View Full Version : Where to ski near Denver with family...
Thanks to the Southwest Airlines sale this week, we are going to be flying into Denver in January. Quick family trip. Arriving on a Friday and leaving on the next Tuesday.
I've been skiing many times. My wife has been once over ten years ago. My kids 11 and 6 have never been skiing.
Would like to stay pretty close to Denver. I've been to Winter Park before and liked it. I know there is a place near Denver called Loveland which I have heard is pretty family friendly.
Just looking for some suggestions. We would probably rent a car in Denver.
TGP has given me some great advice when going to Tennessee/Kentucky and Kansas City, MO.
rock
bford
Atomic Punk
10-29-2009, 10:45 PM
I used to like this place when I lived in Longmont, CO.....
http://www.eldora.com/
HEY!YOU!
10-29-2009, 11:18 PM
Closest to furthest ~By car from Denver
Eldora-
Winter Park
Loveland
A-Basin
Keystone (My wife is a ski instructor there)
Breckenridge
Copper
Vail
Beaver Creek
Aspen
Steamboat Springs
Are planning on skiing the entire time?
Do you want to ski one area only?
Stay close to the ski area?
I could make a recommendation depending on what you
want to do.
Winter Park! I used to live there as a kid and it's a GREAT family area.
Another for Winter Park. It's fun to ride the ski train there too.
anathema
10-30-2009, 03:18 AM
I actually don't think the ski train runs anymore unfortunately. Winter park is great, my fave ski towns are beckenridge and vail/beaver creek.
BadAssBill
10-30-2009, 07:01 AM
Too bad you aren't there now. I'm on a Disaster Recovery meeting right now because of a snow storm they are having.
travisvwright
10-30-2009, 07:10 AM
Brekenridge is my personal choice but for inexperienced skiiers(sp?) I recomend Keystone. I think they do a great jobe of seperating the mountain where advanced skiiers tend to stick to one side (or back) and learners stay on the other.
JWDubois
10-30-2009, 08:40 AM
With respect to the previous poster, my ought-to-be-better-by-now-terminal-green wife likes Breck better than Keystone. My wife loves Silverthorne on Peak 9, which is a mile wide and flat as a board. There are also some good greens on Peak 8 that are not very heavily used at all.
Keystone is a bit steeper than Breck in general. Schoolmarm is a great green run, but it's quite a bit steeper than Silverthorne and has a couple of choke points that can get pretty icy in the afternoon. My wife does not like Schoolmarm.
As a terminal intermediate, I love Breck. It has the best blues of anyplace I have ever been. I love Peak 7.
JWW
soli528
10-30-2009, 08:47 AM
peak 7 FTW!!!
I can't add much more than what's already been said, other than that Breck has the best town/apres ski scene of any of the nearby choices, and there's something to be said for that as far as a family vacation situation.
And Loveland may be quickest drive time from Denver (except Eldora, of course) because you don't have to go over any major passes.
CGrisamore
10-30-2009, 08:50 AM
I agree with JWDubois. My wife only skis on green trails and Breck Peak9 is where she's the most comfortable. Took her to Keystone once and after laboring to get down Schoolmarm (the easiest green on the mountain), she took her skis off and quit for the day. Breck has 4 mountains with a range of difficulty. Also like JwDubois, I am a fan of peak 7 which is all blue with rolling hilly terrain...
traviswalk
10-30-2009, 08:54 AM
Steamboat, always my favorite both when I lived in Denver and when visiting years after. Great family area to go along with the best skiing in CO (IMHO). A bit of a drive but worth it. Could also fly into Hayden and it's MUCH closer than flying into Denver.
Breck is a great mountain. I'm partial to Beaver Creek and Vail though.
Great stuff.
We will be staying in the same place.... will ski at least two of the three days.. kids will be in ski school, where I always had a great time when I was a kid.
I would like to stay pretty close to the ski area.. don't want to spend a lot of time going back and forth.. oh.. and this might be important.. my wife gets a bit scared driving in the mountains anyway....
I've been to Breckenridge, Keystone, Winter Park, Beaver Creek, ABasin and Vail. I really liked them all. Of course I spent all of my time skiing. Never really spent much time doing anything else.
I know the kids would like to do some sledding or tubing.. heck.. so would I!:cool:
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. It is awesome to be able to get advice from locals!
Bryan
ezyrydr
10-30-2009, 09:12 AM
be sure to go to the Belgium beer place if you go to Winter Park.
travisvwright
10-30-2009, 09:17 AM
I happily concede. I really enjoy Brek more. I don't have a lot of experience with very green skiiers, as others here do. Plus I love Brek's breweries. Go there.
HEY!YOU!
10-30-2009, 10:21 AM
Great stuff.
We will be staying in the same place.... will ski at least two of the three days.. kids will be in ski school, where I always had a great time when I was a kid.
I would like to stay pretty close to the ski area.. don't want to spend a lot of time going back and forth.. oh.. and this might be important.. my wife gets a bit scared driving in the mountains anyway....
I've been to Breckenridge, Keystone, Winter Park, Beaver Creek, ABasin and Vail. I really liked them all. Of course I spent all of my time skiing. Never really spent much time doing anything else.
I know the kids would like to do some sledding or tubing.. heck.. so would I!:cool:
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. It is awesome to be able to get advice from locals!
Bryan
Based on this, I would suggest, depending on your budget, Breck, Vail or Beaver Creek.
Vail & BC are right off the hwy. No mtn rds.
Breck is a little off the I70 but not really a mtn. rd.
Uniphasian
10-30-2009, 11:08 AM
I've lived in Denver for 20 years, and I can recommend Loveland. It's where I prefer to go on my days off.
It's a quick drive without the hassle of getting through the tunnel, good beginner area (Loveland Basin), decent terrain, and prices that locals can enjoy without tapping into 'vacation money.'
soulohio
10-30-2009, 11:18 AM
go up to Leadville and do Ski Cooper... inexpensive and family skiing big time... and after that you can goof off in a real old west town... at least it was when i was there in '92
soli528
10-30-2009, 12:00 PM
There is only 2 or 3 places left to locals and I am not telling any of you where they are.
Would one of them be just on the other side of Monarch Pass?
"cala de lobo"
my favorite
HEY!YOU!
10-30-2009, 03:37 PM
Eldora can't be beat and you can avoid seeing all those dumb ass gapers.
Pass is fantastic, get up early, hike to the top and get fresh tracks. Hitch hike all day and ski for free with locals.
If you like Euro Sluts in one-piece suits then hit any mountain in town, be sure to say Herro for me!
I'm sure his wife and kids will dig that.
Ken Ho
10-30-2009, 04:41 PM
With respect to the previous poster, my ought-to-be-better-by-now-terminal-green wife likes Breck better than Keystone. My wife loves Silverthorne on Peak 9, which is a mile wide and flat as a board. There are also some good greens on Peak 8 that are not very heavily used at all.
Keystone is a bit steeper than Breck in general. Schoolmarm is a great green run, but it's quite a bit steeper than Silverthorne and has a couple of choke points that can get pretty icy in the afternoon. My wife does not like Schoolmarm.
As a terminal intermediate, I love Breck. It has the best blues of anyplace I have ever been. I love Peak 7.
JWW
My wife was a green run girl for a while too, until she discovered Head Snow Blades, which are short fat skis, 94cm, with releasable bindings that are dead easy to ski and let her get down anything. Once she was comfortably ski-ing blacks on them, she stepped up to a set of 155's and is now ripping. She blasted down Dave Murry Downhill, the 2010 Olympic Downhill course, at Whistler on her second day on her new 155's and then said, "Bunch of pussies, that's not steep". She used to get bluffed by bumpy or icy sections and there was a choke point similar to Schoolmarm that used to terrify her.
People tend to look down on them as not being "proper" skis, but they are fantastic for low-confidence ladies, or peeps who've had an injury. They have taken my injured, scaredy-cat wife to being a good confident skier who is sitting here mooning over the ski report at BC/Vail as I type.
JWDubois
10-30-2009, 05:21 PM
My wife was a green run girl for a while too, until she discovered Head Snow Blades, which are short fat skis, 94cm, with releasable bindings that are dead easy to ski and let her get down anything. Once she was comfortably ski-ing blacks on them, she stepped up to a set of 155's and is now ripping. She blasted down Dave Murry Downhill, the 2010 Olympic Downhill course, at Whistler on her second day on her new 155's and then said, "Bunch of pussies, that's not steep". She used to get bluffed by bumpy or icy sections and there was a choke point similar to Schoolmarm that used to terrify her.
People tend to look down on them as not being "proper" skis, but they are fantastic for low-confidence ladies, or peeps who've had an injury. They have taken my injured, scaredy-cat wife to being a good confident skier who is sitting here mooning over the ski report at BC/Vail as I type.
Sounds like I need to try a pair of those :p I'll keep an eye out for them.
My wife has a pair of 140 or so Rossi's that she is actually quite skilled on. She has good parallel turns and can stop well in either direction. But she hates the speed, so as it gets steeper she traverses more, which is no problem, but she gets spooked by everyone zipping by. Telling her that there wouldn't be a problem if she would just carry a little more speed doesn't work. It's frustrating because she has the skill to do blues but won't do them. Boarders in particular freak her out, so I have taken her to Deer Valley a couple of times, but she still won't get off the greens.
JWW
Ken Ho
10-30-2009, 05:52 PM
Sounds like I need to try a pair of those :p I'll keep an eye out for them.
My wife has a pair of 140 or so Rossi's that she is actually quite skilled on. She has good parallel turns and can stop well in either direction. But she hates the speed, so as it gets steeper she traverses more, which is no problem, but she gets spooked by everyone zipping by. Telling her that there wouldn't be a problem if she would just carry a little more speed doesn't work. It's frustrating because she has the skill to do blues but won't do them. Boarders in particular freak her out, so I have taken her to Deer Valley a couple of times, but she still won't get off the greens.
JWW
That's a little harder. Ironically, my wife never worried about other skiers, but had some injuries from badly set-up hire gear. This year she got cleaned up something shocking by an out of control snowboarder coming into a lift line, but it didn't deter her. She has only ever feared the hill.
At Whistler this in Feb this year, she bought her new skis, Rossi Voodoo 155, and there was a promotion including an Extremely Canadian clinic, which was under-booked, so we ended up having a whole day with one of their top instructors by ourselves. After that, she does not fear anything.
The ironic thing here for her, is that people ski faster gentler pitches than they do on steeper ones. If she wants less traffic, less out of control snowboarders and a slower pace, she will find that on steeper runs, not gentler ones.
getbent
10-30-2009, 06:25 PM
I'll lob in another idea. Go to Glenwood Springs, ski at sunlight, take the kids to the pool in the evenings... a few good places to eat, an amusement park and probably a little less money and great fun. It is farther down 70 than some of the others, but a quick trip for your wife and kids to redstone (get the sleigh ride!) and walking down the main street with the teensy stores is lots of fun and a movie at the crystal theatre in carbondale would be fun too...
just a thought.
I'll lob in another idea. Go to Glenwood Springs, ski at sunlight, take the kids to the pool in the evenings... a few good places to eat, an amusement park and probably a little less money and great fun. It is farther down 70 than some of the others, but a quick trip for your wife and kids to redstone (get the sleigh ride!) and walking down the main street with the teensy stores is lots of fun and a movie at the crystal theatre in carbondale would be fun too...
just a thought.
I will look into this also!
onemind
11-03-2009, 08:00 AM
A vote for Breck as a family friendly but still upscale resort.
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
Well.. we ended up booking at a place no one here suggested.. but I did get a lot of suggestions for it from others....
Copper Mountain... the prices were reasonable.. and they have a great break up of the mountain.. two kids who have never ski'd before...
We will only be skiiing three days.. kids are signed up for lessons the first two days... and we'll assess how they are doing at that point...
We got a really nice condo 1 block from the two main lifts for the blue and green areas of the mountain...
Ok... now for th NEW QUESTION... I know there is a bus system to get to the different resorts.. what is it called.. and how do I book seats on it?
We will be arriving at Denver Int. airport around 5.30 pm on a Friday.. will the busses still be running? I'd rather not rent a car if I don't have to... as it will just be sitting there...
Bryan
Checked the shuttle rates... OUCH... 82 dollars per person.... that is more than our flights to Denver..!.. ha...
Ok.. the drive to Copper isn't bad or far.. so we are going to rent a car.. full size... got a good deal with HotWire..
Craig Walker
01-03-2010, 08:55 PM
Been to Steamboat and Keystone.....preferred Keystone.
I've been to Keystone as a child.. had a great time...
Big White Tele
01-03-2010, 09:37 PM
Copper is good, thats where the filmed Dumb and dumber, and called it Aspen. Glad your renting the car, the best way to go. Take in the sites and scenery. You'll have a blast!!! If you have the time, drive down to Leadville, and walk the streets, look in the shops, eat in the dives. Its like a little time travel into the past.
Copper is good, thats where the filmed Dumb and dumber, and called it Aspen. Glad your renting the car, the best way to go. Take in the sites and scenery. You'll have a blast!!! If you have the time, drive down to Leadville, and walk the streets, look in the shops, eat in the dives. Its like a little time travel into the past.
I will look into Leadville... thanks!
HEY!YOU!
01-03-2010, 10:11 PM
From Copper you can drive to Vail or Breck Or Keystone or Beaver Ck.
If you were staying at a Vail resort there's a free bus to all of them.
Vail Resorts include:
Vail
Beaver Creek
Breckenridge
Keystone
Possibly A-Basin, although it's not a part of Vail Resorts
Copper is a great Mtn., you'll have a great time and we just got snow!
From Copper you can drive to Vail or Breck Or Keystone or Beaver Ck.
If you were staying at a Vail resort there's a free bus to all of them.
Vail Resorts include:
Vail
Beaver Creek
Breckenridge
Keystone
Possibly A-Basin, although it's not a part of Vail Resorts
Copper is a great Mtn., you'll have a great time and we just got snow!
Yep.. I've been checking the snow report daily... come on 22nd!
HEY!YOU!
01-03-2010, 10:54 PM
I'll be up in the mtns. all Jan. & Feb.
Let me know if you want to take some turns together.
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