I go to CO or SLC for 3-4 days. You can probably squeeze a half day in there on the back end if you want, I’ve done it. Also look at flying to Eagle as it avoids the chance of hitting bad traffic.

If by yourself or just 1 other adult, and love to ski, 2 days is even enough- fly in night before, ski next day and and red-eye out that same day. If little kids, add at least a day (or 2) for each little kid based on how well they travel. So if 1 toddler who is great traveler, go for at least 3-5 days and plan 1 day, day 1/2 skiing. Also remember altitude can impact little kids differently so prepare for that.

If you are not regular skiers or it’s your first time of the season, 3 days on the slopes is plenty. The runs are LONG and can be exhausting depending on you conditioning and/or how much you fall (yeah, talking about myself on that one). Get an early flight on departure day and try a 3pm return.

3 weeks.

I agree, worth it. My DC went to Utah last year and skied 3 days. Said it was totally worth it.

Agree 3 full days is worth it.

3 days is fine. You didn’t say specifically, but I assume you will all be skiing or snowboarding. If you had 4 days and were not used to skiing all day, you would want to take a rest day, anyway. Hydrate like crazy the day before and the day of travel and refrain from alcohol the first day. That’s what I used to do when I traveled for short trips to altitude. Now I live here full time, so I see lots of visitors struggle with altitude sickness.

We did 2 1/2 ski days in in Vail last year and it was perfect. We are not experts who do the back bowl so it was plenty of time for our family for a quick getaway.

Will it be ok if you don't ski? Still a good trip?

Say there's an activity I really want to do, minimally for one day. It's the reason I'm choosing a particular travel destination. If it's conceivable the experience wouldn't happen if the weather isn't right, I always allow 3 days in a travel schedule. Just in case.

Anonymous wrote:If in FCPS there's that 4.5 day weekend at the end of January. I would leave that Wednesday (half day) and return Monday so would really only miss 1.5 days of school and traveling on off peak days.

OP here. Not in FCPS. We have just a 3 day weekend for end of quarter that is not tied to MLK or President's Day. (It's the weekend after MLK, which may be the same as the FCPS weekend though.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 days for skiing would be fine. We have a house out there and the minimum we go is for 4 nights.

From a traffic perspective, driving to/from DEN, are there certain days to avoid the driving part. Since we are pulling from school we have some flexibility with days of the week. Would coming home on a non-holiday Monday be easier?

Yes try to avoid driving when everyone from Denver is driving. So don’t drive Fri night, Sat morning or Sun afternoon. I think it is worth it for three days of skiing. In Utah, where airport is closer to skiing, I’ve done two day trips and not regretted it.

If in FCPS there's that 4.5 day weekend at the end of January. I would leave that Wednesday (half day) and return Monday so would really only miss 1.5 days of school and traveling on off peak days.

Anonymous wrote:3 days for skiing would be fine. We have a house out there and the minimum we go is for 4 nights.

From a traffic perspective, driving to/from DEN, are there certain days to avoid the driving part. Since we are pulling from school we have some flexibility with days of the week. Would coming home on a non-holiday Monday be easier?

3 days for skiing would be fine. We have a house out there and the minimum we go is for 4 nights.

Title says it all. Relative lives there and wants us to come. We've never been in winter and will need to pull the teens from school, even if we choose a long weekend. Trying to decide if this is even possible for next winter. I'm put off by the long flight followed by a 2+ hour drive to the Vail area. Is Wed-Sun too short? Assuming Wed and Sun will be strictly travel days, leaving just Thu, Fri, Sat?