Concrete doesn't cure the way most people picture drying paint. It's a chemical reaction, not evaporation, and it keeps happening slowly for weeks after the pour looks finished.
In general: you can walk on a new patio after about 24 to 48 hours. Light furniture is usually fine after about a week. But the concrete doesn't reach its full design strength until around 28 days, and that timeline stretches out in cold weather since the curing reaction slows down below about 50°F.
That's why timing matters more here than in a milder climate. We watch the forecast before scheduling a pour — a slab poured right before an early freeze can cure unevenly or develop surface scaling if it's not protected. Spring through early fall is generally the safest window for a pour in the Denver Metro area, though we can pour in cooler weather with the right precautions.
If you just had a patio poured, the simplest rule of thumb: keep vehicles off it for at least a week longer than you'd think, avoid de-icing salts on it for the first winter if possible, and don't stress about small surface color variation in the first month — that's normal as the slab finishes curing.