COME TO LIFE / America’s Best Skiing ® 7 COPPER MOUNTAIN Skiers and riders love to tout Copper’s perfect layout. Mother Nature arranged its slopes quite adeptly: Beginner, intermediate and expert runs are each clustered with like-leveled terrain, ensuring beginners won’t make a surprise trip down a too-steep run. 8 CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN RESORT Crested Butte has it all: wide-open green and blue trails, expert bowls, plenty of unexplored lines and uncrowded slopes. Take advantage of the free guided mountain ski tours to ski like a local. 9 ECHO MOUNTAIN The closest ski mountain to Denver, Echo Mountain near Idaho Springs is an affordable option along the Front Range with six trails on 60 acres and a redesigned lodge with a restaurant and bar. For those who can’t get up there before the work day ends, the slopes are open til 9pm for skiing under the stars (and lights). 10 ELDORA MOUNTAIN RESORT Proximity to Boulder and Denver is one of the rea-sons Eldora is known as a “locals’ mountain.” Terrain to keep the whole family busy all day doesn’t hurt, and neither does nearly 25 miles of cross-country and snowshoe trails steps from the downhill ski area. 11 HOWELSEN HILL SKI AREA Howelsen’s pedigree is well established. Open since 1915 in Steamboat, it’s the state’s oldest ski area, has the largest natu-ral ski-jumping complex in North America and has long been a training ground for Olympic skiers. It’s also one of a few resorts to offer night skiing. 12 KEYSTONE Keystone boasts three mountains full of bowls, steeps, trails, lift-served tubing and one of the longest ski days — watch the sun set at 11,000 feet and ski into the night. The resort’s daily Kidtopia programs range from snowball launches to night-sky exploration. 13 LOVELAND SKI AREA One of Loveland’s favorite things to brag about is that it averages nearly 400 inches of snow each season, more than any other Front Range ski area. The other thing is their free snowcat skiing perk along the Continen-tal Divide. 14 MONARCH MOUNTAIN Perched atop the Conti-nental Divide, Monarch is one of the best spots for fresh powder. A short walk from the parking lot to the lifts, roomy slopes and laid-back attitudes make it a hit with families. Ride to the top of the Panora-ma Lift for 360-degree views of the divide. 15 POWDERHORN RESORT This resort near Grand Junction has one of the most unique views in Colorado’s ski country. Located on the Grand Mesa, the largest flat-top mountain in the world, skiers and riders will see something more like the Grand Canyon than the typical alpine view. 16 PURGATORY RESORT Purgatory’s unintimidating slopes, Old West fun park and Pitchfork Terrain Garden beginners’ park are a few things that make it a hit with families in Durango. Within its boundaries are 88 trails, five terrain parks, a racing course and 35,000 acres of snowcat playland. 17 SILVERTON MOUNTAIN As Silverton’s motto proclaims, this southwest Colorado ski area is “All thrills, no frills.” Colorado’s highest and steepest ski mountain serves up un-groomed, no-easy-way-down expert terrain for those who prefer skiing the old-school way. 18 SKI COOPER The former training site in Leadville for the 10th Mountain Division, the legendary World War II ski troops, has sweeping runs that follow some of the same paths used by the soldiers who skied Europe’s mountain battlefields. Today, it’s popular with families looking for a cheerful and low-stress ski holiday. 19 SKI GRANBY RANCH Ski Granby Ranch’s fun lesson programs, easy pace and affordable prices make it a long-time family favorite. There’s no better place to wind down at the end of the day than the fire pit at the base of the mountain, where the hot cocoa flows while you recount the day’s snowy triumphs. 20 SKI HESPERUS Eleven miles west of Durango, Hesperus has been an especially great option for families in the southwest part of Colorado since 1962, and it’s the region’s largest night-skiing operation. Hesperus’ unassuming, small-ski-area ambiance makes its 26 trails and 160 acres an idyllic winter escape. 21 SNOWMASS The mountain itself is enormous. Snowmass trumpets that 36 Disney-lands could fit within its boundaries. At 4,406 feet, “Snowmassive” also has one of the highest vertical rise of any ski area in the country, and one of the longest runs — 5.3 miles of peaceful schussing before you even have to think about the lift line. Fort Collins Hayden Steamboat Springs 34 36 HOWELSEN HILL SKI AREA STEAMBOAT 25 85 34 SKI GRANBY RANCH 287 40 76 Boulder ELDORA MOUNTAIN RESORT ECHO MOUNTAIN 76 70 36 WINTER PARK 70 Edwards Avon COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT 70 Denver 225 270 LOVELAND SKI AREA ARAPAHOE BASIN 285 KEYSTONE RESORT BRECKENRIDGE SKI RESORT Glenwood Springs SUNLIGHT MOUNTAIN RESORT VAIL BEAVER CREEK RESORT MOUNTAIN 85 25 Breckenridge SKI COOPER ASPEN MOUNTAIN BUTTERMILK SNOWMASS Castle Rock Aspen ASPEN HIGHLANDS Leadville Fairplay Grand Junction POWDERHORN RESORT 24 CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN RESORT Colorado Springs 24 Gunnison Montrose 50 Salida MONARCH MOUNTAIN 50 Cañon City Pueblo Telluride SILVERTON MOUNTAIN TELLURIDE Silverton 550 285 160 PURGATORY Alamosa Cortez 160 160 Durango Pagosa Springs WOLF CREEK SKI AREA 285 25 SKI HESPERUS 24 / COLORADO.COM BACKCOUNTRY SKI TOUR IN VELOCITY BASIN BELOW SILVERTON MOUNTAIN SKI AREA, KENNAN HARVEY.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2018: Page 24
