Coloradans traveling for the July 4th holiday can expect to join nearly 1 million other travelers passing through Denver International Airport or to navigate heavy traffic on major highways in and out of metro Denver.
DIA officials expect to see more than 900,000 passengers pass through security between Thursday and July 7, with up to 90,000 people entering the airport on July 6 alone.
Those numbers are similar to last year, and so is the airport’s advice for people navigating the crowds – arrive at least two hours before boarding and be prepared for long security lines during peak hours, which include 3 to 4 a.m., 8 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.
Passengers can also make free reservations to go through security at the west checkpoint to reduce wait times.
Folks traveling on some of DIA’s smaller airlines will need to drop checked bags at a different location than normal because of ongoing construction, airport officials said. The counters for two dozen airlines at the south end of the Jeppesen Terminal are moving to Level 5 through mid-2027, including Delta, American, Allegiant and JetBlue airlines.
Counters for the airport’s largest carriers – United, Southwest and Frontier – will remain on Level 6.
Drivers on interstates 25 and 70 will likely see the biggest traffic impacts as locals and visitors alike leave metro Denver for the holiday, AAA spokesperson Skyler McKinley said.
The organization expects to see a record high number of people traveling by car across the U.S., and Colorado generally follows or exceeds national trends, McKinley said.
AAA projects 72 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and July 6, and 61.6 million of those will travel by car.
“It’s never as bad as you think it is, but you have to be strategic,” McKinley said. “Not every travel day is created equal.”
Saturday and Sunday will likely see a surge in people heading to the mountains, with another wave on July 2 and 3, McKinley said. Drivers should also be prepared for “some weirdness” as they leave the metro because of regular commuter traffic mixing with holiday travel, he added.
The best bet to avoid the crowds is to start trips early in the day, but drivers should try to maintain their cool if the traffic conditions still don’t go their way.
“You can’t be mad at traffic, because you are traffic,” McKinley said.
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