver, but 62 percent of all state voters chose at almost the last minute not to host the Olympics because of the cost, pollution and population boom it would have on the state of Colorado and the city of Denver.
  • The United States Air Force Academy is located in Colorado Springs.
  • The world's largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa.
  • In Fruita, the town folk celebrate "Mike the Headless Chicken Day". Seems that a farmer named L.A. Olsen cut off Mike's head on Sept. 10, 1945 in anticipation of a chicken dinner - and Mike lived for another four years without a head.
  • The LoDo region of Denver stands for Lower Downtown.
  • Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger. The trademark for the name cheeseburger was awarded in 1935 to Louis Ballast.
  • The highest paved road in North America is the road to Mt. Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs. The road climbs up to 14,258 ft. above sea level.
  • Colorado means “colored red” and is known as the “Centennial State.”
  • Colorado contains 75 percent of the land area of the United States with an altitude over 10,000 feet.
  • Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.
  • The 13th step of the state capitol building in Denver is exactly one mile above sea level.
  • The Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel between Clear Creek and Summit counties is the highest auto tunnel in the world. Bored at an elevation of 11,000 feet and passing under the Continental Divide, it is 8,960 feet long and the average daily traffic exceeds 26,000 vehicles.
  • Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States at 10,430 feet elevation. Because there was lots of "silver" named towns at the time, the founding fathers suggested Leadville.
  • Katherine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful” after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.
  • Pueblo is the only city in America with four living recipients of the Medal of Honor.
  • Every year Denver host the worlds largest rodeo, the National Western Stock Show.
  • Denver has the largest city park system in the nation with 205 parks in city limits and 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains.
  • The tallest sand dune in America is in Great Sand Dunes National Monument outside of Alamosa. This bizarre 46,000-acre landscape of 700-foot sand peaks was the creation of ocean waters and wind more than one million years ago.