SeniorsSkiing Guide: Winter Park, CO—Almost Denver

Close to Denver, This Venerable and Varied Ski Resort Can Get Crowded On Weekends.

One of the oldest ski areas in Colorado, Winter Park is only 67 miles from Denver (about a 90 minute drive). It has excellent terrain for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. I was there with my daughter and her 12 year old twins who couldn’t wait to ski Mary Jane—one of the four mountains included in the area. We were there over a holiday week-end, and we can attest to what a popular ski area this is.

Conditions were excellent with a few inches of new powder and a huge base. As I’d come from New England, I was looking for some ice but found none. It was Martin Luther King holiday weekend—late January—and the crowds (15,000 people) were there, but we still discovered powder stashes in the trees. Plenty of full-on moguls fields kept the kids happy and when my old knees started to protest, I found some lovely blue trails which deposited me at the same lift as my more ambitious (and far younger) family members.

In spite of the throngs milling around the base and the hour-long lift line at the bottom, once we were on the slopes we quickly found our way to mostly unoccupied lifts and never had to wait again.

Snow and Terrain

With 3,081 acres of skiable terrain and 24 lifts, Winter Park had something for everyone. The average snowfall of 320 inches is impressive. The elevation of 11,220 feet is exhausting for those who come from sea-level. It was overcast and a bit windy when we were there so I can’t comment on the views or on the Parson Bowl, an area which was closed due to poor visibility. But there’s more the WP than the front slope.  Click here for a description of the “Seven Territories”, something for everyone.

Lot to Lift Access

On a busy weekend, you would have to get to the area by 7:30 a.m. to get a good parking spot in one of the designated lots. Those who slept in had a long trek uphill after parking alongside the access road. Once in the village, you can grab a red wagon provided by the ski area to tote your gear or your kids to the ticket office, the cafeteria, the restrooms or to Starbucks. At the end of the day, you might want someone to put you in a cart and pull you back to your car.

Ski Meisters

If I lived nearby and skied here often, I would definitely join the Ski Meisters club. It’s a friendly, fun loving, hard skiing group of 55-plus seniors who enjoy discounted tickets, lockers and gorgeous jackets. They ski together at Winter Park on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays when the crowds dwindle. They enjoy eating lunch together upstairs in the Stow Asis Lounge and often get together for after ski fun. They also cycle, bike, hike and take trips together to other ski areas. Currently there are 400 members, and there’s a wait list to get in. But I’m sure it would be worth the wait.

Culture

The “Guest Services” at Winter Park are friendly hosts in yellow jackets helping everyone to navigate the base area. It wasn’t immediately clear which line was the ticket line and which one was for the lift, but there was always some nice person to set us straight. I spent time at the end of the day at the tea room which turned out to have a small but popular bar. The people there were also very friendly!