Things to do near Denver Airport?
 

Hello,
I will be meeting some friends in Denver in two weeks and I was wondering if there is anything to do near the Denver Airport. We are all arriving at different times so it wouldn't pay to go to downtown Denver and then drive back an hour or two later to meet the rest of my party.

Is there anything near the airport - park, good restaurant, etc. where I could wait for my friends to arrive instead of just sitting in the airport?

Thanks so much!

The airport itself is 50+ square miles (almost the size of Washington DC), so it takes quite a bit of time just to get off the property. Sorry, I don't know much about the area just outside its boundaries. There are art exhibits in the airort, though.

The Airport is located well East/NE of the city. It isn't a bad Airport but you'll not have time to venture out anywhere.

A flight attendant I had on a flight to Denver called the airport something like "South Wyoming Airport"...meaning it's in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing to do :)

There really is nothing around the airport. It is about the same distance from downtown Denver as other major airport like O'Hare is from downtown Chicago. And it is good thing the flight attendants are not driving 'cause it is nowhere near Wyoming.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback. I guess I'll be hanging out in the airport ;)

Yep, there's not much nearby. While the reference to "South Wyoming Airport" was obviously tongue in cheek, it IS in the middle of nowhere. Actually, DEN isn't a bad place to be. It has some very nice stores and restaurants. If you like nature and wildlife photography, be sure to visit Tom Mangelson's store "Images of Nature". He's an extraordinay photographer and has some of the most increbile photos (many in the Rockies) you'll ever see.

As you exit the airport there is the airport hotel area on Tower Rd.

This area has a nice assortment of restaurants as well as airport hotels.

It is a few minutes drive from the airport proper.

How much time do you have? You could get the rental car while you're waiting (if you're getting one).

Unless you've got several hours, it's probably best to stay at the airport.

If you have several hours, with a car, you could drive as far as Northfield shopping center (I-70 and Quebec, about 15- 20 minutes from airport parking lot). It's a huge new complex with shops and restaurants and a theater.

There are places to eat, etc. Unfortunately Denver hasn't followed other major airports to have a nice mall. I haven't spent much time there, but I have the feeling that terminal A may have some nice places to hang out. It is in the middle of nowhere indeed, and for a long time didn't even have hotels or gas stations! Sort of like they weren't sure it would "fly".

Denver airport is designed a little different from other airports. It is in the middle of about fifty square miles. The last thing that will happen to this airport is residential areas next to the runways creating operational problems with noise. The access to the airport is ten miles from I-70. A hotel is not attached to the terminal building but there are future plans for one. There are several hotels within five miles or so and serviced by shuttles along with some restaurants. The airport is not designed or intends to have a lot of development right next to the terminal areas. There has always been gas stations and hotels just outside the airport property since day one. There are more now. The airport has been very suceessful since it was opened about ten years ago.

It is a wonderful airport. We love it and use it often. And yes the one gas station on the property at the beginning was run by robber barons for the price of gas. It is much more pleasant now. But you do have to admit it took a number of years before there were any hotels there, and the price of a cab into town was then and is now a lot. There are other ways now too, of course. It just took a LONG time to get them in place, in my opinion. Our son actually flew IN to Stapleton, and out of DIA on our family ski trip that year. That was an adventure.

DIA was built in the middle of nowhere, for specific reasons having to do with landing patterns, noise, etc. It was built with an eye to runway expansion, and to accommodate increasing demands on Denver's airport.

There was no commercial development there, before DIA was built. It seemed to grow up relatively quickly for those of us who live here and watched it grow.

IMHO, there should be light rail to and from the airport. The Skyway bus is the next best public transit that's cheap.

<b>If you like nature and wildlife photography, be sure to visit Tom Mangelson's store &quot;Images of Nature&quot;. He's an extraordinay photographer and has some of the most increbile photos </b>

I was also going to suggest stopping by Tom's gallery, which is located in one of the terminals ... I have a couple of his prints, he's one of the best wildlife photographers out there.

Peaseout, a rail connection is on the drawing board but it could be another five year or so. Probably will be heavy rail. Since it is fairly well serviced by buses the connection has a lower priority than other parts of the Light rail system. Point out one gas station that is next to the rental car lots that is not a robber baron.

fmpden, I think you're addressing someone else regarding the robber baron question. I rarely buy gas by DIA, but when I do, I go to the McDonald's on Airport Blvd.

The Mangelson shoppe is located on the Lower level of the Main Concourse, and worthy of a few minutes to walk through.

Outside the terminal, on Tower Road is a cluster of hotels. Adjacent to the Comfort Suites, is a diner, that would be a nice gathering place; also a Bennigans. You could probably hop on the hotel shuttles to get there and back to DIA.
You would still be on airport property.

We have found that the gas stations there now are very comparable in price to those on I70. It was NOT the case when there was only one. We would buy at Peoria.