Pick the valley, then the mountain.
A powder day is a trip, not just a resort. Each valley page lists its resorts, how far it is from Denver, and where to stay, eat and rent — partners with live deals first.
Eldora / Boulder
Eldora is 45 minutes above Boulder via Nederland. A day trip by definition; Boulder is the bed base if you want one.
Winter Park / Fraser
Over Berthoud Pass and into the Fraser Valley. The closest big mountain to Denver and a town that still feels like one.
Summit County
Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Breckenridge and Keystone — five resorts (Loveland included), one bed base, 90 minutes up I-70.
Vail / Beaver Creek
Vail Village, Lionshead, Avon and Beaver Creek along the Eagle River — the I-70 corridor west of the tunnel.
Leadville
Ski Cooper on Tennessee Pass above Leadville, the highest incorporated city in North America.
Glenwood Springs
Sunlight Mountain is 12 miles above Glenwood Springs. Ski all day, soak in the hot springs after.
Steamboat
Steamboat Springs: Champagne Powder, hot springs, and a downtown worth the three-hour drive.
Aspen
Four mountains on one pass in the Roaring Fork Valley — Aspen, Snowmass, Highlands and Buttermilk.
Grand Mesa / Grand Junction
Powderhorn sits on the north flank of the Grand Mesa, 45 minutes from Grand Junction.
Crested Butte
Gunnison Valley. The town is three miles from the mountain and has not been polished.
Pagosa / Wolf Creek
Wolf Creek Pass has the deepest snow in Colorado and no beds. Pagosa Springs, 25 minutes west, has the beds and the hot springs.
Durango / Purgatory
Purgatory sits 25 miles north of Durango on the Million Dollar Highway. A real town at the bottom of a real mountain.
Telluride
A box canyon at the end of the road. Telluride town and Mountain Village, linked by a free gondola.