Denver to Vail for Thanksgiving week
 

I'm flying into Denver for the week of Thanksgiving either on Saturday or Monday and heading to Vail.

I haven't driven in the snow, and not much in the mountains.

Would it be best to take a shuttle?

Thoughts?

There is unlikely to be snow on the road. Are you going to rent a car anyway?
What are your plans?

I haven't decided if I want to rent a car or not as my parents will already be there and have a car rented. I am just arriving later than them and making my way to the house.
My plans are to just spend the time at the house, no skiing. Maybe some hiking, exploring the city, eating out.
Thanks

The shuttles are convenient since you don't need your own car.

Shuttle would be convenient in that case, albeit a tad expensive these days (to me). Will your parents take you back to the airport?

I will arrive with my GF, and if we do not take a shuttle, I will rent my own car, the only reason I'd use parents car is around Vail if I did take the shuttle. My main concern is driving conditions. I like the idea of driving in the mountains, and have done so in California, Blue Ridge and Washington, but from my research, the Rockies are a different animal.

I did notice that the shuttle would be quite a bit more than renting a car.

One problem with renting a car would be parking space in Vail. if you are certain you'll have a place to park then fine, if not, take the shuttle. Finding parking space in Vail can be difficult.

As far as the weather is concerned it's impossible to predict; one can only speculate.

Not sure what you mean by a different animal. If you explain that we might give a better answer. However, it is a divided, four lane interstate from the time you leave the airport.

Probably will not do much hiking because of the snow. We have had early snows in the mountains. The big issue for driving will be the return trip to Denver. If you are traveling on a Sunday PM you will need to allow five to six hours to return to the airport. So plan accordingly.

There is no problem driving in the Colorado mountains any more than anywhere else, as Fmden says. If your parents are staying IN Vail Village, the parking decks are expensive also.

@fmpden - What I mean is, I've driven in lesser mountains in good weather. From what I've read, this is a little more extreme and I'll be dealing with possible adverse weather.

Also, my flight departs Den at 6:10 PM Saturday, so thanks for the heads up about how long it will take.

As far as parking, we'll be staying at a place with a driveway.

Getting excited, can't wait. Just a few days ago it was 80F+ here, ready to see snow.

Saturday return should be normal. It is just that on Sunday everyone and their dog are returning to the front range so it can be a slow crawl from about 2, 3 pm into the city. Actually, driving is the same whether it is big mountains or little mountains. It is all interstate and built to the same standards. Not driving through high mountain passes with switch back turns which were common prior to the interstate roads.

Vail is not open yet so no snow reports. Steamboat is reporting over five feet of early snow so would expect Vail to be similar. At this point you are not going to do much hiking unless it is snowshoeing.