Time to get to skiing from Southern/Southwestern Suburbs + subdivision recommendati (Denver: how much, home)

[aztoco]

I'm really looking for specifics on actual subdivision names or at least intersections for anyone to recommend in the Southern/Southwestern suburbs of Denver. My husband, 2 small children and I are moving here from AZ within the year, maybe even by summer, maybe even this week. We are all HERE in Denver right now so that we can scope out the area.

We spent the today in the south and southwest, but still haven't been able to narrow in on a specific location.

Our PRIORITIES are proximity to I-70 to go skiing (that's primarily the reason for coming here ... and relief from Phx temperatures).

We are considering Highlands Ranch (we don't mind suburbia or strip malls, and we like parks, schools, etc). We also like Littleton. Then driving up the 470 we found the 'hidden' Ken Caryl area on the west side of the freeway there (not sure if out of price range though - need to try and stay under $350k.) Then Golden is possible too, but again, price might not work.

While we were here, we went skiing at Keystone and it took us only 1 hr 20 min. from roughly downtown area to get up there, but 2 hrs 40 min to get back down just yesterday evening. So I know that it can vary bigtime ... But how far is too far to go up to the closer resorts for the day? Is Highlands Ranch too far? What about western areas of Littleton - what are the nicer subdivisions there or intersections? Good schools a MUST.

Thanks so much in advance and we'll see how much we can get accomplished before our flight back home.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by aztoco

Is Highlands Ranch too far?
...
Good schools a MUST.

HR is not too far at all. We do it all the time. You just jump on C-470 up to I-70. We leave around 7am to allow time for running into some traffic going up, but we usually are getting there right around when the lifts open.

Douglas County School District is excellent.

[aztoco]

Thanks for the info. We're trying to get as close to 70 as possible without sacrificing schools, neighborhoods, etc. Can you tell me the best elementary school in HR or in Littleton? I have researched schools to the death, but as far as reputation goes, what do people say is the best elem school in western Littleton or HR. Thanks again!

[gpraceman]

There as so many excellent schools in HR, that I don't know that one is regarded as having the reputation of being "the best". Best bet is to check out the sites below. GreatSchools has some parent reviews that are posted, so you can see what some of the parents really think of a school.

http://greatschools.com
http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/education/index.cfm (broken link)

Time to I-70 to get to skiing seems a bit of a strange criteria to use in finding a home. Most anywhere in the metro area you are within about 2.5 hrs of the resorts or less. With that in mind, IMO that should be more of a minor consideration.

[sunsprit]

With the C470 Corridor up to I70 route, there's lots of subdivisions all the way down the "hogback" to the KenCaryl area giving good access up the hill.

Loveland from KenCaryl, about an hour. Keystone 20 minutes more. Vail, two hours. That's if the roads are clear and traffic is moving. Once the weekend traffic jams up, it's possible to take 4-5 hours to take the trip in up Sat AM, or down, Sun PM.

The Eisenhower tunnel approaches can be backed up for many miles. Blowing snow and very low visibility along certain stretches ... Georgetown, Evergreen are famous ... can slow you to a crawl for miles.

Frankly, best to ski day these days during the week. Shorter lift lines, a much easier drive up the hill.

Beware the road black ice in the AM and PM ...

I've stayed in Vail and enjoyed a nice leasurely dinner and visit with friends and waited until 10PM before heading down the hill ... and arrived home within an hour of the folks who left just after the lifts closed.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by aztoco

Our PRIORITIES are proximity to I-70 to go skiing (that's primarily the reason for coming here ... and relief from Phx temperatures).

I'm sorry to say that the ski-season is horrible on I-70 on Saturdays and Sundays from Silverthorne to just east of the twin tunnels near Idaho Springs, CO. There really is no upper limit on how long it COULD take coming back. 6+ hours is not unheard of. One accident or any little thing could lead to hours of delays.

I would say your BEST case scenario in ski-season on a weekend would be about two hours from Summit County to the Golden/Morrison exit -- then however long it takes from there. But that's probably if you're leaving the day early or quite late in the evening.

So, how you feel about driving an extra 20 minutes on top of that to HR is kind of your perspective. Does an extra 20 minutes get lost in the noise or does every minute count once you've been driving that far?

[TinajaCo]

If you're living in the Denver-area, I would simply search for an area you like, and not base your buying decision on proximity to I-70. Most places have easy access to I-70, via C-470 or I-25.

You can't go wrong anywhere in Highlands Ranch for the most part, so if that area appeals to you I would recommend just driving and see what feels right. If you want Littleton, you could look at Ken Caryl (but it does tend to be expensive). If you want west Littleton you could consider Governor's Ranch or Grant Ranch (Wadsworth and Bowles area-- Grant Ranch is east of Wadsworth, Governor's Ranch is west), near Southwest Plaza Mall at Wadsworth and Bowles. Governor's Ranch was built up 10-20 years ago, Grant Ranch is newer (built in the last 5-10 years). Both neighborhoods have neighborhood schools that score well (Governor's Ranch is a Jefferson County school. Grant Ranch actually has two schools, as the area is divided between Jefferson County and Denver County, so one is a Jeffco School and one is a Denver school, but both are highly ranked.... the Denver high school for the area isn't ranked well but most kids that live in the Denver portion of the neighborhood open enroll in Jeffco or Littleton high schools). You can't go wrong in either area. You could also consider are Trailmark (south of C-470, west of Wadsworth), although I'm not sure of the school district there.