Doing a 12 day winter national park trip to Colorado and Utah is an easy way to combine some fantastic national parks into one trip! On our trip, we opted to go in January and do some hiking in the national parks as well as some skiing, but the trip can easily be modified to omit the skiing or to hit the parks at a different time of year! On this 12 day trip to Colorado and Utah, we hit Rocky Mountain National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. 

Because we went in January, we had much of the parks to ourselves and saw very few people on the trails! In fact, we also got free entry because no one was manning the entrance gates! We highly recommend a winter visit to these national parks if you’re looking for beautiful winter wonderlands and no crowds. There are so many fun activities from snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, and wild-life viewing. 

In this blog, you’ll learn about

• Important planning information
• Our personal trip itinerary
• Our budget
• Ways to save

Important Info to Know Before You Go on a Winter National Park Trip!

• While winter is a spectacular time to visit US national parks, it’s critical to check park specific alerts on the national park service website which will tell you what roads are closed, what the trail conditions are, how much snow is on the ground, etc. 

• Remember to pack appropriately. Think lots of insulating layers, waterproof clothing, waterproof hiking boots, waterproof gloves, winter hats/earmuffs, sunscreen, ice cleats (we recommend Yaktrax), and sunglasses. 

• Research your driving route before you go, and be prepared for road closures. When we went from Rocky Mountain National Park to Breckenridge, the Eisenhower Tunnel on highway 70 was closed for 3 hours. 

• Make sure your vehicle is appropriate for winter weather and travel with plenty of water and snacks. 

• Cold temperatures in the national parks may mean that potable water is turned off. Make sure to bring plenty of your own water.

Our Winter National Park Trip Itinerary

Day 1: Fly into Denver International Airport (DEN) & Pick up rental car

Day 2: Drive from Denver to Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park (1.5 hours)

Drive to Breckenridge, CO (2 hours, 40 minutes)

Day 3-4: Skiing Breckenridge and Keystone

Day 5: Drive from Breckenridge to Moab (4 hours, 40 minutes)

Day 6: Arches National Park 

Day 7: Canyonlands National Park

*At this point you can choose to fly out of Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) or continue on the second half of the trip!

Drive to Telluride (3 hours, 10 minutes)

Day 8: Ski Telluride Ski Resort.

Day 9: Explore downtown Telluride and Ouray Hot Springs

Day 10: Ski Telluride Ski Resort.

Day 11: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Day 12: Drive back to Denver, CO (5 hrs, 20 minutes)

Day 13: Fly home

Day 1: Denver

Denver is a beautiful city and we wanted to make sure we had at least a day to check it out. Because we didn’t have a ton of time, we really just hit some of the major sites, but we would definitely recommend staying longer if you have the time! The city has some really cool things to offer right in town as well as a few sites if you drive a bit outside the city. And you will be in awe at the view of the Rocky Mountains all around the city.

Also, if you’re like us and coming from an area of lower altitude, it’s nice to have at least a day to acclimate to higher ground. We were winded just walking around town. Here are some of the stops we made on our day in Denver! 

Red Rocks Amphitheater

• You will need to drive outside of Denver, but it should only take about 30 minutes depending on where you are in the city. Red Rocks is open on days when there are no concerts and even has a visitor center with info about the venue and surrounding area. We had fun looking around the actual venue and checking out the short hiking trails right around the amphitheater. Red Rocks is an iconic spot in the music world and is so worth checking out! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes if you want to walk the trails.

Union Station 

• Union Station is at the heart of downtown Denver and a spot you shouldn’t miss! This historic building is home not only to Denver’s public transportation (there are multiple options to catch here) but also shopping, restaurants, and the Crawford Hotel. We had a great time walking around and grabbing a bite to eat. You can even find a local farmers market here during certain times of the year! 

Larimer Square

• A historic block in Denver that was once part of the first downtown area of Denver now known for delicious eats, boutique shopping, and string lights. This area is a little on the pricier side but fun to just walk around in too.

River North Arts District (RiNo) 

• RiNo (pronounced Rhino – a rhinoceros has become this neighborhood’s symbol) is a super trendy young professional area of town known for its murals, street art, and overall chill vibe. It is also home to popular restaurants, food halls, and breweries. The Denver Central Market is a well-known fresh market that also has a bar and food stalls. We would definitely recommend it if you’re in the RiNo neighborhood. It had a great atmosphere and we ate some delicious pizza!

Day 2: Drive from Denver to Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park (1.5 hours)

If you’re from the U.S. east coast like us or somewhere with different landscapes, take in the drives! They are so stunning and unlike anything we see in Georgia. We drove to Estes Park, known as the base camp for Rocky Mountains National Park (RMNP). This is a great starting place for visiting RMNP if you are coming in on the east side of the park like us. You will use the Beaver Meadows entrance station here, but there are 3 other entrances you can look into if your route is a bit different.

If you’re planning to hit national parks in the winter, don’t forget to stay on top of the weather. We ended up hiking in what the locals call a light snow (to us southerners it definitely felt more than light) and needed to change into some water proof clothing before heading out on the hike. We also stopped in at a local outdoor store right outside of Estes Park to chat with them about the weather and different hikes we could do in the snow (you could also do this at the visitor’s center). You can also rent snowshoes for a hike in the snow at places like that!

Because of the weather and our time limit, we decided to only hike one trail: the Emerald Lake Trail. We would 100% recommend this hike! It was a magical winter wonderland and we loved hiking it in the snow. It is equally as stunning in the summer but for us southerners the snow was just so beautiful.

After visiting our winter wonderland in RMNP, we drove to Breckenridge, CO (2 hours, 40 minutes). We mentioned this already but just want to add a reminder to check weather and road conditions frequently when visiting snowy places in the winter! There is one major road from Estes Park to Breckenridge that was closed for a period of time on our drive due to weather and trucks passing through and we had to make a detour to hang out for a bit so we weren’t on the road for over 5 hours!

Day 3-4: Skiing Breckenridge and Keystone

Breckenridge and Keystone were both fantastic ski resorts! They had something for everyone in our group (we had advanced skiers and some not so advanced skiers…). The skiing was fun and the sights were beautiful. Keystone even has a beginner run that is 3.5 miles that goes all the way down to the Mountain House base area. The towns of Breckenridge and Keystone also have a lot to offer. With great restaurants and cute shopping areas, we recommend checking out the towns if you have time! Keystone also has a large outdoor ice skating rink in the winter that is a really popular activity.

Thrifty Tip: We purchased a 4-day Epic Pass for our ski lift tickets for less than $100/day which included our entry to Breckenridge, Keystone, and Telluride.

Thrifty Tip: Check out local ski rental companies and avoid inflated prices for skis and other equipment at the ski resort.

Day 5: Drive from Breckenridge to Moab (4 hours, 40 minutes)

There are so many beautiful stops in this part of the country so you can definitely break up the drive with a stop. We drove through Grand Junction to see the Colorado National Monument! It was a great place for our picnic lunch. We also drove around Moab once we got into town. It’s small but charming. One thing to note though is that because winter is a slow season for Moab many restaurants and businesses close for the season or have decreased hours, so make sure to check before you head into town for dinner!

If you’re traveling to Moab during the warmer months, there are a number of cool excursions outside that parks that you can look into. Some of these include, ATV and jeep rentals, white water rafting, zip lining, and more! Definitely a location worth seeing at any time of year.

Day 6: Arches National Park

Arches National Park is one of the most iconic national parks in the U.S. Known for its fiery landscape and abundance of geological arches, Arches National Park is a place worth visiting. During our trip, the park was much less crowded but had a few areas that were closed due to ice and winter weather. We recommend driving as much of the scenic drive of the park as you can and getting out at different viewpoints and hikes (scenic drive is about 22 miles one way- so about 45 out and back). You should definitely drive to Fiery Furnace!

There are multiple short hikes/view points on the main road, so if you’re short on time, can’t do anything strenuous, or need wheelchair accessibility, there are multiple options for you. One other thing to mention here, Arches currently has a timed entry reservation requirement to enter the park. This means that you will need to register for a specific time to visit the park. Be sure to check on this ahead of time as spots tend to fill up!

Here are the hikes we did on our one day there!

All of these trails are out and back which means you can turn back around at any point if you are running short on time. There are many other trails you can hit on your trip as well if you have more time.

Day 7: Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is a quick drive from Arches National Park and has a similar geological landscape, but is known for its many canyons. You truly can look out and see canyons for days! This park can be challenging to visit as many of the hikes and activities require ATV or other vehicle rentals and large amounts of time for long and difficult hikes. There are 4 parts of this park with one being the most accessible and visited. Island in the Sky is the section of the park we visited and the one we recommend for your average national park visitor. We didn’t have much time to spend in Canyonlands so we hit the major spots at Island in the Sun.

At this point in the trip, you can fly out of Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) or continue on the second half of the trip and drive 3 hours to Telluride, CO!

Days 8-10: Telluride Ski Resort and Explore Telluride

Telluride is a gorgeous, and pricey, little ski town with incredible views of the San Juan mountains.  The ski resort is fantastic for beginner and intermediate skiers. If you go, don’t miss out on skiing the “See Forever” blue run with some of the most incredible views where you can even stop midway for a snack or a beer. Because Telluride lodging can be on the expensive side, we stayed about an hour outside of town in Montrose (see our cute little B&B in the mountains) to find budget friendly lodging. Even so, this little town is well worth the visit!

We skied for two days with one day in between to rest and explore the historic mining town of Telluride. Downtown Telluride can be pricey, so we elected to have lunch at the Smuggler Union Restaurant & Brewery. Lunch was fantastic and the beers were excellent too. If it’s in your budget, you can elect to visit one of the many world-class restaurants in Telluride such as The Chop House, Allred’s, La Marmotte, or 221 South Oak for dinner. Telluride is an adorable Victorian town where walking the streets, dropping into bookstores, ice cream shops and coffee shops is fun!

Day 11: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park boasts some of the steepest cliffs and most jagged rock formations from two million years of erosion from the Gunnison River. Much of the park is closed in winter, but you can still visit and walk some of the Rim Rock Nature Trail from the South Rim Visitor center and go snowshoeing on the South Rim Ski and Snowshoe Trail. Remember to bring your own snowshoes or rent some in the local towns nearby such as Montrose. For more advice on winter activities in Black Canyon of the Gunnison, visit this NPS specific website.

Lodging

We made strictly budget conscious choices on our lodging for our winter national park trip, especially because we were incorporating skiing into our itinerary! Here’s a list of where we stayed and associated costs per person for a group of 4!

Denver:

Courtyard by Marriott Cherry Creek (2 nights, $85 per person)

This hotel is in the Cherry Creek area of Denver, about 3.5 miles from the city center.

Keystone/Breckenridge: 

One bedroom condo with amazing mountain views (3 nights, $127 per person)

This airbnb was in Silverthorne (about 10-12 miles from Keystone and Breckenridge) had a king bed and a comfy pull out sofa with a full kitchen and amazing views of the snowy mountains. 

Moab:

Cozy, 3 bd 2 bath condo with hot tub access (3 nights, $112 per person)

This airbnb (located less than 5 miles outside of Moab) had lots of space, a full kitchen, and access to a hot tub. 

Telluride:

Charming mountain Chalet with Mountain Views (4 nights, 237.94 per person)

This airbnb is a bed and breakfast mountain retreat. Telluride is the most expensive area to try to find lodging, and while we had to drive about 45-60 minutes to the ski resort, the breakfast made by Nikki was delicious, and the B&B was so cozy. 

Total cost of lodging per person for 12 nights: $561.94. That averages less than $50 a night!

Budget

While this might seem like a hefty price tag, we did spend 12 days in Colorado and Utah and enjoyed 4 days of skiing, which is an expensive activity. Below is a summary for ideas on how to save money on this two-week trip!

Ways to Save

• Shop around for flights: We had strict dates for our vacation. If your dates are flexible, look for the cheapest two week periods between late November and late March!

• Shop around for rental cars: On this trip we used Enterprise, but make sure to check out our favorite rental company, Turo.

• Rent snowshoes ($20/day) and head out on some gorgeous trails in lieu of skiing for as many days as you want.
  • Best snowshoeing trails in Telluride
  • Best snowshoeing trails in Breckenridge

• Secure lodging that has a kitchen provided and buy groceries to cook together with your friends/families/significant others

We hope this post has helped you to plan your next winter national park trip! Winter can be one of the most beautiful times to visit national parks. If you’ve been to any of these places and we’ve missed something, let us know!