COME TO LIFE / Colorado Ski Resorts 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 with six trails on 60 acres. 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 reasons Eldora is known as a “locals’ mountain.” Terrain to keep the whole family busy all day doesn’t hurt, and neither does a new six-person high-speed lift (fit in more runs!) and 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 KENDALL MOUNTAIN Situated in Silverton, this mountain is loved by locals for its family-friendly ambiance. The ski area has four groomed trails, a terrain park and tree skiing. Off-the-slopes ac-tivities include ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. 13 KEYSTONE Keystone boasts three mountains full of bowls, steeps, trails, lift-served tubing and one of the longest ski days — watch Green River the sun set at 11,000 feet and ski into the night. The resort’s daily Kidtopia programs range from Manila snowball launches to night-sky exploration. 80 191 15 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. 16 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. 17 PURGATORY RESORT Rawlins Purgatory’s unintimidating slopes, free lessons and Pinkerton beginners’ terrain park are a few things that make it a hit with families in Durango. Wyoming Within its boundaries are 103 trails, seven terrain 287 parks, a racing course and 35,000 acres of snowcat playland. 18 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. 19 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. 30 130 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. 21 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 60 acres an idyllic winter escape. 22 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 rises of any ski area in the Laramie country, and one of the Cheyenne longest runs — 5.3 miles of 25 26 85 Scotts Bluff NM 80 Gering 789 70 20 SKI GRANBY RANCH Ski Granby Ranch’s fun lesson programs, easy pace and affordable 130 230 230 230 Harr 80 30 Ki Ne 80 14 LOVELAND SKI AREA One of Loveland’s favorite things Vernal 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. Utah 40 Fort Collins Hayden Steamboat Springs STEAMBOAT 34 36 HOWELSEN HILL SKI AREA 25 85 34 SKI GRANBY RANCH 40 76 Fort Mo 287 Boulder ELDORA MOUNTAIN RESORT ECHO MOUNTAIN 76 36 WINTER PARK COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT 70 70 Edwards Avon LOVELAND SKI AREA ARAPAHOE BASIN 285 KEYSTONE RESORT 70 Denver 225 270 70 Glenwood Springs SUNLIGHT MOUNTAIN RESORT BUTTERMILK VAIL BEAVER CREEK RESORT MOUNTAIN Breckenridge Fairplay BRECKENRIDGE SKI RESORT 85 25 70 ASPEN MOUNTAIN SKI COOPER Castle Rock 70 SNOWMASS Aspen Leadville Limon Grand Junction 70 ASPEN HIGHLANDS POWDERHORN RESORT CRESTED BUTTE MOUNTAIN RESORT 24 Arches NP 191 Colorado Springs 24 Moab Montrose 50 Gunnison MONARCH MOUNTAIN 50 Canyonlands NP Pueblo Monticello Telluride TELLURIDE Silverton 550 SILVERTON MOUNTAIN KENDALL MOUNTAIN 160 285 KEYSTONE RESORT, VAIL RESORTS/DANIEL MILCHEV. Salida Cañon City 350 Natural Bridges NM PURGATORY Alamosa Pagosa Springs WOLF CREEK SKI AREA 285 160 Cortez 160 Durango 25 SKI HESPERUS 163 84 160 Conejos Trinidad 160 28 / 1-800-COLORADO Arizona 64 Aztec Ruins NM Aztec 64 New 285 Mexico Raton Tierra Amarilla 522 Capulin Volcano N
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2019: Page 28
