This is part of a series that discusses a western road trip that can blow your recreation mind, in winter or summer. Because I'm a big snowhead, I'll refer to the ski resorts a lot, but these areas have world class recreation in most categories and seasons.

It's two hours from the Denver area to Eagle County, making this the shortest driving leg of the Best Extreme Sports Road Trip Loop in the West.

Other mountain resorts could be substituted for Vail or Beaver Creek if you prefer. While Breckenridge is a bit off the path, Keystone is sort of on the way. Hey, for the right amount of snow, I'll add an hour or three any day.

Copper Mountain would work beautifully, as would the even further west Sunlight. Many people have a version of the Epic pass, which puts Beaver Creek in the perfect spot for this trip. You can stop somewhere in Summit, but it's just going to make the drive that night a bit longer. With Beaver Creek, we were already as far west as we could go on our passes (besides Utah, which comes later). Plus, the Beav starts at a lower elevation and is on the west side of Vail Pass, which makes driving afterward that much easier.

After an incredible day on the mountain, it's open, fast highway all the way to the desert, for the second leg of this amazing road trip.

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