Kevin W, Author at Summit Express

“Fun” Facts to Better Your Travel Plans

February 26, 2021 by Kevin W

Traveling to Summit County in the near future? Here are some “fun facts” that will help you re adjust your trip to the mountains.

DID YOU KNOW??

Summit County is a 2 hour drive from the Denver International Airport in a personal car with perfect weather and no traffic. Capture That means that in a shuttle with multiple drop offs the drive will be a bit longer than what you see in google maps. You also are going from roughly 5,280 feet to about 9,000 feet in elevation. Needless to say the trip to Summit County is not your typical highway drive. Please keep this in mind when booking a shuttle, the High Rockies aren’t just a stones throw away from the airport like some would imagine.

Uber and Lyft do operate in the mountains but compared to most areas they are a rarity. DO NOT bank solely on these services. Some will even cancel on you before the trip if they see that they are about do a 2.5 hour drive to or from DIA (Especially if its snowing) . . .and that’s only counting their driving time one way.

With current restrictions we are booking up shuttles quicker than we have ever seen so we have a lot less wiggle room to make last minute shuttle changes. Make sure to check flight updates, especially with 3 or more passengers. Moving 3 people together when shuttles are already filled up may not be an easy feat. . .especially with today’s restrictions. Please do not assume a last minute time change will be an automatic yes.

Summit Express DOES NOT run to the VAIL /BEAVER CREEK area on a shared shuttle. We only make those trips on a PRIVATE shuttle basis.

Banking on a friend to take you to the airport on a pow day for a 9 am departure flight means they will have to miss a pow day and leave around 5:45 at the latest. That’s an early start. Make sure your ride realizes this because it’s a long winding road down to DIA. ( : If you like to gamble. . save it for Black Hawk. . .not your airport ride : )

Enjoying a pow day and not a 5 am drive down to the airport

There are only a handful of companies who make a scheduled trip to the mountains. The mountain carriers are not like a New York City taxi service where rides come often and always. Make sure to plan ahead or else you will be paying for an over priced emergency ride up to the mountains.

Flights arriving after 10 or leaving before 9:30 am are extremely hard to book shuttles for. These flights might be cheaper but adding a hotel into your travel plans might end up being more expensive in the long run. Make sure to keep in mind that for a 9:30 am flight our driver is starting pick ups at 5 am. A 7 am flight might not seem early but realistically that driver would be starting his trip around 3 am. Please keep the actual distance to the airport in mind.

Bringing a board bag? Make sure to bring an old bag just in case we are utilizing the outdoor ski racks for your trip.

Just because you’re a great driver does not necessarily mean you are a great snow driver. Please drive only if you are comfortable in the situation at hand. If you are worried about driving . . .please. . leave it to us!!!!

A pretty typical day on i70 during a snow storm in Summit County

We don’t like saying “no” to our guests, so please help us and plan ahead.

Ski Reservations or Lack Thereof

January 2, 2021 by Kevin W

Forgot to book Epic pass ski reservations or just didn’t make them in time? Have no fear . . There is so much more to do here.

The new reservations system for skiing has certainly made the whole aspect of the sport a little harder than just waking up. . .checking the weather . . .and going skiing. These days it’s a little more stressful to book a short ski trip when the option to ski every day can be an uncertainty. Although skiing and snowboarding is our most popular activity here in the mountains, our quaint little county still offers so much more.

Here’s a few winter activities that you wont normally see on the travel brochures:

Natural Pond Skating

Summit Cove Pond– A low profile neighborhood pond 5 mins from keystone. This pond is regularly maintenance by locals. There is plenty of room to skate for leisure and goals for hockey as well. This pond is smaller and freezes very well. No worries on safety issues here
Walmart Pond– Right behind Walmart you can find another small pond. Lots of hockey games going on here. Plus if you need equipment Walmart is literally a stones throw away.
Silverthorne Elementary School pond– Just off of highway 9 before the elementary school is a large pond that often will host organized hockey games like the PBR classic.
Lake Dillon- Not into skating? Test your luck ice fishing on the lake or just relax and watch the kite boarders on a sunny day

Winter Hiking

Most people picture snowshoeing through deep snow when it comes to hiking in the winter but that is not always the case here in Summit. Most of our popular hiking trails see a lot of foot traffic all year long, which allows for easy access using just a pair of winter boots.

winter hikes in summit county < 3

The troll –Isak Heartstone has become one of the most popular hiking destinations in Breck over the past few years. He now sits in a very accessible location behind the ice rink. This enormous troll is always worth a visit. Maybe two or three visits actually.
Officers Gultch– This hike is especially nice if you have dogs with you on your trip. This spot is right off i70 on the way to Copper. It may be a little out of the way for some but it is also way less traveled than most hikes in the county and still offers amazing views as well as a large frozen lake to hike around. This is one of my favorite spots to go with my dogs, especially when the county gets crowded.
Old Lake Dillon– You might drive by this hike everyday with out knowing that it even exists. Perched above the current Lake Dillon lies an old lake that is now used as a reservoir. The only way you can even see this hidden gem is from the mountains above. . .that is unless you hike up and see if for yourself up close and personal. It’s a fairly shot hike but it will open up a slew of new views of the lake below and surrounding peaks. This hike has a great boot pack all year around and is located right off the dam road.

Good old fashioned sledding

It is not very hard find a good sledding hill around these parts. Just take a look around and you’ll see what I mean. There are hills everywhere but if you aren’t feeling adventurous then go check out the new sledding hill by the airport lot in Breckenridge. It’s one of the newer additions to that up and coming area.

Still set on skiing no matter what?

Here’s what to do: If you don’t have an epic pass or just can’t get reservations to Breckenridge and or Keystone try getting a ticket for Copper Mountain. If you can take the bus there is no need for reservations there. Hopefully you get to enjoy some ski days on your visit but if not always ask a local for some advice on what to do. We are generally pretty friendly people up here in the mountains! Most will point you in the right direction.

After a slow start. . .snow is finally starting to pile up in the mountains. Go get yourself some turns..but don’t forget a reservation!!

Be safe out there and please remember to respect all restrictions that are still set in place for our county. We thank you for helping us to keep Summit County safe

Do’s and Don’ts: Last Minute Bookings

December 9, 2020 by Kevin W

the Do’s and mostly Don’ts: Last Minute Bookings

Planning on coming out to Summit County to ski and snowboard this year? If so, make sure you are ahead of the game this season.

With new restrictions in town it has become a little more tricky to travel to the mountains. . .but that does not mean it has to be stressful. Here are some tips to make sure your travel plans go smoothly.

Trip Tips:

Traveling with a big party? If that’s the case. . try to plan on splitting larger groups in two. With current restrictions in place it is MUCH easier to book reservations with smaller parties. Staying together of course is always the main goal but for travel purposes and booking accommodations you may have more luck searching for a services with a smaller party. **We truly love bringing people up to our beautiful home, which is why we always suggest booking in advance. https://www.summitexpress.com/
Make sure to call hotels ahead of time. Many establishments are only allowing same family parties into accommodations. Looking for solo accommodations may be easier than traveling with a group. Here’s a good read for anyone coming into town https://www.summitcountyco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/27752/Amended-and-Restated-PH-Order—COVID-19
Book your ski/ride reservations ahead of time! We’ve already seen the tragic stories~ People booked a 5 day trip and only could reserve 1 day of skiing so they ended up cutting the trip short and flying home. Make sure if you are skiing with an epic pass that you make reservations ahead of time. A ski trip with no skiing is never a good time. https://www.epicpass.com/info/reservation-details.aspx
Riding Copper? Make sure to book a parking reservation if you are driving or plan on taking the free Summit Stage bus. https://www.coppercolorado.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here/parking Last minute bookings have been available here so this might be the first actual DO’s in terms of do’s and don’ts for last minute booking. If you do not find a spot, NO SWEAT just hop on the Summit Stage and bus on over to Copper. No need for a parking pass if you aren’t parking! https://summitcountyco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29947/Copper-Mtn-Win-20-21

All in all. . . the theme this winter is to make sure you are planning ahead. Last minute/spur the moment trips are always the best kinds BUT in these trying times booking ahead is always going to be the safest and most dependable option.

Lastly, whether you like the restrictions or not please adhere to all rules and regulations. I know this is a vacation town to most but to a lot of us this is a place we call home. We constantly have visitors coming and going from Summit County so please be courteous and keep our town and its locals safe. We all want to get back to work! Please help keep our season alive.

With that being said PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE support all the local business you can during your stay here. If you are ordering take out food or using any kind of services here please make sure to TIP. There are lots of people who make their living off tips and are currently taking huge cuts to make sure all our visitors can still experience how lovely are county truly is. Please HELP US HELP YOU!

Be safe out there everybody.

One of our drivers and dispatchers practicing his social distancing earlier this month

Work Hard:Play Hard

February 6, 2019 by Kevin W

THE BUSY SEASON- WORK HARD:PLAY HARD

Hey guys! I haven’t blogged since New Years so I figured I would get back into the groove now that the holiday season has finally settled. We have been busy here at Summit Express but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been enjoying the winter season as well. We love the work hard:play hard mentality. Enjoying the mountains is always a must but we also love providing our guest with the best customer service possible while at work. We appreciate where we live and that has a direct correlation to our guest service here at Summit Express, which is focused on helping people living out their dream vacation.

Working Hard: An example of our Guest Service

Paul H (one of our key operations guys and lead dispatcher) and myself (Sales and Social Media) were voted as 2 of 13 stand out guest service representatives here in Summit County. This was awarded to us for going above and beyond for our customers and truly giving our guests the official Summit County experience. We all strive to be one of the best customer service destinations and it was awesome to see our hard work pay off. I also want to tip my hat to the rest of the staff here because it is a combined effort on all levels. The customer service all ties together . . . going above and beyond whether its out on the road, the dispatchers, our partners, or those behind the scenes in the office.

The outstanding guest service from business to business is important for our guests to leave town feeling satisfied. . .So a big thank you to our partners and all the other great companies out here in Summit County who help make this such a special place to live and visit!

Working Hard! Paul and I receiving our awards

Playing Hard

When we aren’t in the office we are usually out doing “research” on all the fun activities that Summit County has to offer so that we can always point you all in the right direction. Plus we really just like having fun. I like to keep these blogs fun because behind the scenes that’s really what this company is all about. We play just as hard as we work so make sure to ask questions when you book reservations with us. Local knowledge can be the difference between an OK trip and an amazing one! So don’t be afraid to ask…we love to fill guests in on all our favorite activities and destinations. If you haven’t been keeping up we have a lot of snow with more on the way next week so come out and join us on the slopes!!!

Casually playing Harder!

So anyway enough about us.

Lets highlight a few of the local events in the near future for you guys.

FEBRUARY 7th– JJ Grey and Mofro play at the Ten Mile Music Hall. You are missing out if you haven’t seen a show here yet. It’s a small venue so it’s a very intimate place to see your favorite artists.

FEBRUARY 8th– Check out the Upward Band and Frisco’s newest brewery- High Side Brewing OR if you wanted a different type of entertainment the Ice Castles in Dillon are having a fire performance

FEBRUARY 9th– Night two of the fire performances at the Ice Castle or check out some live music at Baker’s Brew In Silverthorne while they host the Shaky Hand String Band. Or do some night skiing at Keystone and catch the weekend firework show. If you are in Breck check out Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal at the Historic Brown

FEBRUARY 10th– Need some time to unwind after an event filled weekend of riding and festivities? Check out READY PAINT FIRE for a ‘paint your own valentine” event. Don’t have a special someone? Well then paint one for your mom or dad, duh!! 😉

Have a great weekend everyone!! Cheers

New Years Plans?

December 30, 2018 by Kevin W

Do you still have some energy left for New Years after the crazy holidays? If so . .we have you covered with some great ideas to bring in the New Year.

On Saturday, December 30, The Frisco funk and blues band The BIG ONION will be playing at A-Basin’s Sixth Alley Bar starting at 2:30 p.m. Enjoy local entertainment after a good day on the slopes.
Copper Mountain fireworks and torch light parade down the mountain
Breckenridge fireworks at 9pm
Eminence Ensemble plays a show at the new Ten Mile Music Theater
Breck’s Riverwalk New Years Eve Concert
Gold Pan Saloon in Breckenridge is having a New Years Eve Party. Check out some of the other local bars for deals and specials all night.

Make sure to get out and enjoy the New Year in the mountains. Don’t forget to use UBER or LYFT during this time of year. OR take advantage of the free bus. Be safe and be smart!!

Best Family Activity

December 14, 2018 by Kevin W

Best Family Activity:

I unfortunately didn’t make it out to Colorado until I was 23. But with that being said if I was able to come out as a kid I would’ve certainly had my family chose the Frisco Adventure Park. The adventure park is truly one of the best family activities. It is open all year long and offers plenty of family fun. The adventure park offers Disc Golf: a bike park, lake Dillon, a trail system, a brand new skate park, snow tubing, a seasonal snowboard/ski park, and a few ball fields.
In the middle is an information center with a helpful staff to direct you in the right direction for some family fun. The adventure park is located right in Frisco, which is also right next to the Marina and close to all the businesses on the Main Street.
The Adventure park is a great way to enjoy winter without having to go the resorts. It’s also a much better price option.
Tubing!!
Winter Season: Currently the Adventure park is covered in snow! This means the park is now open to tubing, sleigh rides, cross country skiing, and much more! Make your plans now and as always LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED A RIDE UP TO THE MOUNTAINS!! 970-668-6000. You are just a call away from the trip of a lifetime.

sleigh rides!!