Thinking of moving to Denver... how crowded are the mountains really?

Hello 

My wife and I are thinking of moving to Denver this winter to start my nursing career. I’m from Montana so used to having a lot of solitude in the mountains. But am thinking Denver would be a good mix of culture, mountains, and opportunities for health care.

I’m planning on working on the weekends so I’m wondering how crowded ski mountains, crags, and hiking normally are on the weekdays. Or if there is even a big difference between weekends and weekdays. How hard is it to get away from crowds? How bad is weekday traffic to mountains?

The only input I’ve gotten is from people that are not from CO so ive really heard mainly bad things haha. So any input would be appreciated. 

Coming from Montana, Colorado is going to seem like New York. It's by far the most populous state in the Intermountain region. That said, weekdays can be be very pleasant for outdoor activities. One possible exception is skiing. Resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper are destinations, catering to skiers from all over the world. And people will definitely take the day off for fresh powder. The fact that most resorts are accessed through a single, snow choked freeway corridor amplifies the problem. Climbing isn't nearly as bad. And you can usually escape crowds by simply walking further. Being flexible supports your climbing happiness. If you read threads about crowded climbing in the state, some are just over it, and ready to GTFO. I've been here 32 years, and basically being a sociable extrovert is super helpful to being comfortable with the crowds.

The flip side is that the Denver Metro area can be really fun if you like city oriented pleasures, like eating well, seeing foreign and independent movies, fine arts, music, theater, cultural events, etc. It's a lively town filled with young people.

I used to climb on weekdays but now I'm a weekend warrior. Surprisingly, there is not much difference. Even on weekdays the most popular crags (eg Little Eiger, Wall of the 90s) will have a lot of people. Basically, people come until the parking is full, weekend or weekday. Less popular crags will be a bit less crowded on weekdays.

It honestly doesn't bother me that much. I've rarely had an issue getting on the climbs I want. 5.10 and below are often occupied, but the classic 4 star 11s and 12s are often unoccupied even at peak hours.

Victor K wrote:

Coming from Montana, Colorado is going to seem like New York. 

basically this. 

Colorado's full.  There's no water.  Too many rednecks.

To start your nursing career? In Denver? Two days a week?

Your wife better be making a wheelbarrow full of money to afford to live there with new grad rates.

Once established or once you have enough experience to be a traveler, sure you can pull it off but the cost of housing is too high to justify living there to get your start. Rent or buying this is true.

Don’t set yourself up to pay 60% of your income in housing. You didn’t suffer through school to have no savings, old skis, and rigid friends.

There are better options recreationally and professionally for you than Denver.

don't do it.

Typical weekday in CO mountains 

Fehim Hasecic wrote:

Typical weekday in CO mountains 

Too much snow, not enough wildfire smoke, coal rollers, or gun lunatics. 

If you want to climb a specific popular route and expect to have an entire crag to yourself, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, I've had full days alone in random canyon and Vedauwoo (Wyoming, ~2hrs from Denver) crags with quality routes, and I've been to Eldo on the weekend and had a great time on popular easy routes. There is a LOT of rock around here. I feel like you are not gonna hike on trails alone unless it's backcountry stuff, and skiing, well - everyone covered that well above. Traffic can get bad anywhere between Pueblo and Fort Collins on I-25, and I-70 is a mess in the winter.

I just accept that if I go somewhere like Eldo, there will be other people, and it will still be fun. And, there are out-of-the-way crags with decent routes where you might have the whole place to yourself if that's your thing. But yeah, it's gonna feel like NYC in comparison to Montana...

James Woods wrote:

Go East, young man. 

You’re joking, right?

James Woods wrote:

Go East, young man. 

The southeast has some good cities with access to climbing and other outdoor activities. Lexington, Chattanooga, and Asheville to name a few. Much more affordable too. 

Personally, coming from the SE, I love the front range. Sure the crowds can be annoying at popular areas close to Denver, but overall I haven't had too much of a problem finding quiet crags. The cost of living is really the most annoying part and only seems to be going up. 

Fairly recently we looked into relocating to Metro Denver, even engaged a realtor, but eventually ruled the idea out. In ABQ we can live a comfortable, even somewhat extravagant lifestyle and still squirrel away a good chunk of our income, while in Denver Metro a very significant portion of that discretionary income would go towards housing (unless we’d set up in a hell hole like Aurora). And, then there are the crowds. 

We are closed, didnt you hear?

Most of Colorado is pretty empty.  It's really only the Front Range cities, the ski/resort towns, and national park areas that are crowded.  Maybe some of the areas around Grand Junction other than that.  Other than that, it isn't so bad.  Just avoid those areas if you don't like crowds.  Personally I'd chose somewhere else other than Denver if you want to move to Colorado unless you're main goal is being in a huge city.  I live in Colorado, but avoid going to Denver whenever possible.

Scott Patterson wrote:

Most of Colorado is pretty empty.  It's really only the Front Range cities, the ski/resort towns, and national park areas that are crowded.  Maybe some of the areas around Grand Junction other than that.  Other than that, it isn't so bad.  Just avoid those areas if you don't like crowds.  Personally I'd chose somewhere else other than Denver if you want to move to Colorado unless you're main goal is being in a huge city.  I live in Colorado, but avoid going to Denver whenever possible.

Counterpoint: move somewhere else in the country if your goal is to live in a huge city because Denver is not a huge city. Move to Denver if your goal is to be in a mid-sized city and live closer to the mountains if your goal is not to drive 1hr+ to get to the mountains.

My first visits to the Front Range were 25 years ago. It was pretty busy then, but comparatively, it's insane now. Denver is for me really just a place to land, pick up a car, and head up into Wyoming and your current state. The rest of Colorado isn't mobbed for the most part.

I would leave Texas for Colorado in an instant, but I'd have a tough time going from Montana to Colorado. Montana is actually where I want to live, but my wife won't have anything to do with the winters.

Left a staff job to travel from the front range about a year ago. Every single hospital I’ve been to has been better run (in terms of staffing, pay, quality of patient care, general morale) outside of the front range. Granted, I was only floated to a couple different HCA hospitals in the Denver area, but it’s not like centura is any better. Management knows that it’s a desirable place to live and you are extremely replaceable. Do not sign a new grad contract!

Travel contracts in the front range that I’ve seen are a mixed bag, but overall less compared to other areas out west, magnified by the cost of living.

good luck. And I can’t empathize this enough, avoid HCA like the fucking plague!

Had a great time in Eldo yesterday and didn't see any other climbers.  Week days do matter for relative solitude.  Knowing where and when to go really matters here.   

Had a great time in Eldo yesterday and didn't see any other climbers.  Week days do matter for relative solitude.  Knowing where and when to go really matters here.  “

Nonsense, you were clearly at a wrong spot. We’re at the capacity, didn’t you hear?

Taken at Eldo yesterday