WINTER PARK

The Village base area is where all skiers and boarders start and end of the day. Winter Park ski area spreads out far and wide from this point and, fortunately, so do the skiers. We love Winter Park for the lack of crowds and the ability to find an empty run all through the day. To fully explore Winter Park and each of its territories you’ll need a good couple of days, and even then you’ll still have more runs to discover.

With seven distinct “territories” it really has something for everyone. The most well known is Mary Jane. Featuring moguls the size of small cars, plus some steep, long groomers and a few nicely gladed tree runs, Mary Jane is where to go when you want to exhaust yourself! Fortunately it also has the new Lunch Rock Restaurant to revive and relax the legs before moving on. Further afield are the Parsenn Bowl glades (for strong intermediates and advanced) with stunning views of the mountains and The Cirque, which has Winter Park’s only real extreme terrain. The resort operates a sled there (a 48 person sled pulled by a snow cat) that accesses chutes and runs off the headwall. For just $20 skiers can get unlimited access to the Sled, all season long. On the looker’s right of the mountain is Vasquez Ridge with long groomers for intermediates and beginners and above it is Eagle Wind with some decent gladed black diamond runs – perfect on a powder day. Generally, the further away from the base area, the less crowded it is.

The area extending up from the village area is called Winter Park Territory, which has something for everyone, including the resort’s Terrain Park. With an 18-foot (5.5m) super pipe and a ton of other features, it’s good for all standards. Most of the features are accessed with an express quad chair. 

Due to it's vast area of terrain, Winter Park has 25 lifts, with a mix of old and new, so it's a hit and miss when it comes to lift lines. Weekends can be relatively busy due to its proximity to Denver.

Day or multi-day Winter Park lift tickets bought ahead of time and as part of a Winter Park Ski Package via Scout they'll be better value than purchasing at the ticket window.

Winter Park is part of the IKON pass, allowing you to explore more of the resorts in both North America and Canada! Contact us for more information.

Parents will appreciate Winter Park’s compact and convenient base area, condo accommodation options, and overall good value. The beginner terrain is rather limited, with majority of the resort tailored to intermediate skiers. The ski school starts kids lessons from the age of three, and the meeting point is conveniently located at the main base area, where Mum and Dad will also start and end their day. Half-day or full-day childcare is available for kids aged two months to six years.

Scout loves the carts provided for lugging equipment (and kids) around the village! There are several other activities to keep the kids entertained off the slopes (see below). Within the village there are a couple of family-friendly restaurants (and yes a pizza shop selling slices or full pies).

Families who prefer the convenience of staying close to the slopes are best suited to lodging in the main Winter Park Village, located at the base of the resort. This area includes shops, restaurants, and a few bars, and the accommodation options are mainly condos (some ski-in/ski-out, others barely minutes walk from the slopes). For more affordable options, the town of Winter Park provides a bigger range of accommodation, as well as restaurants, bars, and shops. A free shuttle bus operates between the town and resort base, so relatively easy access each day.

Winter Park accommodation options range from decent condos throughout the main village within walking distance (or ski-in ski-out) to the lifts, to the budget style Vintage Hotel (accessed via the Cabriolet lift). Downtown is a mix of chain motels and old school ski-lodges mixed in with vacation home rentals and condos. For convenience sake, staying up in the village is definitely easier. However, staying downtown means more restaurants and bars nearby. With either choice, you’re connected via a free and regular shuttle bus.

Find a great map of the Winter Park Village Base area here and a larger map with the surrounding downtown area here.

There are not a huge amount of après activities at Winter Park and one certainly wouldn’t come here for retail therapy. Indeed, non-skiers may find there’s little to do other than wait for their friends or loved ones.  It’s possible for non-skiers to buy a “foot-pass” ticket to go up the Zephyr Express to The Lodge at Sunspot dining room. One of the main non-skiing highlights at Winter Park is the tubing hill over by the Vintage Hotel (accessed via the Cabriolet lift). With some banked curves it can be great fun for kids and kids-at-heart. There, there’s also a Hill House warming lodge with hot chocolate. Winter Park Village has a small ice-skating rink on the village pond that’s free if you have your own skates (or skates can be rented). Ski bikes, tubing, dog sledding, and sleigh rides are some of the other activities offered in the area.

There are several options in the region for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and cat skiing is also offered.

Winter Park is about an hour and 45 minutes’ drive from Denver International Airport, depending on the traffic on the i70 and the weather on Berthoud Pass. There are a variety of private and shared shuttle options with services from the airport, which start about $70 one way for an adult. Transfers can be booked as part of a Winter Park Package Deal via Scout.

A great, and quirky, way to get to Winter Park is by train. They claim Winter Park is the only place in North America where it’s possible to take a train all the way to the ski resort (albeit to the downtown area, a 10-minute drive from the resort). The Winter Park Express runs from Denver's Untion Station every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, usually from early January onwards. Tickets start at just $29. The journey takes about 3 hours and is a good way to avoid the i70 traffic and arrive relaxed.

Getting around the village area is mostly on foot, since it’s so compact. To get to and from downtown Winter Park a free shuttle runs every half hour until 11pm. So there’s no need to have a car in Winter Park, but it would provide added freedom and convenience to not have to rely on the shuttle, which can get crowded at peak times.

Winter Park Ski Resort operates from mid-November until late April. The hours of operation are from 9am–4pm on weekdays and 8.30am–4pm on weekends. Like any ski resort, Winter Park gets busy over the Christmas and NY holidays, public holidays and spring break.