Where to Legally Smoke in Denver: Venues, Rentals, and Fines

If you want to know where to legally smoke in Denver, the short list is this: inside your own home or private car, on the outdoor patio of a business if you stay at least 25 feet from any entrance, inside a cigar bar or retail tobacco shop, in a privately hired limousine, and — for cannabis only — inside a licensed marijuana hospitality venue. Almost everywhere else is off-limits, and the rules apply equally to cigarettes, cigars, vapes, and marijuana unless an exception specifically says otherwise.

Indoor Spots Where Smoking Is Still Allowed

The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking in virtually every indoor space that is open to the public or used as a workplace. The statute defines “smoking” broadly enough to cover tobacco, marijuana, and electronic devices like vape pens.¹ The exemptions are narrow, and the list is exclusive — if a venue isn’t on it, you can’t smoke there:²

Private residences, unless the home is also used as a child care or day care facility.
Private automobiles, with the same child-care exception and a carve-out that removes vehicles used for public transportation of children.
Cigar-tobacco bars that qualify under the statute.
Retail tobacco businesses whose primary business is selling tobacco.
Limousines under private hire. Taxis and rideshares are not exempt.
Licensed marijuana hospitality businesses, for marijuana only. Tobacco smoking stays banned inside these venues.

Hotel and motel rooms are explicitly listed among the banned locations, so assume your room is nonsmoking even if an older property once marketed smoking rooms.³ Common areas in apartment buildings and condos — lobbies, hallways, stairwells, laundry rooms — are treated as indoor public spaces and are off-limits regardless of what your lease says.

Outdoor Smoking: Patios, Entryways, and the 25-Foot Rule

The outdoor area of any business is exempt from the indoor ban.² A restaurant patio or bar deck can legally allow tobacco smoking, and many do. Individual businesses can also prohibit smoking in their outdoor areas on their own, and plenty of Denver venues choose to.

The catch is the entryway. Smoking is prohibited within at least 25 feet of the front or main doorway of any building covered by the indoor ban. Local governments can push that radius wider but generally cannot pull it in tighter than 25 feet.⁴ So a patio works, but a huddle by the door does not.

Denver Parks Are Not a Free Zone

Denver’s municipal code goes further than state law for city-owned property. Smoking tobacco in Denver parks is regulated and generally prohibited under Article IX of Chapter 24 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code, with a specific ban on smoking within 50 feet of any playground, recreation center, or swimming pool in a park facility.⁵ Treat Denver parks as nonsmoking.

Cannabis Is Legal to Possess, Not Legal to Use in Public

Adults 21 and older can legally possess cannabis in Colorado under the state constitution.⁶ Where you can actually use it is a much shorter list. Public consumption — smoking, vaping, or eating — is illegal in any public place, including sidewalks, parks, ski resorts, concert venues, restaurants, bars, and apartment common areas.⁷

Openly consuming two ounces or less of marijuana in public is a drug petty offense carrying a fine of up to $100 and up to 24 hours of community service.⁸ The fine is modest, but the conviction can show up on background checks and create real problems for visitors from stricter jurisdictions.

Licensed Cannabis Hospitality Venues

Denver is one of the few places in Colorado that authorizes cannabis hospitality businesses, which gives you a legal option for using cannabis outside your home. The city issues two license types, and the difference matters when you walk in the door:

A Marijuana Hospitality Business allows adults 21 and older to consume marijuana on the premises, but no marijuana is sold on-site. Patrons bring their own.
A Marijuana Hospitality and Sales Business allows limited on-site sales and on-site consumption of what you purchase there. You can’t bring your own.

Both license types prohibit alcohol and tobacco on the premises and cannot share space with a liquor-licensed business.⁹ The number of operating venues in Denver remains small. Check the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division’s licensed facilities list or Denver’s business licensing office for current options before making plans.

Rentals: Your Lease Can Override the Exemption

Your own home is the simplest legal place to smoke tobacco, cannabis, or vape products.² If you rent, that answer gets complicated. The Clean Indoor Air Act doesn’t regulate what happens inside an individual apartment unit, but landlords can, and smoke-free lease clauses are now common in Denver’s rental market. A lease provision banning smoking inside the unit, on the balcony, or anywhere on the property is enforceable. Read the lease before you light up.

The common areas of your building — lobby, hallways, stairwells, laundry room — are banned under state law no matter what the landlord does or doesn’t say.³

Smoking in a Vehicle

Private cars are exempt from the Clean Indoor Air Act, so you can legally smoke tobacco or cannabis in your own parked vehicle.² Colorado does not have a statute prohibiting smoking in a vehicle with a minor present. Smoking cannabis while driving or riding on a public road creates separate exposure under impaired driving laws, which is a different problem entirely. Taxis, rideshares, and vehicles used for public transportation of children are not exempt.

What a Violation Costs

Violating the Clean Indoor Air Act is classified as a petty offense, and each day of a continuing violation counts as a separate offense.¹⁰ The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment handles enforcement for tobacco violations in the city.¹¹ Public cannabis consumption is prosecuted separately under the criminal code, with the $100 fine and community service already noted.⁸

1
FindLaw. Colorado Code 25-14-203 – Definitions
2
Justia. Colorado Code 25-14-205 – Exceptions
3
Justia. Colorado Code 25-14-204 – General Smoking Restrictions
4
FindLaw. Colorado Code 25-14-207 – Local Government Authority
5
City and County of Denver. Rules and Regulations for Parks and Facilities
6
FindLaw. Colorado Constitution Art XVIII Section 16 – Personal Use and Regulation of Marijuana
7
Colorado Cannabis. Laws About Cannabis Use
8
FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-18-406 – Offenses Relating to Marijuana and Marijuana Concentrate
9
City and County of Denver. Marijuana Hospitality Information Session Slides
10
Justia. Colorado Code 25-14-208 – Unlawful Acts, Penalty, Disposition of Fines and Surcharges
11
City and County of Denver. Tobacco Compliance and Enforcement