Bridgestone Winter Driving School

Since 1983, the Bridgestone Winter Driving School has offered a full range of winter driving programs for all abilities, from the novice to the seasoned professional. Our snow and ice covered courses are some of the world’s finest, and our professional coaches will guide you toward more confident driving in challenging winter conditions.

Strengthen core competencies. Master new skills. Confront your demons. From intro coursework to advanced and custom classes, the Bridgestone Winter Driving School is your path to driving greatness. Sign up. Show up. Strap in.

Our three specially-designed, purpose-built ice- and snow-covered tracks in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will challenge drivers of all skill levels. Each track offers elevation changes, banked and off-camber turns, and numerous surface changes for testing your ability to master traction and skid.

Toyota is the official supplier of vehicles for Bridgestone Winter Driving School. Note: We specifically do not use hydraulic 'skid-cars' or other artificial methods of inducing skids or mimicking a low-traction surface. All cars current model and are mechanically unmodified. All surfaces are genuinely frozen water and snow.

Practice braking, acceleration, weight transfer, cornering, and accident avoidance techniques to help you more confidently control your vehicle in all conditions.

Practice the basics of safe driving and driving theory in this short midday class. First Gear is an introductory course for apprehensive drivers or experienced drivers who want to brush up on their skills.

Our winter programs can be tailored for company objectives, including vehicle-specific training, specific skill needs, team building, employee rewards, conflict management, strategic planning, and team leadership training.

First Gear is an abbreviated winter driving safety class with limited practice time in which you work on low-speed acceleration, braking and cornering exercises. First Gear classes are offered as a basic introduction to winter driving techniques. Due to time constraints, practice is limited. First Gear is offered on a very limited basis from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm; please call for availability. We can arrange special group classes, so please give us a call if you have 4-6 people who wish to take any of our winter driving classes together. Click here to register for First Gear.

Please be sure to bring your valid driver’s license or instructional permit. Wear clothing and shoes comfortable for driving, and bring a good pair of sunglasses. You will not need bulky items such as coats, bags or boots, as you will be in a warm car or classroom all day. Please do not bring additional personal items that you may leave behind in our vehicles.

First Gear and Second Gear, our winter driving safety classes, focus on the everyday driver who wants to better negotiate snowy and icy roads. These classes teach you how to cope with slick surfaces during your daily driving routine.

To attend a class at our winter driving school, you must provide your current valid instructional permit or valid driver’s license, and bring a desire to improve your winter driving skills. Parents or guardians of minors must read and sign a set of waivers upon arrival for class. All mobile devices MUST be silenced during all class and track time. You will have time to use your device during breaks.

Our winter driving school safety techniques are applicable to every type of vehicle regardless of drive configuration or type of vehicle, be it truck, SUV, car, motor home, emergency vehicle or garbage truck. If you use good technique, all drive configurations will respond identically. If, however, you use poor technique, different drive configurations will respond very differently to your input.

We start class precisely on time every single day no matter the weather, so please be considerate of others and take into account weather and road conditions. Leave yourself plenty of time to park your vehicle, find our offices and complete your paperwork. If the weather is inclement, our classes will still run. We are always available by phone to help with directions.

If you do not arrive in time for the classroom session, you will not be allowed to participate for the safety of others. We will do our best to fit you into a class on another day when we have remaining unsold seats based on a 24-hour notice period. No exceptions.


The Bridgestone Winter Driving School is located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, a ski resort town and ranching community in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains. Our campus is a three hour drive from Denver and an easy 30 minute drive from the Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Hayden, Colorado. We are also about an hour and a half from the Eagle, Colorado regional airport near Vail. Note: Please use the address for The Steamboat Grand at 2300 Mt. Werner Circle if using a GPS locator for directions. Our classroom is located in the street level Shops at The Grand.

We are available seven days a week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm during our winter driving school season. You may register online year round, or by phone during the late summer prior to the upcoming winter season.

Yes! Our instructors enjoy coaching young drivers who have not yet developed undesirable driving habits. We recommend the full day Second Gear winter driving class for new drivers. We also recommend that the young driver have ten to twenty hours of seat time before class. That way he or she will feel comfortable with the basic operation of an automatic transmission vehicle.

Some insurance companies offer discounts to students who have successfully completed one or more of our driving school classes. Please contact your insurance company to inquire about your particular policy.

The Bridgestone Winter Driving School team is committed to best practices in health safety and will adapt on a moment’s notice to improve safety for our guests and staff. All guests and staff are required to follow the basic protocols of viral protection while on the BWDS campus:

We provide transportation only from our winter driving school offices at the Shops at The Grand to our driving campus and back. We do not provide transportation from your lodging to our school. Many hotels and resorts do, however, provide transportation for their guests. The City of Steamboat Springs bus system is also free to everyone.

We operate during a very short winter season with a limited number of seats. When you complete your registration, you remove one or more of those seats from availability to others. Consequently, we have a strict cancellation policy for all of our classes. Knowing that your plans can change, we will refund you according to the following should you wish to cancel:

You may cancel up to seven (7) days before your First Gear or Second Gear class and receive a full refund. If you must cancel within seven (7) days of your class, it is your responsibility to find someone to take your place. If you do find someone to take your seat, we will issue you a refund once full payment has been received for your replacement. If you cannot find someone to replace you, we will make every effort to fill your seat. If, however, your seat goes unfilled due to your late cancellation, you will not receive a refund for that seat.

Other returned merchandise will not be accepted without prior authorization. Claims for returns must be made within 5 days of receipt of order. Return shipping costs will be at the customer’s expense. Only defective or item(s) of customer size error is subject to return. Dirty, soiled, or worn garments, or any merchandise without tags, will not be accepted for credit. Returns will be inspected prior to issuing credit.

Your card will be credited once we have received and processed your return, typically, within 7-10 business days after the item is shipped back to us. Your credit card will be credited for the price of the product(s) and any taxes, excluding shipping costs. Credit card companies vary on the time it takes for credit to appear on their customers’ records, so please allow one to two billing cycles for the refund to appear on your statement.

We reserve the right to deduct a restocking fee of up to 20% of the returned item(s) retail price. Customized items are not eligible for a refund. Sale items are not eligible for a refund.

Answer: Orders within the Continental United States are usually shipped within 1 to 2 business days via US Priority Mail. Orders received after 2:00pm Mountain Standard Time will be shipped the following business day. Orders received on Friday will ship on the following Monday, unless that day is a holiday. If you must have your order shipped today, please contact us by phone at 970.879.6104. We will make every effort to get your order to you by your desired date; however, we are not responsible for delayed shipments due to circumstances beyond our control.

Free Ground Shipping offer does not apply to International Orders or deliveries to Canada, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, APO/FPO, P.O. Boxes and US Territories.

Whether you’re registering for yourself or a group, registration takes just a few clicks. Tap the Register Now button to be taken to our reservation portal, or the Contact Us button for any questions. We look forward to seeing you out on the ice.