Denver Airport is big. Very big. If it’s your first time flying through Denver International Airport, it can feel like there are a million moving parts, but once you understand the basic layout, it’s actually pretty manageable.
The airport has one main terminal, Jeppesen Terminal, and three concourses: A, B, and C. Ticketing, baggage claim, ground transportation, international arrivals, and security are all in Jeppesen Terminal. After security, you’ll head out to your concourse.
My biggest advice is simple: give yourself more time than you think you need. DEN recommends arriving at least two hours before boarding, and after flying through the airport myself, I would absolutely do that here.
Once you understand the layout, mostly, yes.
The size is really what makes Denver Airport feel intimidating. You start in Jeppesen Terminal, go through East or West Security, and then head to Concourse A, B, or C.
Once we were actually headed toward the concourses, I thought the airport was pretty easy to navigate. The parts I found much more confusing were baggage claim when we arrived and the airline check-in area when we left.
I would not call DEN a small or quick airport, but I would call it manageable. As long as you give yourself enough time and pay attention to the overhead signs, it is pretty straightforward.
Denver International Airport felt a little chaotic when we first arrived. The concourses are very spread out but fairly easy to navigate. Baggage claim was the confusing part.
There are a lot of hallways, elevators, and different baggage areas, so it felt a little maze-like. We were originally told our bags would come out on one carousel, but they ended up coming out on a different one.
So if your luggage does not show up where expected, check the nearby carousels before panicking. I would not automatically assume you are standing in the wrong place just because your bag is taking a while.
If you’re still planning the rest of your trip after landing, my A Weekend in Denver Colorado: The Perfect First-Time Itinerary is a good next step for figuring out what to do once you leave the airport.
Jeppesen Terminal is where you will handle most of the basic Denver Airport logistics before heading to your gate or leaving DEN.
You’ll find:
Airline ticketing counters are located on the east and west sides of Level 6 and in the center of Level 5.
If you need to check a bag or print a boarding pass, this is where you will do it.
The departure check-in area was probably the most frustrating part of Denver Airport for me.
Finding the correct counter was extremely confusing. It felt a lot like baggage claim: lots of different areas, lines, and counters, and the signage was not very clear. We had a hard time figuring out exactly where we were supposed to go.
Once we got through that part, navigating the rest of the airport was much easier.
Denver Airport has two main security checkpoints: East Security and West Security.
Both offer standard screening and TSA PreCheck, and CLEAR is also available.
Security wait times can change quickly, so I would check the real-time wait times before leaving for the airport rather than relying on what they looked like earlier in the day.
The airport recommends arriving at least two hours before boarding, and I think that is especially important at DEN because getting through security is not necessarily the end of your journey to the gate.
After security, you will head to one of Denver Airport’s three concourses: A, B, or C.
Depending on your gate, the walk can be fairly short or surprisingly long.
DEN’s estimates show that some gates may be around 5 to 7 minutes from security, while others can take 15 minutes or more.
That is another reason I would not cut your timing close. Even if security only takes five minutes, you may still have a decent walk afterward.
There are quite a few ways to get to DEN depending on where you are staying and whether you plan to rent a car.
Transportation options include:
Passenger drop-off is on Level 6 on both the east and west sides of Jeppesen Terminal.
If you are staying downtown and do not need a rental car, the RTD A Line from Denver International Airport to Denver Union Station is one of the easiest options.
The train leaves from the Airport Transit Center, which is also where you will find regional buses and other transportation connections.
The RTD Airport Day Pass is $10 and is valid across the RTD system for the day, including airport service.
We rented a car instead, and we were able to get from Denver Airport to downtown Denver in about 30 minutes.
That was honestly better than I expected because the airport feels pretty far outside the city when you look at it on a map.
If you’re still deciding where to stay once you get downtown, I stayed at The Maven and go into the room, parking, location, and what I thought of it in my The Maven Hotel Denver Review: What to Expect.
We used an off-airport rental car company, and once we figured out where to go, the process was actually pretty easy.
If you know you want a car for your Denver trip, you can compare rental car rates through Discover Cars before you arrive.
The off-airport rental car shuttle pickup is on Island 4. Follow the overhead signs for “Off Airport” car rental companies.
On the East Side, the pickup area is marked with blue overhead signs and is farther down to the right. On the West Side, it is marked with red overhead signs and is closer to the left.
The shuttle circles about every 10 to 15 minutes from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, so the actual process was pretty straightforward after we found the correct pickup area.
Returning the rental car was easy, and then we took the shuttle back to the airport.
The only thing I would watch is the shuttle timing. We had to wait about 15 minutes, so build that into your departure schedule instead of assuming a shuttle will pull up the second you return the car.
At an airport this large, little delays like that can start eating into your extra time pretty quickly.
DEN has several parking options depending on how close you want to be to the terminal and how much you want to spend.
The main options include:
Some parking areas are within walking distance of Jeppesen Terminal, while others require a free shuttle.
I would check parking availability before you leave instead of assuming your preferred lot will be open.
Wendy's Tip: If you park in one of the garages, take a picture of your level and section. The East and West garages are huge!
Save this for later on Pinterest so you don’t forget it.
The Airport Transit Center is DEN’s main transportation hub.
This is where you will catch the A Line train to Denver Union Station, along with certain buses and regional transportation options.
If you are staying downtown and are not renting a car, this is probably one of the most important parts of Denver Airport to know about.
This is one thing DEN does really well.
There are a ton of dining options, and I like that Denver Airport has a mix of national chains and Colorado restaurants rather than feeling like the same airport food court you see everywhere else.
I would definitely check your concourse before deciding where you want to eat because the options vary quite a bit between A, B, and C.
Also, do not assume every restaurant stays open late. If there is somewhere specific you want to eat, check the hours before counting on it.
And if airport food is only the beginning of your plans, my DIY Denver Food Tour: Best Places to Eat in Denver Colorado has more of the places I would actually eat once you’re in the city.
Some of the main options in Concourse A include:
Concourse B has one of the biggest selections.
Options include:
If I had extra time in Concourse B, I would probably look at Mercantile, Osteria Marco, Snooze, or Voodoo Doughnut before defaulting to a chain.
Concourse C also has plenty of choices.
You’ll find:
If cocktails or mocktails are part of your Denver plans after you leave the airport, I also put together my Best Cocktail and Mocktail Bars in Denver Colorado with the places I would choose depending on what you want.
You will not have trouble finding coffee at DEN.
Depending on your concourse, you will find places like:
Some locations open very early, which is helpful if you have one of those miserable morning flights where coffee is basically the only thing holding you together.
DEN also has a surprising amount of shopping.
There are standard airport stores, but there are also quite a few Colorado-focused shops and local brands.
Some of the more interesting options include:
You will also find plenty of stores for travel essentials, electronics, clothing, beauty products, and last-minute gifts, including:
I would not plan a shopping trip around the airport, obviously, but if you forgot something or want one last Colorado souvenir, you definitely have options.
DEN has several lounge options depending on your airline, credit card, or membership.
The main lounges include:
There are also a few other areas to relax, including a Rest & Recharge Area.
And apparently, if your layover is really long, you can even visit Golf DEN and work on your golf swing at the airport.
That one definitely caught my attention because it is not exactly something you see at every airport.
DEN has one of the largest airport public art collections in the world, so if you have extra time, look around instead of automatically sitting at your gate.
There are permanent installations and rotating exhibitions throughout the terminal and concourses, including sculptures, photography, textiles, and work from local artists and students.
Some of the exhibits are large enough that you will notice them while walking through the airport without even trying.
Bring an empty reusable water bottle.
DEN has bottle filling stations throughout all three concourses, usually near restrooms and central areas.
The airport added them as part of its sustainability efforts, and during the first year alone, the stations filled the equivalent of around 600,000 half-liter plastic bottles.
I always appreciate this because airport bottled water is one of the easiest ways to spend way too much money.
I travel with a Brita Water Bottle, which makes the filling stations even more useful once I’m through security.
If you want extra help navigating Denver International Airport, Airport Butler offers personalized airport concierge services.
They can assist with:
I could see this being especially useful if you are traveling with kids, older family members, a lot of luggage, or you just really do not want to figure out a huge airport on your own.
The actual concourses at Denver International Airport were easier to navigate than I expected. Baggage claim and airline check-in were much more confusing.
For your first trip through DEN, give yourself extra time, follow the overhead signs carefully, and remember that getting through security does not necessarily mean you are five minutes from your gate.
Denver Airport is huge, but once you understand how Jeppesen Terminal and the three concourses fit together, it is manageable. I would fly through it again without worrying about the size—I would just arrive early enough that I was not trying to solve the DEN maze under pressure.
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Pack your bags... ✈️🧳My hiking and road trip gear shop just got a refresh, and this is everything that actually earns a spot in my bag. The dry bag pulls double duty for beach days and trail days, the Osprey backpack is the one I grab for anything motorcycle or day-hike related, and the GoPro comes with me literally everywhere at this point.
Nothing on this list is filler it’s all stuff I’ve used, packed, and repacked more times than I can count. Full shop linked in my bio if you want to build out your own kit before your next trip.
Filing this one under “go now before it gets cold.” Bonneville Hot Springs is one of those trips where fall access is honestly the sweet spot the campground road is open, the hike in is short, and you skip the snow-and-gate situation we dealt with when we went in March.
September and early fall mean clearer trails, easier parking, and pools that are just as good without the extra mile of hiking to earn them. Fewer than 10 people out there when we visited, a rustic changing booth, zero amenities, and pools that range from “relax” to “actually scalding” until you move some rocks around and mix in river water. Small waterfalls feeding in, mountains in every direction, not polished, and that’s exactly the point.
Full breakdown on parking, what to pack, and timing it right is linked in my bio.
Summer’s not even over and I already have the itch. Fall hiking season is calling and I am answering.
Save this if you feel the itch too.🍁
Columbus hotel roundup because “just find something downtown” isn’t a strategy✈️
I stayed across the price spectrum on this one so I could actually compare notes. Hotel LeVeque is the splurge Art Deco lobby, marble bathrooms, and a restaurant (The Keep) worth visiting even if you don’t book a room. If you want to walk everywhere, Le Méridien puts you right in the Short North with murals and shops outside your door. And if budget’s the priority, Aloft gets you clean and modern near Ohio State without the markup.
Want a full escape from the city instead? Hocking Hills lodges and Gervasi Vineyard are both an easy drive out and worth the detour.
Not every hotel on this list is for every trip... that’s kind of the point. Full breakdown by neighborhood and budget, link in bio 🍂
Thousands of motorcycles, decades of history, and one very hot infield. 🏍️
I went into Mid-Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days expecting a bike show. What I got was closer to a small town that pops up once a year camps stretched across the hills, swap meet tables piled with parts I couldn’t name, and bikes older than some of the people admiring them parked next to restorations that looked showroom-fresh.
Fair warning: this is not a quick stop. Give yourself the whole day, wear real shoes, and don’t skip the racing watching pre-war machines and modern superbikes share the same track is worth the sunburn.
Ohio keeps surprising me. Full recap on the blog link in bio. 🔗
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