The Ultimate Guide to Colorado Ski Resorts
Colorado has world-class skiing/snowboarding and I’ve been lucky enough to get out there at least once every season for the past 5 years. I’ve been to 5 of the ski resorts and will explain what each are best known for and what’s not the greatest about them!
vail
Vail is second biggest ski resort in Colorado. It offers terrain for all levels but of course is best known for its Legendary Back Bowls. If you are a beginner, I would NOT recommend the Back Bowls.
Best For:
- Size: second largest in Colorado
- One-of-a-kind terrain
- Apres Ski: my favorite behind Beaver Creek, although I’ve heard Aspen is the best but I haven’t been
- Ski Village: TONS of stores and restaurants
- Bus: really good FREE bus system around Vail to get you to the mountain without having to drive
Worst For:
- Price: food, lodging, & lift tickets are all on the higher side compared to other Colorado ski resorts
- Parking: there’s plenty of parking in the ramps in each of the ski villages, HOWEVER, they are $30-$40 for the day
- Traversing: if you plan on going to the Back Bowls or Blue Sky Basin, be prepared to do quite a bit of traversing. (The front side of the mountain is easier to navigate without too much traversing)
- Distance from Denver airport: about a 2 hour drive (without traffic)
Keystone
Keystone is my favorite resort when it comes to the terrain. As a snowboarder, I love a mountain I can get to all the runs without having to traverse!
Best for:
- Distance from Denver airport: 1 hour 30 min (without traffic)
- Terrain: there are some extremely long runs (3 miles) and plenty of variety
- Family Friendly
- NO traversing! The lifts will get you everywhere you need to go unless you decide to find your own terrain
- Price: one of the least expensive lift tickets & lodging
- Parking: it’s FREE! The main lot fills extremely quick but the overflow lot is connected by a bus line that drops you off right at the Gondola. I almost prefer that option over having to walk through the ski village from the main lot
Worst for:
- Ski village: there is a little village when you get to the mountain but not a ton of shops/restaurants, pretty miminal
- Apres Ski: it pretty much doesn’t exist
Breckenridge
Breckenridge took a little while to grow on me but I do really like it now. The good things about Breck are great but the bad things are super annoying in my opinion.
Best for:
- Size: fourth largest in Colorado
- Ski village/Downtown: between the restaurants/shops right on the mountain and the little Downtown area, Breck is your classic Ski town and it’s my favorite part about it
- Apres Ski: there are some fun places on the mountain or you can go with the more small town vibe and bar hop down Main Street
- Parking: there is plenty of parking and bus routes that are free however some of the lots closest to the Gondola you do have to pay for
- Terrain
- Ullr Fest: we had no idea what this was until we happened to stumble upon it on one of our visits to Breck and it was absolutely amazing! It’s a celebration of all things winter and they do things like one huge shotski that lines Main Street for blocks. Was one of the coolest events we’ve been too. It only happens at the beginning of December but find more info here.
- Family-friendly
Worst for:
- Getting around the mountain: you can avoid having issues with this if you map out where you want to ski/snowboard right away. One time we got to the mountain before our friends and went to Peak 9 and they decided to go to Peak 6 so we spent a long time getting to and from all the Peaks.
- Traversing: you’ll more than likely have to traverse a few times
- Busy/Crowds: be prepared for lift lines, espcially on weekends/holidays
- Distance from Denver Airport: 1 hour 50 mins (without traffic)
Steamboat Springs
Steamboat goes a little under the radar for ski resorts, most likely because of the distance from the Denver airport but it ended up having a lot of amazing things to offer.
Best for:
- Size: third largest in Colorado
- Downtown: check out the shops, loved Haus of Cucu! There’s some good restaurants as well, really liked Salt and Lime
- Terrain: Steamboat doesn’t have the steepest terrain but there are still plenty of challenging runs if that’s what you’re looking for.
- Tons of tree runs
- Larger City: Steamboat is the biggest city on this list offering multiple options for: grocery stores, restaurants, shops, dispensaries, liquor stores, etc.
- Strawberry Park Hot Springs
- Family-friendly
Worst for:
- Ski Village/Apres: there isn’t much of one. It’s pretty much just hotels and some restaurants. The Downtown area is the place to hang out at outside of the mountain
- Parking: the ones closest to the mountain are all paid parking lots but there are some lots you can bus in from that are free
- Distance from Denver airport: 3 hours, 20 minutes. If you have the extra money, you should consider flying into Steamboat to avoid this drive because if there’s a snowstorm, it is NOT fun. Trust me, it took us 6 hours to get there one time.
beaver creek
Beaver Creek always seemed a little too fancy for me but the mountain itself is great! I’m happy to have been able to snowboard at it but it is my least favorite ski resort on this list.
Best for:
- Apres Ski: the Ritz-Carlton throws a pretty great Apres. It’s definitely my favorite apres I’ve been to of any ski resort, not just in Colorado! Just know you might be waiting a while for drinks when it starts to get busy
- Lots of Green runs as well as Black Diamonds: pay attention to the maps because you could get caught in an area that only has Black Diamonds if you get on the wrong lift
- Family-friendly
Worst for:
- Price: you’ll be breaking the bank if you stay at any of the hotels close or on the mountain. If you’re trying to save money, stay in one of the towns East or West of the ski resort.
- Parking: no free parking close to the mountain unless you get there after 1pm
- Distance from Denver Airport: 2 hours 20 mins without traffic/snowstorm
