When we're on the road, rather than always picking an airport that is close to our destination, we try to see if there might be another airport that would better fit our travel plans.<1> To help with your planning, the following list of airports is organized by type and proximity to Denver.
Please keep in mind that these airports were chosen based on their air-distance from Denver. You should check the map and see how accessible they are when considering one airport over another.
For each of the airports listed below, we've linked to websites where detailed information about the airport can be found.
Of the airports that we know about, these are some of the closest to Denver.
Large Airports ...
Kansas City Intl. (MCI/KMCI) (78 miles [125.5 km] to the south southwest)
When we are planning a trip (for example, to Denver), we usually look for the obvious: the choice of airlines that fly into the airport, the number of flights, the connections we have to make, which car rentals are available, etc. We also look for sights and attractions that we might find between any given airport and our destination - we do love exploring. We're willing to fly into a more distant airport if we can get the services and amenities that we like. Even though our choice of airport might be inconvenient to others, it usually gives us a better trip.
<2>
GPS Coordinates for Kansas City International Airport: Decimal: 39.29760, -94.713906 DDMMSS: 39° 17' 51", -94° 42' 50"
<3>
GPS Coordinates for Des Moines International Airport: Decimal: 41.53397, -93.663083 DDMMSS: 41° 32' 2", -93° 39' 47"