So you're planning to get out of Denver during Thanksgiving week, or you just want to leave the house and go shopping for a while, because Aunt Velma is doing her terrible impression of Melania Trump again. When should you hit the road? And when will traffic be so horrible that spending more time with Aunt Velma would actually seem preferable by comparison?
In an attempt to provide the answers to these questions, the folks at Google Maps and Google News Lab have created Mapping Thanksgiving, a website that allows users to check travel stats and more in major metro areas across the country, including the Mile High City.
The recommended times for Denverites to head out for a holiday road trip will require an alarm clock and the will to rise mighty early.
According to the site's data, the best hour to depart before Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 22, is (gulp) 3 a.m. on Wednesday, November 21; the worst hour is 3 p.m. on that same day.
If you prefer to split after Thanksgiving, you'll get more sleep, but only a little. The best hour to go is 4 a.m. on Black Friday, November 23; the worst is 3 p.m. that afternoon.
The site also provides Denver traffic graphics for each day, which show the rise and fall of roadway-clogging volume.
Here's the graphic for Wednesday, November 21....
...Thanksgiving, November 22....
...Black Friday, November 23....
...Saturday, November 24....
...and Sunday, November 25:
In addition, Mapping Thanksgiving offers up the most popular Google Maps search terms for multiple cities during Thanksgiving weeks past, and the ones for Denver suggest that an unusual number of people in these parts want to get wet despite (or perhaps because of) the impending winter. But there are also lotsa folks who apparently would prefer to shoot something.
Here are the top five Denver terms for the three main days of Thanksgiving week, as well as an overall average:
WEDNESDAY
1. swimming pool
2. railroad company
3. condominium complex
4. supermarket
5. shooting range
THANKSGIVING
1. swimming pool
2, railroad company
3. state park
4. visitor center
5. golf club
FRIDAY
1. swimming pool
2. airport
3. shooting range
4. tourist attraction
5. railroad company
OVERALL
1. swimming pool
2. railroad company
3. shooting range
4. supermarket
5. tourist attraction
And for all these things, we give thanks.
Photo by Joe Weeg
[
{
"name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
"component": "12017618",
"insertPoint": "2",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
},{
"name": "Editor Picks",
"component": "17242653",
"insertPoint": "4",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
},{
"name": "Inline Links",
"component": "18838239",
"insertPoint": "8th",
"startingPoint": 8,
"requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
"maxInsertions": 25
},{
"name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
"component": "17261320",
"insertPoint": "8th",
"startingPoint": 8,
"requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
"maxInsertions": 25
},{
"name": "Inline Links",
"component": "18838239",
"insertPoint": "8th",
"startingPoint": 12,
"requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
"maxInsertions": 25
},{
"name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
"component": "17261321",
"insertPoint": "8th",
"startingPoint": 12,
"requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
"maxInsertions": 25
}
]
KEEP WESTWORD FREE...
Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.
You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.
Trending
Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our
terms of use,
our cookies policy, and our
privacy policy
Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our
affiliate partners.
©2024
Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
