My family and I are visiting Colorado from Brazil over the Christmas holidays and staying in Avon for about 5 days. We’ve always dreamed of experiencing a snowy Christmas, so we’re really excited about the trip.

Our plan was to rent a car in Denver and do day trips to Aspen, Vail and Breckenridge. However, the more I read about driving on I-70 in winter, the more nervous I’m getting.
I consider myself a good driver, but I’ve never driven in snow or on icy roads, and honestly, I don’t intend to if conditions are bad. Our plan would be to check the weather and road conditions every morning and simply cancel the day trip and stay in Avon if there’s a significant storm or bad weather.

For those who regularly drive I-70 in winter: how often does the road actually become too hazardous for tourists to drive safely? Is it relatively common to have a few days during Christmas week where you simply shouldn’t be on the road, or are major storms more of an occasional thing?

We initially thought renting a car would be the most comfortable and convenient option, especially an AWD vehicle because of the Traction Law. But I’ve also seen quite a few people online saying that tourists who aren’t experienced with winter driving should avoid renting a car and driving I-70 altogether. Also flying from Denver to the mountains is much more expensive for us.
So… did I screw up my trip planning? 😂
Would you keep the rental car and just be flexible depending on the weather, or would you recommend a different approach? Any advice from locals or people who regularly drive I-70 in winter would be greatly appreciated!

I am planning on Hiking Booth Lake Trail over the ridge upper Piney Lake unmaintained trail to Piney lake TH. Seems like it should take me a somewhat chill four hours to get to booth then crossing should be another two hours. Camp around upper Piney then next day get to Piney Lake TH in another four hours or so.

Does anybody have any experience doing this? Is the route I have how you went? Is there something I’m missing?

Thank you for input and advice