Get Around Denver Without a Car

Visiting Denver but don’t want to rent a car? No problem. While Denver is a walkable city, there are a variety of transportation options to get you around the city via rail, bus, bike and more.

Airport Rail

It's easy to get from Denver International Airport (DEN) to downtown Denver. At a cost of $10.50 each way (with discounts available), travelers can take the airport rail from DEN to Denver Union Station and vice versa. It takes only 37 minutes.

Known as the University of Colorado A Line, trains leave every 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. and every 30 minutes outside of those hours. The A Line serves eight total stations along a 23-mile stretch, including the 38^th & Blake station that accesses Denver’s vibrant River North Art District (RiNo). The colorful murals are your clue that you are approaching RiNo.

Light Rail

The light rail network covers 113 miles across 12 rail lines and has 78 stations along Denver's north, east, southeast, southwest and west rail corridors. From as far south as Parker and Lone Tree, the trains follow I-225 and I-25 into downtown and beyond, with stops at Empower Field at Mile High, Ball Arena, Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park and Denver Union Station. Going to a Rockies game? Take the light rail to Coors Field! Other lines will deliver you out west to Golden, south to Littleton, north to places like Westminster, Arvada and Thornton. The best part, the fare is only $3 for one to two zones (local) and $5.25 for three zones (regional).

The train cars are clean, cool and comfortable, and many stations have Park-n-Ride lots (free or paid) that often connect to bus stops and FlexRide services. Bikes can ride, too. Visit Regional Transportation District (RTD) for information on fares, zones, schedules, special services and much more. The best way is to look at the map and see where the rail system goes.

Bus

In addition to regular bus service around metro Denver, the RTD bus fleet offers a slew of special rides, services for people with limited mobility, free rides for active-duty military and more. A slick SkyRide makes hourly runs to Denver International Airport from Park-n-Rides around the city. The fee is $10.50 from anywhere in the RTD service area, and drivers assist with luggage. All RTD services, maps, routes, Park-n-Rides and fares are detailed on RTD’s bilingual website.

Denver Union Station

A pedicab downtown provides unique transportation for visitors.

16th Street Mall Ride

Called the MallRide, this free hybrid vehicle scoots up and down the 16-block tree-lined retail core of downtown Denver, also home to hotels, restaurants, office buildings, residences and public spaces. Hop on at any intersection on 16th Street between Civic Center Station at Broadway near the Colorado State Capitol and Denver Union Station on the west end. A few short blocks from the mall get you to the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Colorado Convention Center, Larimer Square, Coors Field and LoDo (Lower Downtown). You can also access light rail and make connections for buses throughout the metro area and to Boulder, Golden, Longmont and Denver International Airport.

The MallRide runs seven days a week beginning at 4:59 a.m. on weekdays, 5:30 a.m. on Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. on Sundays/holidays. Service continues throughout the day with the last complete round trip of the night starting out at 1:19 a.m. from Union Station to Civic Center Station.

Bike

As one of the country's fittest cities, it’s no surprise that a web of dedicated bike paths weaves through Denver and its edges. You can, for example, ride from Cherry Creek State Park in southeast Denver to Cuernavaca Park on the northwest side of downtown. The 15-mile paved path follows along Cherry Creek to where it meets the South Platte River at Confluence Park. In fact, there are approximately 85 miles of paved urban bike trails in metro Denver.

Denver launched a new bike and scooter share program with Lyft and Lime in May 2021. As part of the agreement, up to 675 parking stations will be installed over the next five years, and each company will deploy a maximum of 1,500 electric scooters and supply bikes at a rate of 20 percent of their scooter fleet, so 1,500 scooters translates into 300 bikes for cruising around the city.

Some hotels like Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver and Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek provide complimentary bicycles to guests. For those who want to try out an electric bike, FattE-Bikes is Denver’s first electric bike manufacturer, one born right in the city with all bikes built in the USA. Rent one of three models for three hours, six hours, all day or longer. Cruise effortlessly around the city and enjoy the hundreds of miles of bike paths and dedicated lanes.

Another great option is renting e-bikes and taking a guided tour with Pedego Denver Electric Bike Sales & Tours, located across the street from Empower Field at Mile High near the South Platte River bike path.

If your preference is doing all of the pedaling on your own, Mile High Bike Tours offers a downtown Denver tour that follows riverside paths, city bike lanes and neighborhood streets over a distance of about 10 miles. This guided 2.5-hour tour highlights historic and public buildings, architecture, professional sports stadiums, public art installations, parks and outdoor venues. The Bike and Brew Tour includes all the same sights and attractions as the Denver City Tour as well RiNo at the end, where guides take cyclists past numerous breweries and through colorful alleys adorned with murals and graffiti. This excursion ends with craft beer sampling at one of the breweries.

If motorized, Vespa-style scooter rentals and tours are more your style, ScooTours Denver located downtown near the Colorado Convention Center is your place. A scootorial, helmet, goggles, insurance and gas are provided for either scenario. On a three-hour city tour, the excursion begins at the huge Blue Bear sculpture at the Colorado Convention Center and covers history, architecture, attractions, people, public art, graffiti and more.

Pedi-cabs

Rickshaws, pedal-cabs, bike-taxis … no matter what you call them, these mountain bike-style tricycles pulling passenger cabs are the slickest way to get around downtown and Lower Downtown (LoDo), especially on game days. Mile High Pedicabs is the oldest fleet, starting in 1988. Most Mile High drivers pedal for tips (or $2 per city block). Or make it a tour and learn about the city with guides from Denver Pedicabs who will pedal you across town or to an event.

Tuk-tuks

A tuk-tuk is a three-wheeled motorized vehicle/rickshaw popular in southeast Asia and some parts of Africa and South America. Denver’s eTuk Ride uses fully electric tuk-tuks that are made in the city, seat up to six people and are equipped with seat warmers and see-through windscreens for cooler nights. The company’s eco-friendly city tours and brewery tours provide the ultimate urban sightseeing experience.

The city tour explores all the local hot spots and hidden gems, from Larimer Square to RiNo. The brewery tour is all about cruising by the places that are part of the rich craft beer and street mural scene in RiNo and stopping by three breweries for a flight or pint. If you can’t decide between the two tours, no problem as there is a combo tour that ends with a brewery stop.

Horse & Carriage

It's a fun adventure for the family, a classy way to arrive at the theater or a quintessential romantic ride. In any case, it's a delight to sit up high snuggled under a blanket in a carriage drawn by magnificent draft horses. As you slowly clip-clop along the streets, get a completely different perspective of the sights and lights of downtown Denver. Customize your tour with any number of carriage drivers found parked along the 16th Street Mall or book online.

Walk

Sometimes the most pleasant and easy way to explore a place is on foot, and Denver is a delightfully walkable place. Every important city venue can be reached on foot, from the historic Brown Palace Hotel & Spay by Marriott to the Denver Art Museum that has newly expanded and renovated campus to the versatile Ball Arena. City dwellers can hoof it over the Millennium Bridge connecting the bustling 16th Street Mall with the relaxing Riverfront Park in the Central Platte Valley neighborhood.

Walkers can share the paths and parks that bikers use; just remember to stay to the right and listen for riders coming up behind you.

Get out and explore The Mile High City using these many unique options. No car needed!