I need to decide which airport to overlay in: Chicago, St Louis, or Denver on a flight to San Fran

I have been to Chi several times but would prefer a smaller airport. Especially since I fly out of Madison Wi (only 8 gates).

Are any of these better than the other, not concerned with the food court, etc, just how easy it is to navigate and safety.

Josie:

The smallest of these airports is St. Louis.

I don't think any of these airports is difficult, but I travel a lot. If all you care about is size, than fly thru STL, tho it is my least favorite of the three.

If you're a smoker, there are rooms to smoke in in STL. At least there were a year or so ago.

I'm not saying this happens often, but it's happened enough to me to be annoying: If there are problems at O'Hare (weather, shortage of planes needing to fly in from somewhere else, whatever), the Chicago-Madison or Madison-Chicago flights are easy enough to cancel, because there's always the option of the airline putting you on the bus.

Josie,
All three airports are big, so it really shouldn't matter unless you're on Southwest with a connection in St. Louis. They have their own smaller terminal there.

Of the three, DEN has the most shops for taking up some of your layover time. That's where I'd want to be. There is nothing more boring than spending a layover just sitting, waiting for the next flight IMO.