How Global Warming May Impact Your Colorado Vacation

[00:00:00] It is October when I'm working on this podcast episode and every couple of days I see someone on threads, which is my favorite social media platform currently, talking about wanting to visit Colorado and how they're so excited to experience snow. I'm excited to experience it too if it ever comes. Before you start planning your Colorado winter trip, we need to talk. Global warming is real and the weather in Colorado is not what you think it is.

[00:00:30] In fact, it's never been what you think it is. We lie a lot about the weather here. When I went to college out east, I was actually constantly confused by people's insistence that it was always snowing in Denver and cold. They would insist and I would think I'm the only person out of the two of us in this conversation who has actually lived in Colorado. So I think I know what I'm talking about in terms of the weather, my actual lived experience.

[00:00:55] Before you book your winter vacation, I need you to listen on. I do want to share a disclaimer. Of course, I'm not a meteorologist, but I currently live in Denver. Again, I grew up in Colorado. One thing I do want to mention is we're going into the winter of 2026, 2027.

[00:01:12] There is supposed to be a super El Nino. With that in mind, that means that there's the potential for quite a bit of snow and or precipitation this winter. We've had a lot of rain, actually, weirdly, in southern Colorado. Historic rain, not snow. So that's weird.

[00:01:31] It's early days yet, but we are at the tail end of fall and it was still reaching the 80s up until last week. We need to talk. Global warming may have the potential to impact your trip experience here. And I don't feel like this is discussed enough. By the way, are you Denver curious? Are you in the process of planning to move or visit the city and would like to understand more of what's happening in town? Do you live here? Actually, if you live here, this is also a question for you.

[00:02:01] The city's grown a lot. It's hard to keep up with what's going on. Are you wondering about the issues that locals care about and more importantly, where to find good food to eat? Cowtown Denver has you covered, written and researched by a local who actually loves the city, has lived in other places, both in the United States and abroad, and has chosen to still call Denver home. Now, don't get me wrong. I could live abroad for a while, too, but Denver will always be home.

[00:02:28] Become a part of the herd. Go to squarestateco.com forward slash cowtown today. Again, that's squarestateco.com forward slash cowtown today. If you have a question about an upcoming visit or you live in town and are looking for something to do, once you sign up, you will be able to leave me a message via the Voxer link that I share with community members. So once you sign up, you'll get a thank you page. And on that page, there's a link.

[00:02:57] One thing to note, I do respond to those messages, those voice messages Tuesday through Thursday. Don't forget to book a tour. There are some activities that are just a bit complicated to put together, especially if you're visiting. In those cases, it's just easier to book with a company that has the resources to deal with the logistics, provide a contained environment to meet new people, especially for you solo travelers and tour guides to explain what in the heck you're looking at.

[00:03:26] If you don't like driving in winter conditions, book a tour. I've listed some of the experiences that would be great for a tour. I'm going to share what they are. Just go to squarestateco.com forward slash tour. Again, that's squarestateco.com forward slash tour. So if you want to visit Red Rocks Amphitheater, you're not going to a concert. You just want to go during the day. You want to visit Breckenridge, but you don't want to figure out how to do that using public transit.

[00:03:53] I use public transit, but if I were visiting and I didn't have the time, I would just book a tour. If you want to head down to Garden of the Gods and do a Jeep tour, which I think sounds really fun and I might actually book because I would be up for that. Or if you would like to explore Estes Park or Denver using an electric bike, book a tour.

[00:04:17] A couple of important things to be aware of, by the way, a tour will make mountain exploration so much easier. There are a lot of trails and even towns in the mountains that are difficult to get to if you're unfamiliar with public transit or just how the transit system works up there. Or if you don't want to book a car. Winter is also considered a high season for tourism in Colorado. So winter and summer.

[00:04:42] There will be a lot, and I mean a lot of traffic going into the mountains with a lot of people who cannot drive well because they aren't used to mountain driving and snowy conditions. Booking a tour through Viator is a great way to let someone who is used to driving in the snow deal with that pain. If you have other trips, by the way, planned before you make it to Colorado, Viator is likely in those cities.

[00:05:08] So definitely, again, head over there, squarestateco.com forward slash tour and check out what Viator has to offer. Okay, so Colorado's winter weather. It's so funny to me because I talk about the winter weather a lot, and there are two things that can be true at the same time. Three. One is that Colorado people are actually deeply invested in upholding the lie that we have bad weather. Two. That Colorado's weather is actually pretty freaking nice.

[00:05:36] I've lived in upstate New York. And when I tell you that a Colorado winter is so nice compared to Midwestern or like a Northeastern winter, I am not exaggerating. It's so nice. And then the third thing is that our winters are changing. All these things are true. I want to mention again that I grew up in Colorado.

[00:06:02] I've lived in both Denver and Boulder back and forth, so I kind of moved back and forth between those two towns. Now that's out of the way, the truth is, again, the weather's nice here. Growing up, we would have some epic snowstorms. Those would, of course, make the news because, again, they were pretty epic. But then the snow would melt really quickly. And one other thing is Colorado's winters are very, very sunny.

[00:06:26] So you don't get the winter blues that can happen in a place that's really gray all the time. It's always sunny. The winters have been changing, though. And we've all been commenting on it. It is not my imagination. This is a topic of conversation. They're a lot warmer. We haven't had a large, like a huge snowstorm, which would be normal in the Denver metro area for years.

[00:06:51] Like I don't remember the last time we had three feet of snow, which is usually like the amount that one of those big storms would have. And last year, the winter of 2025, 2026, in the Denver metro area, it snowed maybe five times. Maybe. And it was hot. I had seasonal depression because it was too hot. It was clear to me because I'd never experienced this before. We had the same weather the whole year. And I learned that I don't like living like that.

[00:07:20] I like weather. The warm weather isn't just happening in the Denver metro area. The warm weather is also happening in our mountain. By the way, when I'm saying the weather is warm, what I mean is that the temperatures have risen from what they were previously and a steady, measurable change over time. So you could follow one of our local meteorologists. They are tracking this. My favorite currently is Chris Bianchi, who we call Crispy Donkey.

[00:07:50] We gave him a little nickname. We love him. And he shares a lot of data. All of them are around the changes in the temperatures and year to date, all that kind of thing. So again, this is data. It's not just me feeling like things have changed. The data is showing that Colorado and the surrounding region, the Rocky Mountain West, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, they've all gotten warmer.

[00:08:15] So if you're trying to ski in Utah or Wyoming or Montana, it's not just Colorado that I'm talking about. You will need to think about this. How does the weather impact your winter vacation? Like the weather as we're experiencing it. I think that it's helpful to share a breakdown of different points during the winter when people are likely to visit Colorado. They include the early winter, the beginning of the holiday season, the start of quote unquote real winter, spring.

[00:08:45] Like there's just different points in the year when people are able to vacation here or when it kind of has an uptick. When I was prepping this episode, something came up and it was like, wow. And what came up was that the Ice Castle Winter Experience, they have this experience all across the U.S. and they've had it in Colorado for several years. It's really wonderful.

[00:09:11] But the Ice Castle Winter Experience was canceled for the 2026-2027 winter season. I'm not surprised about this because the ice castles need two really important things to work. They need water and cold. We basically are struggling with maintaining water. We don't have enough water. And just as a resource. And having sustained cold weather is another issue.

[00:09:38] So instead of going to the ice castles outside, you would go to the Gaylord Rockies for their ice experience, which is really cool. But it's inside where they can maintain a certain level of cold in order to keep the display from melting. What about your Thanksgiving vacation? Let's talk about Thanksgiving.

[00:10:00] Thanksgiving holiday lights are everywhere around town and in the mountains announcing the beginning of the holiday season. Actually, yesterday I was waiting for the bus and they were starting to put the lights up. This is the last week of October. So I was very excited to see that. There are a number of really fun holiday events, both in Denver and the mountains for visitors and community members alike to enjoy.

[00:10:26] These events range from, but they could change, holiday drone experiences, the blossoms of light at the Denver Botanic Gardens and more. What may surprise you is that it's not really snowy this time of year in Denver normally. It has nothing to do with global warming. It's just normally not snowy now. It might not heavily.

[00:10:48] But if there's going to be a weird random snowstorm that pops up to ruin your travels, it will be either the Wednesday that you've booked to leave for Colorado, like you're flying out on that Wednesday, or the Monday when you're returning home. It's hilarious. It's like clockwork. There will likely be snow in the mountains, but it's likely that there won't be snow in Denver. So if you're like, oh, I'm really excited to visit Denver and experience the snow, we would like to experience it too.

[00:11:18] And according to a local television station, KDBR, I've kind of looked for this data. The last time it snowed on Thanksgiving in Denver was 2015. It's 2026. So let's see what happens. Doesn't snow on Thanksgiving here. Usually people go run. There's the turkey trot. They go running. I see people wearing shorts on Thanksgiving. It's pretty nice.

[00:11:41] There are a couple places that I suggest you stay at in the event that there's a snowstorm, the Populous Hotel, Hyatt Place Pena Station, or the Gaylord Rockies, which will have that ice experience. So what about December? What if you're, you know, visiting in December? Now you're probably thinking that there's a lot of snow in Denver on Christmas. You would also be wrong.

[00:12:06] There's a slightly higher chance for snow on Christmas versus Thanksgiving, but I can't remember the last time it snowed on Christmas. It's always sunny, though, with a bit of a chill. It is a little chillier around Christmas. One thing I can almost always guarantee is that traveling to or from Denver during that time of year, there's going to be a storm. Do you see a trend happening? Impacting travel to the Denver metro area.

[00:12:35] That's typically the moment when an epic storm is going to happen, when you're coming back and forth from wherever you're from to Colorado. Doesn't mean not to come. It means that maybe you add a day for travel. Where will you stay if you're stranded here? You could stay at the Atwell Suites, the Spark by Hilton, Denver International Airport, or the Hampton Inn, Denver International Airport. Okay, so New Year's.

[00:13:05] Now, you're probably coming to Denver to go to decadence or maybe you're going to stay in town and then make your way up to the mountains. I don't know. You're here for New Year's and you're probably thinking, surely it's going to snow on or around New Year's Eve. Funny story. The answer is no, probably not. It doesn't really snow in the Denver metro area at that time of year. It is chilly, though. It's usually kind of cold then.

[00:13:34] Happily, though, there is by then, by that time, accumulated snow enough so that visitors can experience both locals and folks who are flying in. They can experience the classic winter things that you would want to do, such as skiing and soaking in a hot tub. These would be several hours away, these activities.

[00:13:59] These are snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, anything that needs snow. By the end of December, I feel that there's enough of a base, a snow base for you to ski safely. If you are from out of state and you are in the process of planning a ski-focused event in Colorado, I'm telling you, don't do it before January. There will not be enough snow. The trend is there.

[00:14:29] It's weird because we get a lot of snow in April and March. You'll have a lot more snow then, a deeper base. January is great. January through April, the beginning of April, you're going to have more snow. One thing I will say about the end of the ski season, it gets hot. So that would be the only thing. So you'll have a lot of snow, but you're going to be hot. So it's just, again, a slightly different experience.

[00:14:56] By the way, if you do get stranded here because, yet again, there's a random snowstorm, you can stay at the Crawford Hotel, Indigo Hotel, or The Source. So January, finally, it's January. You're in the process of booking your winter holiday in January. There has to be snow in Denver in January, right? That makes sense. January. Well, no.

[00:15:24] In fact, January is the sixth snowiest month of the year. Happily, again, I've mentioned this before, the mountains typically have quite a bit of snow at this time of year. The snow is really starting to come down in the mountains like those fronts are coming through regularly. If you're a snow sports enthusiast, you're booking those ski, snowboarding, cross-country, snowmobiling, winter snow hikes up to a yurt. That's happening. I will say that April is the second snowiest month of the year.

[00:15:52] March is the snowiest month of the year. Just thought you should know. And then finally, if you're stranded in Denver in January, you can stay at the Thompson Hotel. That one's gotten a lot of accolades recently. Hilton Garden Inn, Union Station. I love the location of that one. The Rally Hotel and the Maven. Those two I love as well because they are within two blocks of downtown's Union Station. Here are a few other tips before you book.

[00:16:20] If you are looking to enjoy snow sports while you're here, then you seriously want to consider booking your vacation anytime again after December. Because that's when the mountains are just going to have more snow these days. That is definitely the trend. Don't take my word for it, but that seems to be the trend. Look at historic data. The ski resort that you're super excited about might not be getting snow these days. What happened last year and the year before that and the year before that? Is there a trend?

[00:16:50] There are ski resorts that just get a crazy amount of snow, but maybe they aren't on your radar. Wolf Creek would be a good example of that. They get a lot of snow, but it's more of a local resort, but they get amazing amounts of snow. But they're harder to get to. If you are not looking to do snow sports, then you should be happy with whatever snow the mountains have if you decide to visit. So you could book a trip from November on.

[00:17:18] You're going to be happy because it's going to be, especially if you're from a warm weather place, you live in a warm weather state. You'll think it's cold. It won't be cold to us, but you'll think it's cold and it'll be cheerful and all the lights are there. And it's going to be a beautiful experience. And the fireplaces and the fire pits outside, you will love it. Feel free to book whenever. But just the snow sports, if you're going to actually do that, just that's something to consider. Definitely read up on altitude sickness.

[00:17:46] Each trip to Colorado can be different and each trip to the mountains can be different. I live here and every 200th time I go to the mountains, I feel a little like weird. This year it's happened twice, but in general I'm fine, but I live at a high altitude. I live in Denver. Denver is high altitude. You may have visited seven times before. The eighth time could be the one that you get altitude sickness. Just, you know, read up on it.

[00:18:15] Know that you should be hydrating before you come to Colorado, before you fly here. And I'm not talking like the day before. I'm talking like you start drinking more water a week before. Again, I'm not a doctor. Disclaimer. Talk to your own doctor if you have any medical issues. Do you plan to drive or use alternative modes of transit, such as taking the bus, scooters, or the train? This will impact where you should book your hotel while you're in town. A few hotels.

[00:18:45] There's several that are within walking distance of Union Station. I mention Union Station a lot because there is a train from the airport direct to Union Station. And Union Station is super cute. It is such a nice place to be based out of or based close to. The hotels that I would suggest would be the Hilton Garden Inn, Denver Union Station, the Source Hotel.

[00:19:09] The Source Hotel actually is one train stop before Union Station, so I do want to bring that up. The Thompson Hotel, the Maven, and the Crawford Hotel, which is actually located in Union Station. That was a little bougie, but it's nice. Global warming is real. You can't tell me any different. Coloradans and other people in the Rocky Mountain West region are experiencing the impact of global warming in real time in this way.

[00:19:39] You living in a different region may be experiencing global warming in a different way, but this is how we're experiencing it. If you're looking for a snowy, wintry experience, you can have one. But when you book the experience, it may be a different time than you originally planned for. It may be a little later in the season. Want to learn more about Denver or stay in the loop?

[00:20:02] As I share weekly events, where to eat and more, go to squarestateco.com forward slash countdown to get Square State's weekly newsletter, Cowtown Denver. Safe travels. Safe travels. Safe travels. Safe travels. Safe travels. Safe travels.