Let’s take a look at the closest skiing and snowboarding to the most popular winter destinations. Sprinkle in a few other hidden gems and family-friendly ski areas, and there’s something for everyone. Wolf Creek, Powderhorn, Monarch, and Purgatory are some of the locals’ favorites for their great skiing away from the crowds, plus laid-back vibes and reasonable prices. Steamboat, Aspen, Crested Butte, and Telluride are among the most popular mega-resorts whose distance excludes front-range day-trippers.
If you put in at least three hours drive away from Denver and the masses, then you can expect shorter lift lines and maybe even a few extra deals around town.
While this is great for day-trippers and those with season passes, if you’re more flexible in your destination then the whole Colorado Rockies are your playground. Vail and Beaver Creek lie just a little further in Eagle County, at two-plus hours. You can be there in less than an hour and a half, traffic pending from the capital. The most commonly visited spot for skiing and snowboarding is Summit County, thanks to its close proximity to Denver and multiple ski resorts. From nearly any popular tourist destination west of the plains, there will be at least one ski area nearby, if not several resorts to choose from. Colorado is a world-class ski and snowboard destination, thanks to its abundance of the Rocky Mountains.
