Springtime is the prime time to hit the road in search of sunshine, good snow and great deals. Here are 12 ways to ensure an optimal experience on the road to spring skiing and snowboarding nirvana.

Music

Unless you really like country music or religious blather coming through your radio, bring your favorite tunes with you. But instead of bringing 30 or 40 CDs, load up your iPod with a custom mix and play it through your car stereo (ILounge.com) or invite someone with a portable XM Radio (XM Radio.com). Word to the wise: Avoid Willie Nelson's On the Road Again or you'll never get it out of your head.

Munchies

A trip without tasty vittles can make for a long drive. Stocking up on munchies in the four road trip food groups - sugar, salt, caffeine and fat - will satisfy most cravings but can leave you a bit rundown. Consider apples, pretzels and fruit juice over candy, Cheetos and Red Bull. If only someone would invent a transdermal patch that secretes the goodness of fresh vegetables through the skin, road trips might be more nutritionally balanced.

Maps

There are two kinds of drivers on road trips: those who have to stop and ask for directions and those who have an electronic know-it-all gizmo on their dashboards. If you're PDA-enabled or your vehicle happens to be a T-Mobile Hotspot, then you can surf for your answers online. Otherwise, it might be smart to invest $350 in a Magellan RoadMate 360 (MagellanGPS.com), a GPS-powered navigation tool that has thousands of preloaded maps and the ability to quickly find hotels, restaurants, gas stations and even ATMs.

Fuel Up

Leave town with a full tank. Follow the rule of thumb that the higher you drive into the mountains, the higher the price you'll pay for a gallon of gas. According to ColoradoGas Prices.com, some of the most expensive gas in the state can be found in Silverthorne, Steamboat Springs, Edwards, Eagle and Glenwood Springs. Starting your trip at a gas station ensures you'll have a full supply of munchies, too.

Ultimate Rig

You can make a cross country road trip in a 1981 Ford Escort (I know because I did it once), but you'd be much more comfortable in a decadent 2007 Earth Roamer XV luxury sport utility vehicle (EarthRoamer.com). Custom-built in Broomfield for about $205,000, an Earth Roamer is like a comfy condo on wheels, with plenty of room for ski gear, a 17-inch flat-screen TV, mini kitchen, compact shower, satellite TV and room to sleep at least three of your closest friends.

Cheap tickets

If you have a Winter Park or Copper Mountain season pass, you can buy half-priced lift tickets at Whistler Blackcomb and Panorama in Canada and Mammoth Mountain in California. And if you're carrying a Vail Resorts Colorado Pass, you can get 50 percent off at Heavenly Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, Calif. If not, aim for off-the-beaten-path resorts with good snow and relatively inexpensive tickets, for example, Wolf Creek near Pagosa Springs ($46, WolfCreekSki.com), Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah ($60) or Grand Targhee Resort near Driggs, Idaho, ($57, Grand Targhee.com). Or visit SkiCoupons.com for more lift ticket deals.

Check your fluids

It makes good sense to top off your vehicle's oil, brake and transmission fluids before you leave and buy an extra gallon of cosmic blue windshield wiper cleaner before you hit the road. More important, bring plenty of water to maintain your personal fluid levels. And while drinks with caffeine can make you feel alert and energized, caffeine is a diuretic and will force you to make more pit stops than necessary.

Stay cheap

When gas is $2.50 a gallon, you can't afford to drop a lot of money on a hotel.

Generally speaking, the farther from the slopes you stay, the cheaper your lodging will be. Search for last-minute stay-and-ski packages on a resort's home page or try your luck at SkiOrganizers.com, SkiTops.com and Moguls.com.

Buyer beware

Though a truck stop can be a tantalizing fantasyland to a hungry, thirsty and road-weary driver, there is nothing of nutritional, emotional or intellectual value sold at truck stops. I admit I once bought a Jeff Foxworthy "You might be redneck if . . ." tape from a truck stop a few years ago. It was funny, but the friend who was with me was terribly offended because he apparently owned a set of salad bowls that said "Cool Whip" on the side.

Pack your trunks

Hot tubs and hot springs are road trip rituals and the perfect way to soothe muscles from a long drive. The only thing worse than arriving at your destination and realizing you didn't pack a swimsuit is having to buy one of the garish, overpriced models from a hotel lobby.

Be flexible

A friend of mine once drove 21 hours straight from Denver to Whistler, British Columbia, during a four-day break from MBA school in Boulder. It was a thin snow year in Colorado and he desperately wanted to get a few powder days, so he hit the road for Canada. Had he checked the weather the night he left, he would have seen it was also dumping in Jackson, Sun Valley and Alta and he could have saved 10 to 14 hours of driving time had he made a midtrip detour.

Recommended reading

Three must-read books before any road endeavor are On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Visualizing a trip through the eyes of Sal Paradise, Raoul Duke and Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters can lend extraordinary insight on what to expect - and what to avoid - while traveling great distances in a car, bus or whatever your means of transportation might be.

Classic spring road trips

Southwest Colorado

If you've spent the season fighting traffic skiing and riding the resorts close to Denver, now is the time to pack the car for a trip to the southwest corner of the state, where the snowpack is deep and spring deals are plentiful.

• Drive time: Five to nine hours, depending on where the trek begins.

• Pros: You can ski or ride Monarch, Wolf Creek, Durango Mountain resort, Silverton Mountain and Telluride during a five- or six-day trip.

• Cons: Driving over Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray during a snowstorm can be a white-knuckle experience.

• Don't miss: Soaking in the hot springs in Pagosa Springs, Ouray and Ridgway.

• Info: ColoradoSki.com/ resorts/.

Jackson, Wyo.

The March 24 to April 8 Jackson Hole Mountain Festival includes a randonee race, telemark festival, concerts by The Wreckers, Cowboy Mouth, House of Blues All Stars, and the zany Pole, Pedal, Paddle multisport competition.

• Drive time: Seven to nine hours, depending on weather.

• Pros: Discounted lift tickets and lodging, plus the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb.

• Cons: Poor service in Rock Springs, which often is a mandatory pit stop for gas, munchies and bathroom breaks.

• Don't miss: The March 29-31 mechanical bull rodeo at the Mangy Moose at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

• Info: JacksonHole.com/jhmf.

Moab, Utah

Done with skiing and snowboarding for the season? Mid-March is a good time to head to Moab for some early-season mountain biking, hiking, climbing, paddling or trail running.

• Drive time: Five-and-a-half to six hours, depending on conditions on Interstate 70.

• Pros: Plenty of campsites, warm midday temperatures and no chairlift lines.

• Cons: You run the risk of getting stuck in a snow storm before leaving Colorado and hearing, "Bro, it is absolutely puking at Vail. You're missing epic pow, dude!" from your friends who stayed in Colorado for the weekend.

• Don't miss: Hundreds of ancient petroglyphs in Newspaper Rock State Park.

• Info: Moab-Utah.com.

Crested Butte

Crested Butte is just far enough away to call it a road trip, but you won't be in the car long enough to ruin your health with a steady diet of Red Bull, Pringles and M&Ms.

• Drive time: Five to six hours, depending on weather.

• Pros: Lots of good snow on the resort's north-facing runs, plenty of soft corn and sunshine on the south-facing slopes.

• Cons: No more unofficial naked skiing on closing day.

• Don't miss: The 32nd annual Al Johnson Memorial Uphill/Downhill Telemark Ski Race on March 25, named in honor of a diehard 19th century postman who delivered mail on skis to remote mining camps.

• Info: SkiCB.com.

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