Travel | featured news

Opening day for Colorado ski season is drawing near. Arapahoe Basin has announced it will open on Oct. 29. Keystone and Loveland may not be far behind, and this weekend’s cold front and snowfall could help them get there.
Last year, A-Basin was the first to open, on Oct. 23, followed by Keystone on Oct. 28, Winter Park on Oct. 31 and Loveland on Nov. 3.

Colorado hasn’t missed out on an October opening for the ski season since 1992, and thanks to Arapahoe Basin, that streak will continue in 2023.
A-Basin officials announced Friday that the 77-year-old area nicknamed “The Legend” will open on Sunday, which will mark the 11th time in 13 years that it beat its local rivals to become the first Front Range area open for the season. It also tied for opening day honors with Loveland in 2015. Wolf Creek in southern Colorado was the first in the state to open in 2020 and 2021.

The return of ski season isn’t just an athletic and leisure concern; it’s also a cultural reawakening. At least in Colorado, where our high-country identity has long been tethered to the beloved snowsport that drives both tourism and choking highway traffic.

A bear attacked a security guard Monday night in the kitchen of the St. Regis Aspen Resort.
The guard was treated for scratches on his back and later released from the hospital, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were unable to safely capture the bear, according to a Tuesday news release.
About 11 p.m., the security guard had been investigating reports of a bear in the hotel when he suddenly came upon the bear in the kitchen.

When looking for beach vacations from Denver, the choices have historically been to head south or west — Mexico, Belize and California come to mind — in part thanks to direct flights available to these destinations.

Looming over the Central Park neighborhood in its bland shade of government gray, Stapleton International Airport’s former control tower has been a mystery to most since it went out of use in 1995 when Denver International Airport opened further east.
It sat vacant for two decades, and even after the building was sold, built onto and incorporated into the Punch Bowl Social restaurant in 2017, the 164-foot tower itself remained off-limits.

Ski season is almost here. The countdown has begun to see whether Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Keystone or Wolf Creek will become the first Colorado ski area to open. It’s usually the first ski area in the country to open for the season, too.

The Denver Zoo’s African lion pride leader was euthanized Wednesday after a severe infection spread to his lung and bones, the Zoo announced Thursday.
Tobias, the seven-year-old lion, had several other medical conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and chronic kidney disease, when the veterinary team at the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Animal Hospital found the infection.

Nearly half of all concert-goers at Red Rocks traveled from out of state last year to see their favorite musicians, spending $305 million in the Denver metro area before and after concerts, according to the first-ever economic impact study of the amphitheater.

Arapahoe Basin is usually the first Colorado ski area to open for the season, and when the big day arrives, there’s always a long lift line with a party vibe and plenty of wacky costumes.
It isn’t the only long line filled with antsy skiers and snowboarders, though.