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Hey everyone,
Ill be in colorado the week of january 21st. Im looking to rent a car but don't have a large budget for an suv - is it really important to have 4 wheel drive in january or can i get by without it?
I plan on driving into these cities and in between: denver aspen boulder, and maybe rmnp.
Any help would be much appreciated!
In all of our many threads on winter driving, the consensus of the group is for an AWD Subaru; an SUV is ok but not a requirement.
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AWD would be nice, and ideally preferable, but is not necessary.
Presumably the car rental companies know what they are doing, but whatever else insure that that they've rented you has adequate tires. Meaning, if not truly dedicated winter tires, at least decent all-season. Also, do not let them show you out the door with anything rear-wheel drive. Yeah, for some reason many police agencies still seem to think this works; nevertheless, if not AWD (or 4x4), aim for FWD. On plowed roads front-wheel drive is adequate, and the only thing many use rear-round.
If the option, an AWD Subaru with winter tires would be just about ideal. Oh, and no matter what driven, they always work best on snow when driven slowly.
Hey everyone,
Ill be in colorado the week of january 21st. Im looking to rent a car but don't have a large budget for an suv - is it really important to have 4 wheel drive in january or can i get by without it?
I plan on driving into these cities and in between: denver aspen boulder, and maybe rmnp.
Any help would be much appreciated!
I just rented a small SUV for 8 days for $230 out of Denver International from Dollar Rent a Car for next week. Competing companies were hundreds of dollars higher for the same vehicle. Use one of the large travel sites online to compare prices and you might find a deal.
Rental companies in my experience do not put snow tires on their vehicles due to the cost and high wear rates on snow tires, so you'll have that disadvantage.
The Rocky Mountain National Park is essentially closed in winter for your average tourist. Trail Ridge Rd is shut as well as most access. Unless you are into hardcore back country snowshoeing or skiing, there is only so much to see.
Aspen is a significant trip from Denver. Plan on 4 hours minimum in great weather and traffic. Personally if you are not used to I-70, I would watch the weathercams on CDOT and abstain from travel if the weather is bad. I would also avoid Friday night to Sunday night. I-70 takes out a number of unsuspecting tourists every month, so I would not take any trips into the mountains lightly in the winter.
The Rocky Mountain National Park is essentially closed in winter for your average tourist. Trail Ridge Rd is shut as well as most access. Unless you are into hardcore back country snowshoeing or skiing, there is only so much to see.
Not true!
We visit RMNP often during the winter. The scenery is breathtaking and wildlife viewing is usually very good. Trail Ridge Road is closed from Many Parks Curve to Grand Lake but all other roads are open.
Check out this itinerary for a visit to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park in winter. It is definitely worth the trip!
Winter Day trip to RMNP from Denver
There are several routes to RMNP depending on weather/driving conditions.
Highway 36 through Boulder and on to Estes Park or I-25 to highway 34 to Estes Park are usually plowed earlier and are more accessible than the highway 119 to 72 and 7 (Peak to Peak Byway) route.
Assuming good weather, take the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway (119, 72, 7 route). Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway - Map
Highway 7 intersects highway 36 at the back door to the Estes Park Visitors Center. Stop and get an Estes Park Area Map and other info.
At the intersection of highway 36 and highway 34, go straight (unless you want to rent snowshoes at the Estes Park Mountain Shop in which case you turn right) to Wonderview Ave. and the highway 34 bypass also known as Fall River Road. The stately large white building on Wonderview is the Stanley Hotel - on the National Register of Historic Places opening in 1909, famously known as the site where Stephen King wrote “The Shining” and considered one of the most haunted places in America. Ghost tours and hotel tours are offered. Estes Park Hotel Information - The Stanley Hotel
Continue up Fall River Road. Look for elk and bighorn sheep along the road on either side as they frequent this area. The RMNP Fall River Visitor Center is only open on weekends but the gift shop is open. From the parking lot, you can get a great photo of the giant granite monolith across the road from the building. The fee for RMNP is $20 at the Fall River entrance station. You will get a map and newspaper and can ask the ranger any questions you have. As you drive past Horseshoe Park, look for elk. Look for bighorn sheep at Sheep Lakes and the hillsides on the right.
Turn right toward the Alluvial Fan and Endovalley. Drive to the second parking lot and take the short walk up to the waterfall. Use discretion if it is icy. Look for bighorns on the hillsides. Back on highway 34 turn right. From the bridge, the meandering Fall River is a nice photo on either side. Another great photo op is from the lookout on your left as you climb toward Deer Junction.
At Deer Junction, turn right. Trail Ridge Road is only open to Many Parks Curve (weather permitting) but it is worth the drive. Many Parks Curve is approximately 8 miles from the Fall River Entrance. Hidden Valley has real restrooms and some great views so make a stop. Moose have been occasionally spotted in the willows between the Beaver Ponds area and Hidden Valley. When you return to Deer Junction, go straight and stop at some of the pull offs for the great views of Longs Peak. Not counting stops, allow an hour and a half for this part of the trip using the Estes Park Visitors Center as the starting point and the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station as a stopping point.
Take Bear Lake Road off highway 36 to your left if coming from the Beaver Meadows Entrance. Note the great view at the Big Thompson bridge. Go all the way to the end of Bear Lake Road as you can see the sights along the way on the return trip. It can be icy once you get to the switchbacks. Bear Lake is only 11 miles from the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. The .6 mile walk around Bear Lake is probably the favorite in RMNP. Depending on snowfall, you either need snowshoes or traction devices for ice to safely do this. You can rent snowshoes for about $5 at the Estes Park Mountain Shop on highway 34 (Big Thompson Avenue section) in Estes Park. On your way back down Bear Lake Road, stop at Sprague Lake—assuming it is open. Again depending on snow, the half mile walk around Sprague is wonderful. Sprague will have less snow than Bear Lake and at least part of it (go to the left) is usually clear enough to walk without devices. Make the short loop through Hollowell Park further down the road. Just past the Big Thompson bridge on the left is a small picnic area. Stop and walk to the wooden bridge. There are views in every direction from here and the view into Moraine Park is particularly nice. Shortly on your left is the road to the Fern Lake and Cub Lake Trailheads. Take the loop through here. At the end, you may want to walk a short distance on the Fern Lake trail. In winter, the beginning of the Fern Lake trail is actually on a summer road. Snow is usually limited and you walk through a grove of white barked aspens. At the junction with highway 36, turn right and leave RMNP. Allow an hour and a half driving time only (not stops) for this Bear Lake route using the Beaver Meadows Entrance as your starting and ending point.
Depending on time, you can browse Estes Park. The Riverwalk behind the shops on Elkhorn Ave. is nice. If you have time for more scenic driving, this route will add about an hour and a half to your trip. Take highway 34 down Big Thompson Canyon to Drake. Bighorn sheep are often seen near Drake. At Drake, turn left onto CR 43/Devils Gulch Road. This scenic route follows the North Fork of the Big Thompson River through Roosevelt National Forest. After the switchbacks, look for the turnoff to the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead. Take the quick drive to the TH for up close views of these giant boulders. Devils Gulch Road becomes MacGregor Avenue. Look for elk in the ranch area and near Black Canyon Inn. A left on Wonderview carries you back to Estes Park.
For the return trip to Boulder, take highway 7 through St. Vrain Canyon to Lyons and then highway 66 and 36 to Boulder. Travel time for this route is an hour and a half. St. Vrain Canyon does not look like either Boulder or Big Thompson Canyon. If it is getting dark, take 36 from Estes to Boulder and then back to Denver.
Not true!
We visit RMNP often during the winter. The scenery is breathtaking and wildlife viewing is usually very good. Trail Ridge Road is closed from Many Parks Curve to Grand Lake but all other roads are open.
Check out this itinerary for a visit to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park in winter. It is definitely worth the trip.
Like Yellowstone it is technically open, but for your average hamburger eating American tourist, unprepared for 10000 feet, there isn't all that much of tourist value to see, especially in frigid january. If the weather is good it might be a nice drive and you might get some photos, but I wouldn't send someone out there unless they just had to go.
Now if the poster is a fit, winter mountain specialist they might get something out of it, but to me sending someone up on a day trip to see the visitor center and a few miles of road, with no real options to hike due to weather is another thing.
Working in the tourism business in Colorado I fountd many locals had a habit of encouraging your average tourist to go out and do things that were fine for their skill set and abilities as well as local knowledge, but that tourist had no idea what was really involved and in a few cases there were fatalities. Hence, encouraging people to go snowshoeing at 10000 feet in January or driving on tight mountain roads in winter when they have already expressed some discomfort with such driving might not be the best idea. Or at least add a caveat. What might be easy peasy for a local might not be for someone else.
They just have to understand what is on offer there in terms of accessibility is not what it is in summer and if that works for them, go for it.
Like Yellowstone it is technically open, but for your average hamburger eating American tourist, unprepared for 10000 feet, there isn't all that much of tourist value to see, especially in frigid january. If the weather is good it might be a nice drive and you might get some photos, but I wouldn't send someone out there unless they just had to go.
Now if the poster is a fit, winter mountain specialist they might get something out of it, but to me sending someone up on a day trip to see the visitor center and a few miles of road, with no real options to hike due to weather is another thing.
Working in the tourism business in Colorado I fountd many locals had a habit of encouraging your average tourist to go out and do things that were fine for their skill set and abilities as well as local knowledge, but that tourist had no idea what was really involved and in a few cases there were fatalities. Hence, encouraging people to go snowshoeing at 10000 feet in January or driving on tight mountain roads in winter when they have already expressed some discomfort with such driving might not be the best idea. Or at least add a caveat. What might be easy peasy for a local might not be for someone else.
They just have to understand what is on offer there in terms of accessibility is not what it is in summer and if that works for them, go for it.
Wanneroo, I think for a winter flatlander tourist--even an old one like me--Bear Lake is doable as long as the road is traversible. There's plenty of beauty in just that short sojourn into RMNP. I lived in Colorado for many years and know it's beauty. We frequently drove up there just for that part of the trip.
Now the trip to Aspen may be okay in January, but there is the potential for a much longer and even more dangerous trip over and back (snowstorm, ice, etc). If unaccustomed to mountain driving, January is not a great time to learn. And why, when there are so many front range things to see? The OP can drive up to Buffalo Overlook and have a great view of Denver on the way back down. Or drive down to the Springs (a shorter, less mountainous trip than Aspen) and see Red Rocks.
Wanneroo is absolutely correct about flatlanders not understanding what altitude, let alone combined with cold, can do to someone who pushes themselves because they've done it at a 1000 feet or less.
OP, the first thing you do when you get to your hotel room or wherever you're staying---go for a short run. You will quickly see that no matter how good a condition you believe you are in, it will not be the same as at lower altitudes.
Like Yellowstone it is technically open, but for your average hamburger eating American tourist, unprepared for 10000 feet, there isn't all that much of tourist value to see, especially in frigid january. If the weather is good it might be a nice drive and you might get some photos, but I wouldn't send someone out there unless they just had to go.
Now if the poster is a fit, winter mountain specialist they might get something out of it, but to me sending someone up on a day trip to see the visitor center and a few miles of road, with no real options to hike due to weather is another thing.
Working in the tourism business in Colorado I fountd many locals had a habit of encouraging your average tourist to go out and do things that were fine for their skill set and abilities as well as local knowledge, but that tourist had no idea what was really involved and in a few cases there were fatalities. Hence, encouraging people to go snowshoeing at 10000 feet in January or driving on tight mountain roads in winter when they have already expressed some discomfort with such driving might not be the best idea. Or at least add a caveat. What might be easy peasy for a local might not be for someone else.
They just have to understand what is on offer there in terms of accessibility is not what it is in summer and if that works for them, go for it.
This ^^^^^
I've seen waaay too many folk from low altitude/milder climates come to Colorado with full expectations that it will be no big deal to get around and perform as they do back home. Altitude effects, including getting sick from it, are very real.
As well, driving in the potentially inclement conditions, especially in the weekend derby to the mountain areas from the Front Range ... is challenging for locals, let alone those who don't routinely have such circumstances back home. Driving an unfamiliar car in such situations is not the time to learn how under the pressure of "get there itis" to one's chosen tourist destination. Denver to Aspen in the winter is more than a day trip if you're going to spend any meaningful amount of time in Denver ... similarly, Denver to RMNP can be a challenge for a day trip for those unfamiliar with driving in the mountains in inclement conditions.
Rocky Mountain National Park is well worth visiting in winter.
Crossing RMNP via Trail Ridge Road is a magnificent drive, which obviously isn't an option due its customary winter closure. However most of the few roads in RMNP remain open, and are regularly plowed. Although do expect that whereas CDOT believes in poisoning Colorado with huge doses of magnesium chloride, RMNP largely does not, so while state highways may be clear, those within the park can still be partially or largely snow packed. Not a concern if with the proper tires (and lesser extent vehicle).
Even if never leaving one's vehicle, and all cozy with heater on, RMNP presents a different and more than worthwhile experience for any visitor. Particularly after a new snow it is the very picture of a winter wonderland. For just a few pictures alone the trip would be worth it. Moreover one of the charms at this time of year is the distinct lack of the customary swarms of tourists come summer.
That will be all the more refreshing if taking advantage of one of the many fine hiking trails in the park. One needn't be a mountain man to do so, either. Yes, altitude is involved, so don't expect to be sauntering (more like mountaineering) up Longs Peak in an afternoon. Yet many of the hikes one might take can be not only as brief as one likes, but also fairly level. One example would be in the Endo Valley where the road towards the Old Fall River Road is closed closer in for winter at the (man-made) alluvial fan of the Roaring River. The snow beyond the gate on this largely level road now closed is usually well enough packed by others to allow passage without any other paraphernalia than one's own shoes and a jacket. Something similar would be the lovely walk from the Fern Lake trailhead at the far end of Moraine Park. In winter this road is closed closer in as well, thus allowing a good and level walk along that which continues. After some time one will come to the actual trailhead, and likely find enough others have continued on this trail to have fairly well packed a path in the snow. One could go a long distance, but certainly needn't.
The drive up to Bear Lake on Bear Lake Road is worth it simply for the vistas, and do know it certainly climbs in elevation, with Bear Lake at 9,475 feet. Those experienced and adventurous sometimes use this as only a starting point, and with such as cross country skis continue well beyond. But one great aspect of such a journey is that Bear Lake lies just beyond the parking area. The trail circumnavigating it may well not be, but to the lake from the parking area is usually quite well trodden. Watch one's step, as the snow may be slick in places, but otherwise it is literally no big deal to walk the short distance to the edge of this quite beautiful lake. Not only worth it, but if few to no others in attendance, then with the feeling truly out in the middle of nowhere, verily in the very midst of God's country (and but a minute or so from one's car).
If none of this sounds interesting, then don't bother. Most other tourists in winter—those relatively few—only get as far as the bright lights of Estes Park. Which is quite lovely itself after a new snow. Perhaps all they wanted, or as well under the misapprehension that to visit RMNP in winter one should be considering a night of snow camping.
I live in Chicago so I'm used to the snow, mountains not so much. Sounds like leisure driving with a compact car in the mountains may not be a good idea. Any other ideas for nice areas to take pictures, and possibly some wildlife viewing?
Either way im staying in the car...no hiking or snoe shoeing for me.
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Not an SUV, but ...
okay to Bear Lake
