Steamboat Springs - which airport & car needed?

[drfuller]

I have an exchange into Thunder Mountain in Feb. The prices from MI airports to Hayden are anywhere from $480 to $800. Denver is usually more like $225. Is it worth the extra money (x family of 4) to avoid the 4 hour drive from Denver to Steamboat? I have had my shares of delays and closures in the past on the I70 route to Vail but have not traveled on 40 to know what it's like.

Also, it looks like the Steamboat public transportation is good enough to do without a rental car if flying into Hayden - is that the case?

 

[Floridaski]

I think you need a car

We have been to Steamboat for ski season, we stayed at the The Village at Steamboat a World Mark property. We actually flew into Eagle and drove to Steamboat via Eagle. It was cheaper to fly into Eagle from Fort Lauderdale - so I feel your pain. But, for a family of 4 - I think it would make more sense to fly into Denver and rent a car.

You really need a car in Steamboat, the town and the Ski Mountain are really not all that close. It of course depends on how old your kids are and how patient you are with public transportation. I am not overly patient with ski shuttles and our son was only 5 when we went to Steamboat. There is no way we could have stayed at The World Mark property and counted on the ski shuttle, I would find out how far it is from the drop off and pick up. For the World Mark it was about a block away and the property was actually fairly close to the main street. Anyway, good luck Steamboat is a cute town,

 

[PigsDad]

I would fly to Denver and drive, considering the price difference for a family of four could easily top $1K or more. Yes, that road can be closed just like any Colorado mountain road in the winter, but it really doesn't happen that often.

The Hwy 9 / Hwy 40 route is a two-lane road, but well traveled. (You do know that you don't take Hwy 40 off of I-70, right? That would take you through Winter Park, which is not the best route. Continue on I-70 to Silverthorn and turn off there.) Given that winter driving is not a new experience to you (since you live in Michigan), you should have no problem.

An alternative route is to head from Denver to Laramie, WY via Fort Collins, and then head down to Steamboat Springs via Walden. It is little over an hour extra drive when you have good roads, but when the I-70 route has bad roads, it would probably be faster. The only "mountain" driving on that route is the last maybe 20 miles at the very end as you come over Rabbit Ears Pass into Steamboat Springs. Another alternative route is Hwy 14 from Fort Collins to Walden (to bypass Laramie), but that is a winding moutain road that can be bad in the winter. On Google maps, the Hwy 14 route is 30 miles less, but only saves you 9 minutes.

Kurt

 

[beejaybee]

Glad to see this post

We too are in the same dilemma as drfuller. We have a week at NorthStar in Feb for our first time at Steamboat and I am just now researching the area. It is good to know that a rental car is advisable there as that will need to be added to the higher cost of flying into HDN. DEN is looking like the more viable option for us.

 

[dchilds]

Drive to Steamboat from DIA

Taking I-70 to Highway 9 to Highway 40 is about 160 miles, and on good roads, it's about 3 hours. We went to Steamboat every Winter weekend a few years ago, and only hit a closed road once in 7 years. We did have our share of bad roads, which could easily add an hour or two to your drive. You will see tons of slow traffic on I-70 from Golden (West Denver) up to Dillon on a Friday night or Saturday morning, and the return drive on Saturday or Sunday evening.

 

[Judy]

I agree that a rental car is needed at Worldmark Steamboat, because that resort is not on the free bus route. But if your resort is, there is no need for a rental car unless you're driving from Denver anyway. Steamboat runs a free bus every 20 to 30 minutes from early morning until 10 or 11 at night. If your resort is an easy walk from the bus stop, the free bus is not only cheaper, but easier than a car. There is very little parking at the ski area (they're building more and will be charging for it). The bus goes to the ski area and downtown, including grocery stores, restaurants, shops, recreation center ....
Sorry, I'm not familiar with the exact location of your resorts and can't find a winter bus map online. But here's one for this summer. http://steamboatsprings.net/sites/default/files/2008/04/07/Summer 08 Local for web.pdf The winter schedule will have more frequent service and longer or more routes. Before spending money on a rental car, you might want to call your resort and ask whether it's on the "free bus" route.

 

[pianodinosaur]

We Love Steamboat Springs

We have been to Steamboat Springs in both the summer and the winter. If you stay close to a bus stop, the public transportation is excellent. If you are not close to a bus stop, you will need a car. We stayed at the Steamboat Grand and a car would have been an unnecessary expense. We stayed at Worldmark and a car was a necessity. We flew from Houston Intercontinental to Steamboat-Hayden on Continental.