Directions
Airport
,There are a number of viable routes from Denver International Airport to Boulder. Here are the two easiest ones:
Airport option A - Peña > I-70 > I-270 > US-36
Driving time is about 70 minutes when traffic is light.
Upon leaving the terminal or the rental car area, look for signs marked "Airport Exit" and "To I-70 & I-225 via Peña Blvd."
Stay on Peña Blvd until it merges with I-70 westbound. Stay in the left or center lanes to avoid exiting onto I-225 and other cross streets, and continue westbound on I-70 for about 4 miles.
Watch for the I-270 exit on the right, labeled "Westminster/Ft. Collins," that comes at about 14 miles from DIA. It is also labeled Exit 279, "US-36 Boulder." Take I-270 past Quebec, Vasquez, and York Streets, and past I-76 at 18 miles from DIA.
Stay in the left lanes, until you pass under a "US-36 West/Boulder" sign at about 20 miles from DIA. (Do not exit to the right, towards Ft. Collins or Broadway.)
Stay on US-36 into Boulder.
Airport option B - Peña > E-470 > US-36
Driving time is about 50 minutes.
This is a toll route, ~$5.25 in cash required, exact change not needed, about 3 toll booths.
Upon leaving the terminal or the rental car area, look for signs marked "Airport Exit." Stay on Peña Blvd for only a few miles until E-470 interchange.
Take E-470 North/West. Stay on E-470, which becomes the Northwest Parkway at I-25.
At end of Northwest parkway, follow signs to Highway 36 West towards Boulder.
Stay on US-36 into Boulder.
From Airport Map
View The American Polar Society meeting Boulder, Colorado in a larger map
Hotel
To get the Best Western Boulder Inn (labeled"Hotel" on below map):
Option A
Stay on US-36 into Boulder, go past the Foothills Parkway/Table Mesa/South Boulder Rd exit, and take the Baseline Rd exit to the right, at about 39 miles from DIA.
Go straight through the light at bottom of exit ramp, toward stop sign. Veer left/straight through stop sign. Hotel will be on your right (east) within a few hundred meters.
Option B
Stay on US-36 into Boulder until the first traffic light at Colorado Avenue, about 40 miles from DIA.
Turn right very tightly onto the frontage road paralleling US-36 and head back south about 400 m until you come to the hotel.
In Boulder map
View The American Polar Society meeting at CIRES in a larger map
INSTAAR
From the Airport
Stay on US-36 into Boulder, go past the Foothills Parkway/Table Mesa/South Boulder Rd exit, and take the Baseline Rd exit to the right, at about 39 miles from DIA.
Stay to the right on the exit ramp, and turn right (east) on Baseline Rd. Get in left lane.
Travel to the first stoplight, on 30th Street. Turn left onto 30th street north.
Go through two stoplights until reaching INSTAAR on your right (east) just before Arapahoe Ave. The below map shows Research Buildings RL-1 (71) and RL-3 (73). RL-3 is also called the "ARC" building. Public parking after 5:00 pm is available in the lots adjacent to these buildings. Public parking during the day is available directly west across 30th Street in Scott Carpenter Park.
To Boulder Inn
Follow Airport Exit signs to Pena Blvd. After 9.7 miles, Pena Blvd. merges into I-70W.
From I-70 W - Take the I-270 N Exit (exit number 279) toward Fort Collins.
Merge onto US-36 W
Take Baseline Rd. Exit - Stay in middle lane after exit.Go straight through the light onto Frontage Rd.
Hotel is one block on the right.
Estimated Time: Approx. 48 Minutes (Allow an hour during peak traffic times)
Estimated Total Distance: 45 Miles
Rental Cars
Some car rental counters may close in mid-evening (9:00pm??), so check for closing time when making reservations.
Rental Car Agencies Located at the Denver International Airport
Advantage
www.arac.com
Enterprise
www.enterprise.com
Alamo
www.alamo.com
Hertz
www.hertz.com
Avis
www.avis.com
National
www.nationalcar.com
Budget
www.budget.com
Payless
www.paylesscarrental.com
Dollar
www.dollar.com
Boulder
Boulder Tips
US 36 becomes 28th Street. Numbered streets (i.e., 30th St.) run north-south with low numbers to the west (toward the mountains).
Campus is to the left (west) at the first light on US 36 in Boulder (Colorado Ave).
To head toward downtown (Central Park, Pearl Street Mall) from US 36 (28th street) go left at the second light (Arapahoe St.), the third light (Canyon), or the fifth light (Pearl).