Winter day trips near Denver/Boulder, Colorado?

New to the area and not sure where to go and what's accessible at this time of year.

I'm looking for places that are about a 2 hour drive from Denver. So Rocky Mountain NP could be an option.

I just have a 4 door sedan, so keep that in mind. No 4x4 or SUV here.

Any good suggestions on where to shoot? Thanks in advance.

Driving to RMNP along the Peak To Peak Highway should be scenic. Also, while never in winter, I've enjoyed shooting along St Vrain Canyon, Big Thompson Canyon and Cache La Poudre Canyon. These roads, as well as some in RMNP, should be kept open in winter.

El Duderino,
Plenty of options, though Winter can be a bit more difficult without 4wd (safety precaution mainly).

As Stan said, peak-to-peak highway always has potential. If you're up for snowshoeing, Indian Peaks Wilderness Area (IPWA) has lots of scenic beauty but will require a couple extra miles of snowshoeing before you get to Brainard Lake and the rest of the IPWA.

RNMP is not too bad right now from what I understand; most of the open roads are reasonably driveable. Bear Lake Trailhead and Glacier Gorge Trailhead 0.5mi before are probably two of the most utilized areas year-round. I'll be heading up to RMNP very early tomorrow morning for a snowshoe trek to Lake Haiyaha and possible Emerald Lake en route back to the Bear Lake Trailhead. If you get into RMNP (passed the entrance station) before 8am, you'll typically not have to pay the normal entry fee. I will say, however, that buying an All Parks Pass ($80/yr) is well worth the money, based on number of National Parks, Monuments, etc that are close to the metro Denver area.

Along the front range, there are a number of hikes out of Boulder's Chautauqua area.

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs is always neat.

Heading further into the mountains, you will incur snowy/icy road potential and really have to plan your day-trips, based on road conditions (www.cotrip.org is a great resource for that!).

PM me if you have more questions.

RMNP is a good choice. I like shooting elk (with a camera ) this time of the year, they are mostly down low and easy to find. Snowshoeing in the Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge area is nice. You can often hike these areas in the winter as the snow is packed down from all of the snowshoe traffic. If you are experienced with back country hiking/snowshoeing in the winter, there are many opportunities. If you do not know what you are doing, I would not suggest straying past the Bear Lake - Glacier Gorge area. All of the roads open in the winter are maintained fairly well, no need for a 4x4 unless you want to visit in a snow storm.

Castlewood Canyon State Park, near Franktown is nice.

I have never been there, but the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge should provide some nice wildlife opportunities. It is in Denver off of I70.

Roxborough State Park, nice rock formations and hiking. SW side of the Denver metro area.

What types of things are you looking to shoot? Wildlife, landscape, winter sports, historical areas?

Other than what's already been mentioned, there are several old mining towns on the way to the ski areas in Summit County. Georgetown and Silver Plume have some interesting buildings, and there is the Georgetown Scenic Loop railroad that runs between them, but I'm not sure it runs during the winter.

A bit further out, but still within two hours is the Colorado Springs area with Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the old mining towns of Victor and Cripple Creek to the west.