GoI70

Traveling 1-70 Christmas & the Weekend

It’s going to be a white Christmas. And, it is going to be cold.  So plan your trip to the mountains accordingly. In the days just before Christmas you can expect winter driving conditions from Denver to the Utah border. There should be some good snow in the mountains and clear weather on Christmas Day and the weekend.

Traffic on I-70 will be heavy early in the mornings going west from Denver. Coming back, traffic will begin to slow all along the corridor beginning around 2 pm and should clear completely by 6 pm. After then it should be clear sailing home.

The Weather

A classic winter storm is sweeping in from the North West and will bring some much desired snow to the I-70 region – mountains and foothills alike – Tuesday and Wednesday. When it clears Thursday or early Friday, high temperatures will be in the single digits in the mountains and in the 20s for the Front Range.

Going West to the Mountains

Christmas Day could be a busy travel day this year since it falls on Friday and comes a day after new snowfall. Skiers will be hitting the I-70 corridor before dawn Friday morning. If you get out after daylight you can expect slow going due to heavy traffic on the ride up to the Eisenhower Tunnel and down the other side.

Since Christmas comes on a Friday so rarely, there isn’t a lot of hard data to work from. Expect some extra traffic late Christmas Day as well.

Roads should be clear for the weekend after Christmas. Travel delays will be primarily due to recreational traffic headed skiing.  If you are on I-70 between 7 and 10 in the mornings you can expect to spend 20 to 30 minutes longer getting to your destination.

East on I-70: Coming Back to Denver

Unless there is a sudden storm or an accident on the road, you can bank on the rule of thumb, “Leave after 6, be home by 8.”  So check our website or mobile app; if the traffic is already building eastbound on I-70, kick back and catch something going on in town. If there is no storm, you can still be home in time to put the kids to bed and catch the news.

Really? Really!

Here at GoI70, we have taken a good hard look at years of highway data in an effort to identify the best travel strategies for getting where you want to go on I-70. At the end of a holiday or weekend day of skiing, hiking or sightseeing, you can pretty well count on bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic beginning mid afternoon until 5:30 or 6 pm.  After 6, the road rapidly empties out and you can travel at highway speeds on your way home.

Leave after 6 from Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain or Winter Park, most Denver metro travelers will make it home by 8 pm.  If you are coming from Glenwood or points beyond, you can check the weather and make the simple adjustments for the travel time between points. Glenwood is an hour from Vail; Aspen a little over 2 hours, and Grand Junction is 2 ½ hours away.  If you leave Aspen at 4 pm you can be in Denver by 8 and miss the traffic along the way.

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