There are several places that Coloradoans often refer to that you won’t find on a map.

Take “the mountains,” for instance. When Coloradoan say they are going to the mountains, what they really mean is they are going to THE Mountains. The Mountains are situated roughly in the middle third of the state, in areas that are above 9,000 or 12,000 feet, depending on whom you ask. Rock Mountain Park is in the Mountains. Winter Park is in the Mountains. And Breckenridge is in the Mountains.

Conifer is not—it is merely in the mountains; specifically, THE Foothills.

What’s that, you say? How can a place simultaneously be in the mountains and the foothills? Conifer can be in both the mountains and the Foothills because the Foothills (with a capital “F”) is a term used by Coloradoans to denote the lower mountains that are part of the Front Range. Mountains (as in the lowercased kind) are bigger than hills in the Foothills, but not as big as the Mountains. Again, depending on whom you ask, they are between 6,000 and 9,000 feet; or 6,000 and 12,000 feet. Nederland, Everland, and Estes Park are other places located in the Foothills.

Confused yet? Read on …

The Front Range is a loosely applied term that modern folks use to refer to the 140-mile long string of communities that at the Eastern foot of the Rockies. The bulk of the state’s population lives in the Front Range. Originally, though, the term was used to refer only to the mountains that rise up on the Eastern side of the Rockies. Today, however, the Front Range area also includes cities like Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, and Denver, as well as the first mountains that one encounters when driving West from the Eastern Plains into the Rockies.

Relax, of course I’m going to explain what the Eastern Plains are! Yes, I know, that’s not on your map of Colorado, either. (That’s what Denverish is for, to explain these special things you need to know to get around Colorado.) The Eastern Plains, sometimes simply called “The Plains,” refers to the Eastern part of Colorado, the sparsely populated, flat area between the Front Range and the Kansas border. Your guidebooks to Colorado probably have little to say about the Plains because most people find it boring compared to the rest of the state, although it holds a special appeal for some people.

Also, if you ever hear someone talking about the Western Slope, they are speaking of anything West of the Mountains. With elevations of less than 9,000 feet, this includes places like Aspen, Telluride, Durango, and Grand Junction.) I haven’t been there yet, so I can’t tell you much more about it (sorry.)
Here are some other places in Colorado, though, that I do know a little about:

The Springs: Refers to Colorado Springs, and ONLY Colorado Springs, the city located South of Denver and next to Pike’s Peak, home of James Dobson’s Focus on the Family empire and probably the state’s most conservative city. (It’s the opposite of Boulder, in other words.) The Springs does NOT refer to any of the many, many other communities in the state that also have “Springs” in their names. Interestingly enough, natives are apt to refer to these other cities by their first name only. These places include:

Elk
Glenwood
Hot Sulphur
Eldorado
Pagosa
Pinewood
Steamboat
Waunita
Olney
Mt. Princeton
Mineral

Remember, these places are on your map, but with the word “Springs” attached to them. Oh, I almost forgot. There is an exception to this rule: Idaho Springs. Idaho Springs is, for obvious reasons, always referred to by its full name.

Loveland: Usually refers to the ski resort in the Mountains, not the city that is located in the Front Range.

Berthoud: Usually refers to the town in the Front Range, as opposed to the ski area in the Mountains.

The Valley Highway: Nickname for Interstate 25, because it follows the Platte River Valley through Denver.

Boulder Turnpike: Pseudonym for US Highway 36, which was originally a toll way.

Eisenhower Tunnel: The gateway between the Foothills and the Mountains, located on Interstate 70.

Denver Metro Area: Comprised of eight counties (Denver, Boulder, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams, Broomfield, Douglas, and Elbert.)

Leadville: The highest city incorporated city in North America, elevation 10,156. That’s two miles! It was named for the source of its fortune, silver, which was mined in a thick carbonate of lead. In its heyday it had a population of 30,000. Also known for mining gold, zinc, lead, and copper, the town’s total area is 1.1 square miles and has a population of almost 3,000 people today.

Palmer Divide: A ridge that runs perpendicular to the Rockies and generally follows the line between Douglas and El Paso counties. Elevations along the Palmer Divide range from 6,000 to 7,352 feet. This area includes places like Castle Rock, Monument Ridge, Franktown, Sedalia and Kiowa.