Colorado is a bit of a weird place if you actually look at the map. It looks like a perfect rectangle, but honestly, it isn't. It's a hexa-hecta-contane-something? No, it’s a "geodesic" shape with nearly 700 sides because the original surveyors back in the 1800s didn't have GPS. They just sort of wandered through the brush, leaving a jagged border that would drive a perfectionist crazy.
You've probably heard it’s the "highest" state, and that’s literally true. It has the highest mean elevation in the entire U.S. at about 6,800 feet. But there’s way more to it than just thin air and expensive ski lift tickets.
The Mile High City is a Literal Measurement
People think "Mile High" is just a catchy marketing slogan for Denver. It’s not. If you go to the State Capitol building, the 13th step is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. Or at least it was until they re-surveyed it and realized the 15th step was actually the one. Then they did it again and found the 13th step was right after all.
Basically, the city is obsessed with this number.
Because the air is so thin, weird things happen to physics. Golf balls fly 10% further here. If you’re a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, you’re basically playing on "hard mode" because curveballs don't curve as much. Also, water boils at roughly 202°F instead of 212°F. Your pasta takes longer to cook, but your coffee cools down faster. It’s a trade-off.
Interesting Facts About Colorado: The Mountains That Rule Everything
Everyone talks about "Fourteeners." These are peaks over 14,000 feet. Colorado has 58 of them, though some hikers get into heated arguments about whether it's 53 or 58 based on how much "prominence" a peak needs to be its own mountain.
Mount Elbert is the big boss at 14,440 feet.
There was actually a "height war" back in the day between fans of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive. People who wanted Mount Massive to be the tallest would literally carry heavy rocks to the top and build cairns to try and artificially raise the summit. Mount Elbert fans would then hike up and tear the piles down.
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Human pettiness knows no altitude limits.
The Great Sand Dunes
You wouldn't expect to find a massive Sahara-style desert in the middle of the Rockies, but the Great Sand Dunes National Park is exactly that. They are the tallest dunes in North America. Wind basically blows sand against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and since the sand can’t climb the peaks, it just piles up. You can actually go sandboarding down them, which is fun until you realize you have to hike back up 750 feet of shifting sand.
A History of Rejecting the World
Colorado is famously the only place to ever turn down the Olympics. In 1970, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1976 Winter Games to Denver.
The locals weren't having it.
Voters basically said, "No thanks, it’s too expensive and will ruin the environment." In 1972, they passed a bond issue to stop the funding, and the games moved to Innsbruck, Austria. It remains a legendary move of "leave us alone" energy that still defines much of the state's culture.
Bizarre Laws You Might Actually Break
Some of the old laws still on the books are just... confusing. In Aspen, it is technically illegal to have a snowball fight. Specifically, the law prohibits "projecting" missiles at cars or people, and snowballs count as missiles.
Don't expect a SWAT team to swoop in if you toss one at your friend, but maybe don't aim at a cop.
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In Boulder, you can't own a "pet." You are a "pet guardian." It sounds like a small semantic difference, but it’s a legal distinction designed to give animals more rights. Also, in the city of Sterling, your cat is technically required to wear a tail light if it’s running loose at night. I’ve lived here for years and have yet to see a glowing cat, but a guy can dream.
- Pueblo: Dandelions over 10 inches tall are illegal.
- Vail: It is illegal to crash into an obstacle on a ski slope (which seems like the mountain is just insulting your skill level).
- Denver: You aren't supposed to drive a black car on Sundays. This one isn't enforced, obviously, but it’s still there.
The Invention of the Cheeseburger?
This is a point of major contention between Colorado and Kentucky, but Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver trademarked the name "Cheeseburger" in 1935.
There’s a small stone marker on Spear Boulevard where the drive-in used to be. It’s not much to look at, but it represents a pivotal moment in American culinary history. Or at least a pivotal moment in trademarking things people were probably already doing.
Why the "Centennial State"?
Colorado joined the Union in 1876. If you're quick with math, you'll realize that’s exactly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Hence, the nickname.
The state flag is actually pretty clever once you know the code. The "C" is for Colorado. The gold circle inside represents the 300 days of sunshine and the mining history. The white stripe is for the snow-capped mountains. The blue stripes represent the sky. It’s simple, but it beats those state flags that are just a blue background with a complicated seal no one can read from 50 feet away.
The Deepest and the Longest
If you like records, Colorado has a few weird ones.
- Colfax Avenue: It’s the longest continuous commercial street in America. Playboy once called it the "wickedest street in America," which locals now just take as a compliment.
- The Eisenhower Tunnel: It’s the highest auto tunnel in the world. When you drive through it, you are literally crossing the Continental Divide at 11,000 feet.
- Pagosa Springs: This town holds the Guinness World Record for the deepest geothermal hot spring. They measured it at 1,002 feet deep, but that’s only because their measuring tape ran out. No one actually knows how deep it goes.
Realities of the Modern Economy
It’s not all tourists and ski resorts. Going into 2026, the state’s economy is actually shifting. While the "Denver Tech Center" (DTC) has been a hub for a while, the aerospace industry is massive here.
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Colorado has the second-largest space economy in the country, second only to California. If a satellite is launching, there’s a good chance some part of it was built in a nondescript office park in Littleton or Boulder.
According to the Leeds School of Business, the state is seeing a shift where professional services are slowing down, but healthcare and government sectors are picking up the slack. Housing remains a "good luck with that" situation for many, with median home values still hovering around the $500,000 mark in most of the Front Range.
Nature is Trying to Kill (or Help) You
The wildlife here is gorgeous but occasionally problematic. Bighorn sheep—the state animal—are everywhere in the canyons. They look majestic until they decide to stand in the middle of I-70.
Then there are the "Frozen Dead Guy Days." In the town of Nederland, they celebrate a Norwegian man named Bredo Morstoel, who is cryogenically frozen in a Tuff Shed. They have coffin races and polar plunges in his honor. It’s the kind of peak Colorado weirdness that keeps the state interesting.
Actionable Next Steps for Visiting or Moving
If you're actually planning to head out here, don't just stay in Denver.
- Hydrate: The altitude will give you a headache that feels like a hangover without the fun part. Drink twice as much water as you think you need.
- Sunscreen: You are closer to the sun. You will burn in 15 minutes, even if it's 20°F outside.
- Check the pass: If you're driving into the mountains, check the CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) app. A light dusting of snow can turn a 2-hour drive into a 6-hour nightmare.
- Respect the "Leave No Trace": Coloradoans are protective of their trails. If you leave trash, someone will probably give you a very stern, very polite lecture.
Invest in a good pair of hiking boots and maybe a humidifer. The air is dry enough to turn your skin into parchment paper within a week. But once you see a sunset hit the Flatirons in Boulder, you'll probably decide the dry skin is worth it.