Walsenburg to Denver, Colorado

The Journey Takes About Two and a Half Hours by Car Via Interstate 25

How Far is It? About 165 Miles

The drive from Walsenburg is along I-25, the main north/south drag through Colorado. Unlike the drive, say, from Denver to Glenwood Springs that travels through the Rocky Mountains, this journey travels through an Old West-like landscape of buttes, outcroppings, open prairie and a towering blue sky. The Rockies are in the distance to the West.

It is important to note that I-25 occasionally closes in the winter due to blizzards so it is always a good idea to check with the Colorado Department of Transportation before making the trip from Walsenburg to Denver.

Starting out heading north from anywhere along I-25 in Walsenburg, the highway is two lanes in each direction. Traffic is usually light to moderate since this part of Colorado is still far from the major population centers. Keep an eye peeled for antelope grazing out on the prairie along the highway.

The elevation starts to drop as you head from Walsenburg to Pueblo, the first city you'll come to after leaving Walsenburg. The elevation in Walsenburg is about 6,200 feet above sea level, but Pueblo sits at about 4,700 feet above sea level.

You probably won't notice much of a difference driving from one of these towns to the other since the elevation drop is gradual and the scenery doesn't change all that much. It's not like driving from Denver to Glenwood Springs or other western slope towns when the elevation changes from around 5,200 feet above sea level to more than 14,000 feet above sea level at the Continental Divide.

As you start to reach Pueblo, about 45 minutes after leaving Walsenburg, you'll begin to see outbuildings, homes and other manifestations of civilization. Pueblo is an old steel mill town and used to be known as "Pew-eblo" but it has undergone a renaissance and these days has a lovely riverwalk along the Arkansas River, an aircraft museum and some nice neighborhoods.

As you drive along I-25 through Pueblo you'll see industrial parks, fast food places, office buildings, some old smoke stacks and the like. The highway is usually busy here.

As you exit the city, still on I-25, the landscape once again turn into open prairie, small hills and buttes. Traffic will pick up, too, because you about an hour south of Colorado Springs and less than two hours outside of Denver, Colorado's capital city with a population of nearly three million people in the metro area.

Before you get to Colorado Springs, though, you will pass by Fountain and then Fort Carson Army Base. Here is where the trappings of a city become more and more visible. The Rockies are also much closer here and they stay close through the pretty drive through Colorado Springs.

As you exit the city of Colorado Springs, the mountains will start to recede and you are once again driving through the Great Plains. This is a good time to really start paying attention to the road because the traffic between Colorado Springs and Denver is notoriously bad. Drivers travel well over the speed limit, sometimes nearly bumper to bumper.

This leg of the trip from Walsenburg to Denver has some really beautiful parts, as buttes and pine stand plateaus rise dramatically and the Rockies tower in the west. This is particularly true around Monument and Castle Rock, two affluent towns between Colorado Springs and Denver.

Once beyond Castle Rock, the edges of Denver come into view as shiny tech buildings, fancy hotels and modern industrial condominiums start to line the highway. The traffic thickens, and depending on the time of day, may stop all together in a thing called rush hour. Keep heading north, though, because Denver just gets better the farther you go and the more you explore it.

The End of the Road

It can be a somewhat tedious drive from Walsenburg to Denver, particularly at first when driving along the long, lonely stretches outside of Walsenburg. Yet even there the landscape has a stark beauty all its own.

It is also worth noting that Greyhound runs a bus from Walsenburg to Denver, but there is no train.