Leaving is harder than arriving: an early flight, a winter road and no shared shuttle. Every way from Aspen to Denver and the airport, and how to time it.
Photo: Peterquinn925, CC BY-SA 4.0 · All credits
From Aspen to Denver you can fly (United, under an hour from Aspen airport), drive (about four hours to Denver International in winter, via Glenwood Springs, as Independence Pass is closed) or take a private car. There is no shared airport shuttle: Epic Mountain Express has suspended all Aspen service.
Routes and operators below come from CDOT, Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, RFTA, Bustang and Epic Mountain Express, checked October 2, 2026.
Paul Montiel · Aspen · Updated October 2026
3 miles from town; 5 to 25 minutes to the door. The most convenient, and the most exposed to winter weather.
About 70 miles; 1 hr 15 to 1 hr 30 through Glenwood Springs. The safer bet for airline seats when Aspen is weather-prone.
About 65 miles; about 1 hr 15, no canyon. Private aircraft's favourite alternative when Aspen's limits rule a flight out.
About 130 miles; about 2 hr 15. More flights and larger aircraft, and a drive that avoids Glenwood Canyon.
About four hours in winter on I-70 and Highway 82; allow five when it snows. The most flights and fares, the longest drive.
For a flight out of Denver, leave Aspen at least five hours before departure in winter: four on the road, plus time for a snow day, a Friday on I-70 and the airport itself. On a Sunday afternoon at the end of a holiday week, leave earlier still.
If Glenwood Canyon closes, CDOT's alternate route adds about two and a half hours. Check CDOT's travel map before you leave.
We arrange the car to Denver timed to your flight and the forecast, or the transfer to Aspen or Eagle airport, have the house closed and the skis returned, and move the plan if a storm moves the flight. Tell us the flight; we work backwards from it.
About four hours in good winter conditions, via Glenwood Springs and I-70, and five or more on snow days. Independence Pass is closed in winter.
Yes. United flies Aspen to Denver several times a day, in under an hour.
Not a shared one: Epic Mountain Express has suspended all Aspen and Snowmass service. Options are a private car or RFTA to Glenwood Springs, then Bustang to Denver Union Station and the A Line to the airport.
In winter, at least five hours before departure, earlier on a holiday Sunday or if snow is forecast.
The car, the house closed and the skis returned.
Winter-equipped vehicle and driver for the four-hour drive, re-timed as roads change.
From Aspen's airport to the door in a private SUV, timed to your actual landing.
Fitted at the residence, not in a shop queue.
A car and driver on call for dinner and the night out, so nobody hunts for a taxi at midnight.
Road closures, airport changes and the routes in and out of Aspen.
Written from Aspen by Paul Montiel. A few letters a season, only when something matters. Leave any time; we never share your address.CDOT: Glenwood Canyon · CDOT: traction law · Epic Mountain Express: Aspen Snowmass · Bustang West Line · RFTA routes · Aspen/Pitkin County Airport: ground transportation — checked October 2, 2026.
Tell us the flight and how many are travelling. We time the car to the flight and the forecast.
Arrange the car
