Visiting Ft. Collins

I plan on visiting Ft. Collins to attend the opening reception of a show at The Center For Fine Art Photography. This will be during the first week of April. If possible, I would like to make the trip from San Jose to Ft. Collins by road but since I have never been to the Rockies, I don't have any knowledge regarding the weather at that time of the year and the local road conditions. I am hoping some of you on this forum can provide me with a few tips/suggestions/advice.

Best regards.

Are you looking at the minimizing driving distance and time? Then I assume you will just hop on I-80 all the way to Cheyene. In April that should be just fine. Unfortunately, you'll miss all the fun blizzards and road closures in Jan & Feb.

You'll find Trail Ridge Road across Rocky Mtn, National Park closed, but you can still get into the park from the east entrance.

If you have more time, then I would recommend heading south to I-70 for a more scenic drive across Utah and Colorado. Lots more photo ops, with Arches, Canyonlands & Colorado National Monument as short side trips.

Will you have some of your prints on exhibit? What are the dates of the show?

As with much of the country, April is somewhat unpredictable along the Front Range. Certainly it will be better than the January - March timeframe, but there is still a chance of snow. On the other hand, there's a chance you'll be wearing shorts, too.

Road conditions should be reasonable unless you arrive in the middle of a storm system; at that time of the year, conditions are usually above freezing, so snow should be short-lived on the roads.

Thanks Bill and Les, for your replies. I am thinking of spending some time in the region after the reception and therefore could use all the information I can get on places of interest and their accessibility.

Bill: I will be displaying a 16"x20" print of Convolution at the Center. The exhibition runs from April 3rd through April 25th. I will post an announcement here when the time comes near. Hopefully, some of you can attend.

Les is right about the road conditions. The mountains may still get a late snow making driving conditions in the mountains difficult, but these are far less likely to cause travel problems than winter travel. If you're picking a route and snow is in the forecast for the mountains, the southern route through Durango and over Wolf Creek Pass might be a little more difficult than the I-15/I-70 route, IMHO.

Look forward to seeing your work Anil.

Good luck on your exhibition, Anil ! If I'm in the area, I'll stop by, usually though I'm in the Texas Hillcountry or central CA that time of year for spring wildflowers. You still driving that Vette?

Don: Its been a while since I heard from you. Hope all is well. Yes, I still have the Corvette.

Ail, Great image best wishes on the exhibiion. I have driven both the Southern and Northern routes from Colorado to California on several occasions. That early in April I have had to wait on different passes for the roads to open. Most of the time it was just rain and wind.