Day Trips from Denver by Bus and Train (No Car Needed)
by Wanderu
In Denver, the mountains come with a bus schedule. RTD’s $5.50 day pass reaches Boulder and Golden, and the state’s own Bustang runs up I-70 to Idaho Springs for $5 and Vail for $17. Amtrak’s California Zephyr climbs out of the city to Winter Park and Glenwood Springs, and all of it leaves from one station.
Eighteen trips follow, grouped by ride time. Where Wanderu sells the route, the “from” price is live; Bustang, Pegasus and RTD trips carry the operator’s published fare.
In 2018 this page was a list of six places you could reach from Denver for under $20. That promise still holds in Denver, though rarely through us. Of the 587 departures booked from Denver on Wanderu in the past year, 2.7 percent came in under $20, and the typical ticket was about $37.
But Bustang publishes fares of $5 to $17 for eight of the 18 trips on this page, and RTD’s fare overhaul turned Boulder and Golden into a $5.50 day out. We don’t sell those tickets. We’re telling you about them anyway, because the point of this page is getting you into the mountains without a car, not getting you into our checkout.
| Destination | Travel time | From |
|---|---|---|
| Boulder, CO | About 55 minutes on the Flatiron Flyer | $5.50 RTD Flatiron Flyer, day pass |
| Golden, CO | About 40 minutes on the W Line | $5.50 RTD W Line, day pass |
| Idaho Springs, CO | About an hour on Bustang | $5.00 Bustang West Line$6.00 Pegasus |
| Colorado Springs, CO | From about 1 hour 25 minutes by bus | $14 Bus$12.00 Bustang South Line |
| Fort Collins, CO | About 1 hour 30 minutes on Bustang, from about an hour by bus | $12 Bus$10.00 Bustang North Line$8.00 Bustang North Line to Loveland |
| Frisco, CO | About 1 hour 45 minutes by bus | $15 Bus$12.00 Bustang West Line |
| Vail, CO | About 2 hours 20 minutes on Bustang, 2 and a half by Greyhound | $21 Bus$17.00 Bustang West Line$20.00 Pegasus |
| Fairplay, CO | About 2 hours by bus | $15 Amtrak Thruway$14.00 Bustang Outrider |
| Winter Park and Fraser, CO | About 1 hour 40 minutes on Bustang, 2 hours on the train | $41 Amtrak$41 Amtrak to Fraser$11.00 Bustang Outrider |
| Cheyenne and Laramie, WY | From about 1 hour 50 minutes by bus to Cheyenne, 3 hours to Laramie | $16 Bus$26 Bus to Laramie |
| Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, CO | About 3 hours on Bustang to the park’s Park & Ride | $7.50 Bustang to Estes, summer weekends |
| Buena Vista, CO | Just under 3 hours by bus | $26 Amtrak Thruway$24.00 Bustang Outrider |
| Salida, CO | About 3 hours 20 minutes by bus | $32 Amtrak Thruway$29.00 Bustang Outrider |
| Glenwood Springs, CO | From about 3 hours 10 minutes by bus, 5 hours 50 on the Zephyr | $85 Amtrak$26 Greyhound$28.00 Bustang West Line |
| Steamboat Springs, CO | About 4 hours 10 minutes on Bustang | $28.00 Bustang Outrider |
| Grand Junction, CO | About 8 hours on the Zephyr | $121 Amtrak$43.00 Bustang West Line |
| Gunnison and Crested Butte, CO | About 5 hours by bus to Gunnison, 6 to Crested Butte | $44 Amtrak Thruway$45.00 Bustang Outrider to Crested Butte |
| Salt Lake City, UT | About 10 hours by bus, 15 on the train | $47 Greyhound$110 Amtrak |
Where the buses and trains leave from
- Bustang at Denver Union Station (1701 Wynkoop St): the South Line, North Line, Crested Butte and Craig routes and Bustang to Estes board at Gate B4 in the underground bus concourse. The West Line boards at Gate B19. Our Denver Union Station guide covers parking and food nearby.
- Amtrak: the California Zephyr and the Winter Park Express leave from the tracks behind the great hall.
- RTD: the Flatiron Flyer uses the Union Station Transit Center at 1700 Wewatta St, and the W Line platform is a short walk.
- Greyhound and the bus concourse: Greyhound boards in the underground concourse RTD runs. RTD moved in September 2024 to end that arrangement, then let Greyhound stay on, and where Denver’s intercity buses live long-term is still an open question. Check the boarding address printed on your ticket.
- Denver Federal Center Station in Lakewood, on the W Line: the West Line, the Craig route and Snowstang pick up here too, which helps if you live west of downtown.
Under an hour
Boulder, CO
About 55 minutes on the Flatiron Flyer
- RTD Flatiron Flyer, day pass$5.50
RTD’s Flatiron Flyer runs from the Union Station Transit Center up US 36 to Downtown Boulder Station in about 55 minutes. At rush hour it leaves every 15 minutes on the fall 2026 timetable.
RTD collapsed its old zones to two, Local and Airport, so anything that doesn’t touch the airport costs $2.75 for a three-hour pass or $5.50 for the whole day. Boulder is a Local trip, and anyone 19 and under rides free.
Pearl Street is a few blocks from the station, the Flatirons stare down at you the whole way, and Chautauqua’s trailheads are the reason to go early.
Golden, CO
About 40 minutes on the W Line
- RTD W Line, day pass$5.50
One gotcha first: the G Line doesn’t go to Golden, whatever the letter suggests. It ends at Wheat Ridge. The W Line does, from Union Station to Jefferson County Government Center-Golden in about 40 minutes (43 on the fall 2026 timetable), on the same $5.50 day pass.
Go for the Coors brewery tour and stay for Clear Creek, which runs right through the Western main street. Lookout Mountain sits above it all, with Buffalo Bill’s grave at the top. The station sits at the edge of town, so budget a walk into downtown.
Idaho Springs, CO
About an hour on Bustang
- Bustang West Line$5.00
- Pegasus$6.00
Idaho Springs is the cheapest mountain town from Denver: $5 on Bustang’s West Line, about an hour up I-70 from Union Station. CDOT’s Pegasus vans run the same corridor for $6, six trips a day Monday to Thursday and ten Friday to Sunday. Not one ticket sold here on Wanderu in the past year, so the fare is the state’s published one.
The town is a gold-rush main street with Indian Hot Springs at one end and the Argo Mill at the other.
One to three hours
Colorado Springs, CO
From about 1 hour 25 minutes by bus
- Denver to Colorado Springs busesfrom $14
- Bustang South Line$12.00
This was the 2018 list’s headline route, and on last year’s bookings it was the busiest Greyhound corridor that still flirted with $20. Of the eight Colorado Springs legs booked on Wanderu in the past year, three came in under $20, and the typical fare was about $21. Bustang’s South Line publishes $12 for the same trip, about 2 hours 15 with its city stops.
FlixBus launched its first Colorado service in May 2026, a Dallas to Denver route that calls at Pueblo and Colorado Springs. That gives the corridor a second bus company. On arrival, Garden of the Gods is free, Pikes Peak needs the cog railway or a tour, and Manitou Springs is next door.
Fort Collins, CO
About 1 hour 30 minutes on Bustang, from about an hour by bus
- Denver to Fort Collins busesfrom $12
- Bustang North Line$10.00
- Bustang North Line to Loveland$8.00
Bustang’s North Line runs Union Station to the Fort Collins Downtown Transit Center in about an hour and a half for $10. It stops at Loveland’s Centerra hub for $8 on the way. The 2018 list had Fort Collins at $11.
Wanderu sold two legs here in the past year, one at $16.98 and one at about $39, so the bargain is mostly the state’s. Old Town is the draw: the breweries, the Poudre River trail, and a downtown that stays busy because the university never leaves. The North Line skips Greeley.
Frisco, CO
About 1 hour 45 minutes by bus
- Denver to Frisco busesfrom $15
- Bustang West Line$12.00
Frisco is Summit County’s transfer point. Bustang’s West Line reaches the Frisco Transit Center in about 1 hour 45 for $12. From there the Summit Stage, the county’s free bus, runs on to Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Dillon.
All three Frisco legs Wanderu sold in the past year came in at about $18.50. That’s a true under-$20 fare and far too few tickets to promise anything. In winter, Snowstang does the ski run direct from Union Station: $25 round trip on weekends to Breckenridge, Copper, Loveland Ski Area or Arapahoe Basin.
Snowstang’s 2025-26 season ran mid-December 2025 to early May 2026. Frisco itself has the Dillon Reservoir shoreline and a Main Street that’s cheaper to eat on than Breck’s.
Vail, CO
About 2 hours 20 minutes on Bustang, 2 and a half by Greyhound
- Denver to Vail busesfrom $21
- Bustang West Line$17.00
- Pegasus$20.00
Vail is $17 on Bustang’s West Line, about 2 hours 20 from Union Station. Avon, one stop on, is $19; Eagle at $22 is the first stop over $20. The Greyhound tickets Wanderu sold in the past year ran about $27.
CDOT’s Pegasus vans also run Union Station to Vail and Avon for $20, six trips a day Monday to Thursday and ten Friday to Sunday. You arrive at the Vail Transportation Center, with the village at your feet. That means Gore Creek, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, and in summer a mountain that’s cheaper to visit than it is in February.
Fairplay, CO
About 2 hours by bus
- Denver to Fairplay busesfrom $15
- Bustang Outrider$14.00
Fairplay is the busiest Wanderu route from Denver that stayed under $20 every time. All seven legs booked in the past year cost about $17, on the Amtrak Thruway motorcoach that links Denver to Amtrak’s network. It’s a bus, not a train: Bustang runs it and Amtrak sells the seats.
Buy the same seat from Bustang and it’s $14, about 2 hours 10. Fairplay is the real town the show South Park is based on, and its South Park City museum is a whole restored mining town.
Winter Park and Fraser, CO
About 1 hour 40 minutes on Bustang, 2 hours on the train
- Denver to Winter Park trainsfrom $41
- Denver to Fraser trainsfrom $41
- Bustang Outrider$11.00
Two Amtrak trains and a bus, with CDOT’s Mountain Rail line between Denver and Granby due to start in November 2026 (check codot.gov). Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops at Fraser-Winter Park all year, about two hours from Union Station, and last year it could be cheap, with a catch. Of the 11 train legs booked to Winter Park on Wanderu in the past year, seven were on the Zephyr and two came in under $20.
The floor was $11.99 and the typical fare about $32. In ski season the Winter Park Express runs from Union Station to the resort’s doorstep. The 2025-26 season ran December 19 to March 29, Thursday to Sunday for most of it, skis ride free as carry-on, and Amtrak says it’s back for 2026-27.
Bustang’s Craig route covers Winter Park for $11 all year, about 1 hour 40. For the rest of the map, our guide to ski resorts you can reach by bus or train has the whole continent.
Cheyenne and Laramie, WY
From about 1 hour 50 minutes by bus to Cheyenne, 3 hours to Laramie
- Denver to Cheyenne busesfrom $16
- Denver to Laramie busesfrom $26
The Wyoming day trip is real. Cheyenne is about 1 hour 50 by bus and Laramie about 3 hours. In the past year their typical Wanderu fares were about $39 and $32.
Cheyenne means the Frontier Days grounds and museum, the gold-domed Capitol, and the Union Pacific depot. Laramie is the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Territorial Prison, where Butch Cassidy did his one stretch.
Three hours and up: the long day trips
Out early, back late.
Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
About 3 hours on Bustang to the park’s Park & Ride
- Bustang to Estes, summer weekends$7.50
New since the 2018 list, and the best deal on this page. Bustang to Estes runs summer weekends and holidays from Union Station to the Estes Park Visitor Center, then on to the park’s Park & Ride hub. About three hours, $7.50 each way.
Travelers on the bus don’t need Rocky Mountain National Park’s timed-entry reservation, only a park entrance pass: $15 for one, $30 for a group of two or more. The 2026 season ran May 23 to September 27; watch ridebustang.com for the 2027 dates.
Buena Vista, CO
Just under 3 hours by bus
- Denver to Buena Vista busesfrom $26
- Bustang Outrider$24.00
On Wanderu bookings in the past year, the Amtrak Thruway fare to Buena Vista moved once: $29 through March 2026, then $30.99 from April. Its 93 legs made it the second-busiest Denver route on Wanderu in the past year. Bustang publishes $24 on the same run.
Buena Vista is the Arkansas River’s rafting town, with the Collegiate Peaks lined up across the valley and Mount Princeton Hot Springs nearby.
Salida, CO
About 3 hours 20 minutes by bus
- Denver to Salida busesfrom $32
- Bustang Outrider$29.00
Salida was Wanderu’s single most-booked route from Denver in the past year, 170 legs, and one of the most predictable. The Thruway fare Wanderu sold was $35 through March 2026, then stepped up three times to $37.99 by September. No discount for booking early, none for booking late.
Bustang publishes $29, about 3 hours 20 from Union Station, and adds a seasonal Monarch Mountain stop from mid-December to early April for skiers. The Arkansas runs right through downtown Salida, and the town built a whitewater park on it.
Glenwood Springs, CO
From about 3 hours 10 minutes by bus, 5 hours 50 on the Zephyr
- Denver to Glenwood Springs trainsfrom $85
- Denver to Glenwood Springs busesfrom $26
- Bustang West Line$28.00
This is the classic Colorado train ride. The California Zephyr follows the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon, which is reason enough to pick the nearly six-hour train over the three-hour bus at least once. Typical fares in the past year were about $102 on the train and $39 on Greyhound; Bustang publishes $28.
The hot springs pool and the Yampah vapor caves are the town’s reason for being. The Zephyr made our list of the most scenic Amtrak routes with Colorado’s canyons among the highlights.
Steamboat Springs, CO
About 4 hours 10 minutes on Bustang
- Bustang Outrider$28.00
Bustang’s Craig route didn’t exist when we wrote the 2018 list. It runs Union Station through Winter Park and Granby to Steamboat in about 4 hours 10, for $28, 365 days a year. Wanderu hasn’t sold a Steamboat ticket in the past year, so that’s CDOT’s price.
Old Town Hot Springs sits right downtown and the Yampa River core trail runs the length of town. The ski mountain trademarked the phrase Champagne Powder. That’s the snow report.
Make it a weekend
Glenwood Springs and Steamboat are better with a night. These three don’t work without one.
Grand Junction, CO
About 8 hours on the Zephyr
- Denver to Grand Junction trainsfrom $121
- Bustang West Line$43.00
Grand Junction is the far end of the Zephyr’s Colorado run, about 8 hours on the train, with a typical fare of about $147 in the past year. Bustang’s West Line does it for $43. The draws are Colorado National Monument, Palisade’s wineries and peach orchards in the next town over, and the Grand Mesa looming over all of it.
Gunnison and Crested Butte, CO
About 5 hours by bus to Gunnison, 6 to Crested Butte
- Denver to Gunnison busesfrom $44
- Bustang Outrider to Crested Butte$45.00
At a near-flat $46 to $48 on last year’s bookings, the Thruway motorcoach to Gunnison takes about five hours. Its 48 legs made it Wanderu’s third-busiest Denver route in the past year. Bustang’s Crested Butte route continues past Gunnison to Crested Butte itself, six hours from Denver, for $45. Crested Butte is the wildflower capital of Colorado, an Elk Avenue downtown of painted false fronts, and a mountain-bike town from before most people had heard of mountain bikes.
Salt Lake City, UT
About 10 hours by bus, 15 on the train
- Denver to Salt Lake City busesfrom $47
- Denver to Salt Lake City trainsfrom $110
Twelve legs in the past year, split evenly between Greyhound and the Zephyr. The bus typically ran about $83 and takes around 10 hours. The train ran about $120 and takes about 15 hours, much of it through canyons you can’t see from the interstate. Plan on a weekend.
What’s still under $20 (the honest list)
Six destinations under $20, the 2018 page said. Wanderu’s bookings in the past year: Fairplay stayed under $20 on every one of its seven legs, at about $17 on the Amtrak Thruway bus.
Colorado Springs came in under $20 on three of eight legs, the Winter Park train on two of 11, and Fort Collins on one of its two. Frisco did it on all three of its legs, which is too few to lean on. Sixteen legs in all: the 2.7 percent.
The bigger under-$20 list is the one we don’t sell. Bustang’s published fares from Union Station, as of September 2026:
- Idaho Springs $5
- Estes Park $7.50, summer weekends
- Fort Collins $10
- Winter Park $11
- Colorado Springs $12
- Frisco $12
- Fairplay $14
- Vail $17
- Fort Morgan $17
Add Boulder and Golden on RTD’s $5.50 day pass and that’s eleven of this page’s destinations under $20, before you count Loveland, Avon and Pine Junction. That’s more than the 2018 list ever managed. If $20 is a hard ceiling, our under-$20 guides cover other cities.
What the 2018 list lost
Pine Junction, the old $6 ride, hasn’t sold on Wanderu since December 2018, six months after we published it. Bustang still lists the stop at $6 on its Crested Butte route, so the town isn’t lost, only our ticket to it. Greeley’s $18.81 is gone. Bustang’s North Line skips Greeley, and the three Greeley legs Wanderu sold in the past year ran about $39.
Fort Morgan (one leg, $32, on the train) and Fort Collins (two legs, one under $20 and one about $39) are still bookable; Bustang covers both for $17 and $10. Greeley and Fort Morgan are listed below.
- Greeley, COfrom $33
- Fort Morgan, COfrom $32
How to pay less (what 587 bookings say)
We looked at every Denver departure booked on Wanderu between September 2025 and September 2026. Three things held up:
- The fare you see is the fare. The four Amtrak Thruway corridors (Salida, Buena Vista, Gunnison and Fairplay) are more than half of everything booked from Denver, and their booked fares didn’t move with notice at all. Salida ran $35 to $37 whether you booked the day before or two weeks out. Book when you know your dates.
- When a fare changes, it’s a price list, not a season. Buena Vista’s booked fare went from $29 to $30.99 in April 2026 and held there through the summer; Salida’s booked fare stepped from $35 to $37.99 over the year. Summer is the busy season on both (December is close behind) and the fare didn’t dip for it, so there’s no cheap month to wait for.
- Check the state’s price before ours. Bustang’s published fares undercut what Wanderu sold to Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Fairplay, Buena Vista and Salida in the past year, sometimes by half. Where Wanderu’s fare wins, the live price shows it.
For the version of this advice that works from any city, read our guide to finding the cheapest tickets.
Frequently asked questions
What city can I visit in 2 hours from Denver?
Plenty, without a car. Golden is about 40 minutes on the RTD W Line and Boulder about 55 minutes on the Flatiron Flyer, both on a $5.50 day pass. Bustang reaches Idaho Springs in about an hour ($5), Fort Collins in about an hour and a half ($10) and Frisco in about 1 hour 45 ($12). Colorado Springs is about 1 hour 25 by bus, Cheyenne about 1 hour 50, and Fairplay and Winter Park both take about two hours.
What are some good options for a 3-day trip from Denver?
Glenwood Springs on the California Zephyr, with the hot springs pool at the end of a ride through Glenwood Canyon. Grand Junction is the far end of the same train, about 8 hours, for the wineries and Colorado National Monument. Steamboat Springs is about 4 hours 10 on Bustang for $28, Crested Butte about 6 hours by bus, and Salt Lake City is a 10-hour bus or a 15-hour train.
Can you do a day trip from Denver to Wyoming?
Yes. Cheyenne is about 1 hour 50 by bus from Denver, with a typical Wanderu fare of about $39 in the past year. Laramie is about 3 hours, with a typical fare of about $32. Cheyenne is the easier day: the Capitol and the Union Pacific depot are both downtown.
What are the best short trips from Denver if you don’t have a car?
Start with the three under an hour: Boulder and Golden on RTD for a $5.50 day pass, and Idaho Springs on Bustang for $5. Then Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Frisco, Vail and Winter Park, all with published Bustang fares of $10 to $17 and, on some, a live Wanderu fare as well. Every Bustang, RTD and Amtrak trip on this page leaves from Denver Union Station.
Is there a train from Denver to the mountains?
Amtrak runs two. The California Zephyr runs west from Union Station all year and stops at Fraser-Winter Park, Granby, Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction on its way to Salt Lake City. The Winter Park Express is the seasonal ski train from Union Station to Winter Park Resort. Its 2025-26 season ran December 19 to March 29, and Amtrak says it returns for 2026-27. Front Range Passenger Rail is a funded project with no trains yet. CDOT’s Mountain Rail line between Denver and Granby was due to start running in November 2026; check codot.gov for where it stands.
What day trips from Denver are under $20?
On Wanderu, the busiest route to stay under $20 every time in the past year was Fairplay, at about $17 on the Amtrak Thruway bus. Colorado Springs came in under $20 on three of eight legs and the Winter Park train on two of 11. Fort Collins managed it on one of two legs and Frisco on all three. The bigger list is the one Wanderu doesn’t sell. Bustang’s published fares from Union Station start at $5 to Idaho Springs and $7.50 to Estes Park on summer weekends. RTD’s $5.50 day pass covers Boulder and Golden, and the full list is in the under-$20 section above.
The “from” prices on this page refresh from Wanderu’s route data: each is the cheapest fare recently available on that route, the same figure its route page shows. “Typical” fares are Wanderu bookings from Denver, September 2025 to September 2026, per ticket, the full price paid; counts are bookings, and a booking can cover more than one seat. Zephyr times to Grand Junction and Salt Lake City are from Amtrak’s timetable as of September 2026. Bustang, Pegasus, Snowstang and RTD fares are the operators’ published fares as of September 2026.
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