bhavana

what's the best way to get there from san francisco ? if i fly which airport shud i land at ? And how long would the drive be to Steamboat ? If i hv the chance to fly in to HDN near steamboat, is it better to do that or to fly to denver and drive ? I'm only worried about road conditions if i drive. I have had ONE bad eperience in Tahoe when it snowed during thanksgiving this yr, and it took us 10 hrs to drive back to San Fran [normally tkes 3.5-4 hrs].

I don't plan to spend any time in denver itself, so that's not the focus.

Also, is it easy to drive from steamboat to winterpark or breckenridge easily ? what's the approx drive time like ?

Thanks for all replies and any suggestions.

Charles

Drive from Denver is around 3 hours. Snow on Rabbit ears pass can be a problem. Distance to Breck is around 2 1/2 hours. Winter Park is possibly 31/2 without looking at a map (depends if you have to go through Silverthorne/I70) and anyway if your starting at Steamboat you don't want to go to Winterpark in all likelihood in any case.

There is a closer airport than denver, but can't rember what it is and I'm unsure if the big airlines fly in. Call steamboat and ask their advice - I'm sure they know

Tracey

Steamboat has their own airport called Steamboat, and they only opperate during ski season. Flight's can be almost double into the tiny airport, so check both prices first. I flew in and out of Denver and with a family of 4, the cost difference was well worth the travel time.

Jym

If you drive make sure you have a pair of chains in your car and an emergency kit with flares, blanket, water, quick food like granola bars, jumper cables etc. in case you get stuck.

gb

I beleive Winter Park is a 2 hour drive from Denver (in good weather). In good weather, all of the drives are easy. If you don't want to fly from Denver to Steamboat, there are shuttle excursion vans available. You didn't say when you were going to Steamboat.

Steve

Steamboat is 3 to 3 1/2 hours from Denver depending on the road conditions. Rabbit Ear Pass can get nasty when it snows. Breckenridge and Winter Park are 2 hours at the most. Breckenridge is definitely an easier drive as it mostly along I-70 which is very well maintained in the winter. Winter Park is closer to Denver than Steamboat but not necessarily easier as it also involves driving over a mountain pass. I would suggest flying to Steamboat or taking a shuttle if you don't want to drive. IMO Breck and Winter Park both have too many day skiers and long lift lines. Steamboat is a great skiing experience.

Fred

If I were you I would fly into either Hayden or Steamboat itself if it is affordable. Another twist to think of is fly to Salt Lake and drive (or fly to Hayden?SS from salt Lake) to Steamboat from there. It is a 4-4.5 hour drive from Salt Lake to Steamboat and you could probably save a bunch of money by not flying into Denver. A possible glitch would be if you are flying to SLC during the olympics which might complicate things.

Fred

bj

Hayden (HDN) is the local airport and provides service year round. My son lives there and we always try to fly into and out of Hayden to avoid the long trip to Denver. Another option is to take the shuttle service from the airport in Denver. We have also used this and found its very reliable and will drop you at your doorstep in SBS.

bly

Hayden is the Steamboat airport.

Steamboat has a good in-town shuttle service, so you can take a shuttle from either Denver or Hayden to your hotel/condo then take local bus shuttle to the slopes, dinner, etc. and not have to drive at all. Fly into Hayden if you can to save time.

Steamboat is kind of out of the way - why drive a couple hours to either Winter Park or Breck? You'd be spending 4.5 - 6 hrs roundtrip in the car to get to these other resorts. If you're only in town for a few days, the skiing in Steamboat is more than enough.

If you want to ski several area on one trip - why not stay in Summit County where you can ski Breck, Keystone, Copper and Arapahoe within 30 minutes of each other? Or Aspen - Ajax Mtn, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, Snowmass. Vail, Beaver Creek/Arrowhead. b

dh

You can fly into Hayden/Steamboat.
Durring the winter some arilines fly in big jets. Not the turbo props.
Steamboat is about 20 mins from the airport.
Steamboat has a pretty good local shuttle system, so a car is not absolutely neccessary.