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It’s hard to believe almost a decade has lapsed since we took our first family ski trip to Winter Park Resort.
It was the first Colorado ski trip we took as a family of five, our youngest just a toddler and our oldest almost 8 years old at the time. Within moments of arriving to the snow-blanketed base of Colorado’s longest continually operating ski resort, flurries began falling from a smoke-gray sky as we tried to wrangle our three little kids into the ski rental shop to get fitted for gear before ski school the next morning.
Instead, our boys were too busy racing up a snowy hill, clutching tightly to brightly colored sleds they discovered in the snow, as they took turns zooming back down on repeat. Meanwhile, our daughter was simply mesmerized by the snow, squealing with delight each time she cupped a bit of powdered-sugar fluff inside her puffy pink gloves and tossed it into the air.
That was our family’s first snowy memory, but since then, there have been countless others that have taken root at this popular family ski destination nestled high in the Rocky Mountains. Fast forward 10 years from that inaugural trip to Winter Park Resort, and we’ve returned almost every year since –– only now, our kids, who are 11, 14 and 17, are the ones leaving us behind in the snow as they blaze down some of the mountain’s most challenging terrain.
To me, that’s the beauty of Winter Park Resort. It’s the kind of place that grows with your family and leaves you with snow-spun memories that last a lifetime. If you’re pondering a ski trip this year, here are 10 reasons why Winter Park Resort is the perfect mountain destination for families, whether it’s their first –– or 50th –– visit.
Relax after a long day on the slopes with a scenic snowcat tour atop Winter Park Resort complete with s’mores and hot cocoa. Credit Winter Park Resort
Winter Park’s family-friendly focus
One of the biggest perks of Winter Park for families like us, who have always skied at different levels, is its varied terrain, which ranges from chill to challenging. Recognized as a top family- and beginner-friendly resort, the mountain has abundant beginner, intermediate and family-friendly trails as well as challenging, more advanced runs to suit families and groups with wide-ranging abilities. Home to more than 3,000 acres of skiable terrain spread out across seven unique territories, skiers and boarders have access to miles of groomers, cruisers, steeps, deeps, trees and glades. Those just starting out will love the beginner-friendly terrain found in Discovery Park, while more expert and advanced skiers can challenge themselves on the steeps and cliffs of Mary Jane or in the extreme double black terrain of the Cirque Territory.
Winter 2025-26 promises to be a season to remember for families skiing at Winter Park Resort. Credit Winter Park Resort
The ease of getting there
Winter Park Resort sits just beyond Colorado’s cosmopolitan capital, and getting to the broad powder-cloaked slopes and wavy mogul-rippled steeps that draw folks here is relatively easy ––not to mention affordable, which is a huge draw when traveling as a family. It’s the closest major ski resort to Denver, sitting just 67 miles away, and multiple airlines offer nonstop, 2-hour flights from Austin. While not nearly as speedy but definitely cheaper, Winter Park Resort is also a drivable destination –– we braved the nearly 16-hour drive from Austin to Winter Park several times throughout the pandemic. Those who want to ditch the mountain traffic from Denver to Winter Park can forego driving altogether.
The only Colorado ski resort where a car isn’t required
Winter Park is the only resort in Colorado with a train that drops off visitors just steps from the slopes. Visitors can dodge the heavy weekend traffic along Interstate 70 and go from plane to train without ever having to rent a car by climbing aboard the Winter Park Express. The Winter Park Express is back with special holiday service beginning on Dec. 19 before resuming regular Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday service Jan. 8 through March 29, 2026. One-way fare prices start at $9 a person and will top out at $39 a person, depending on selected dates and capacity. Children 12 and under are half the adult fare.
Families will love the Coca-Cola® Tube Hill which features multiple lanes, exciting banked curves, and a covered conveyor lift ride back to the top. Credit Winter Park Resort
Find family-friendly fun for everyone
Aside from skiing and snowboarding, Winter Park is known for its vast winter mountain activities, all easily accessible from its base area and perfect for those who don’t want to hit the slopes (and for those who do but are craving more snow-filled adventures). Evening and day-time snowcat tours help guests take in the mountain from the comfort of a heated cabin and allow them to go to 11,000 feet without ever putting on skis or a snowboard. Snowshoe tours, ski bike tours, and scenic gondola rides are other ways guests can experience all that Winter Park has to offer. And, after the sun sets, the whole family can take a scenic gondola ride, celebrate at mountaintop après, or simply stand on the mountain top and take in Colorado’s expansive nighttime skies. Some of our family’s après-ski adventures include racing our kids down the curvy snow tubing lanes at Winter Park’s Coca-Cola Tube Park or taking wintry spins around the ice skating rink. You’ll find a comprehensive list of Winter Park activities here.
Winter Park’s learn to ski guarantee and kids ski free deals
Winter Park Resort is home to one of the state’s best ski and ride schools, offering guest-centered teaching methods through a variety of private and group lessons. Newer skiers and snowboarders will find an array of options for kids and families to learn to ski or to brush up on their skills –– plus some great deals. Winter Park’s “Kids Ski Free” policy offers children 14 and under a free lift ticket with Ski & Ride School lessons, plus free rentals with an adult three-day rental package. The resort’s “Learn-to-Ski Guarantee” is their snow pro’s promise you’ll master at least 10 green runs within three lessons, or your fourth lesson is free. We like to start each trip by booking a private family lesson with an experienced ski instructor, who helps us dust off our skis, guides us through our first day, and sets the tone for a successful week. But we’ve also hired one of Winter Park Resort’s experienced Ski and Ride Guides, local experts who are geared toward skiing with intermediate to expert skiers and riders, which is a great way to get to know the mountain and map out the best trails for your family while you’re there. An added perk? When you ski with an instructor or guide, you get to cut the lift lines.
There’s always a new adventure
One of the things I love most about Winter Park Resort is that no matter how many times we return, our ski experiences are always different, and each trip is filled with new adventures. On our last trip, we tried out skiing by headlamp.
“The headlamp ski experience and it is my favorite way to spend a Saturday night,” says Kate Walker, the Ski & Ride Guide who led our family in our first headlamp experience last spring. “Weekends can be quite crowded at Winter Park, so guests greatly appreciate having empty runs to ski once the mountain closes.”
With the group size limited to 10 guests and two guides, headlamp skiing lends itself to an intimate and memorable experience –– for a couple of hours one evening, our group had the mountain all to ourselves.
“I have been skiing Winter Park for over 30 years and had never skied there at night until we started the headlamp experience,” says Walker. “Every night is unique, innately beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. Seeing the colors of the sky transition from daylight, to alpenglow, to sunset and then total darkness is amazing and it never gets old.”
Winter Park Resort’s Ski by Headlamp experience is offered on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights beginning late December through the end of March.
Celebrate Mary Jane’s 50th Birthday
There are some big things happening at Winter Park Resort his year, but perhaps nothing that’s quite as celebratory as Mary Jane’s major 50-year milestone. Mary Jane, Winter Park’s famed and untamed second mountain, will celebrate 50 years on Jan. 10. Since opening in 1976, Mary Jane has become one of North America’s most iconic ski destinations, renowned for legendary bump runs, secret stashes, and steep tree runs, encapsulating the uninhibited, untamed spirit of skiing and riding. There will be season-long celebrations and commemorations from first chair to late slushy spring tracks –– check them out at www.winterparkresort.com/discover/mary-jane.
Winter Park Resort receives over 344.6 inches of snow annually and has the most consistent snow season after season. Credit Winter Park Resort
One of the longest winter seasons in Colorado
This laid-back, family-friendly resort has a base elevation of 9,000 feet, a 3,060-foot vertical rise, and happens to have one of the longest ski seasons in Colorado. Blessed with more than 344 annual inches of snow and an ideal spot at the end of a high-alpine valley, and enhanced by snowmaking investments, Winter Park boasts some of the most consistent snow in Colorado. Winter Park’s opening date this year was Oct. 31, and skiing and riding and will close out the season sometime in May or even later if conditions are right.
Winter Park’s walkable, self-contained base village
There’s nothing more conducive to a seamless day on the slopes than when it starts and ends right outside your door. The cozy ski village of Winter Park Resort offers close-in lodging for everyone from a young couple to a large family traveling with multiple generations. In the heart of it all, there is a variety of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom condos with the option for guests to rent several units together to create their perfect home away from home. Better yet, you’ll never have to leave the village to get what you need, whether that be rentals, groceries, or entertaining and feeding your hungry crew. In Winter Park’s village, families can fuel up on comfort food and craft beer at a handful of restaurants. Enjoy big-as-your-face fresh-squeezed margaritas and yummy al pastor street tacos at Lime, dig into delicious bites and sip fine wines at Vertical, or snag a seat at Sundog Taproom, offering 30-plus taps of craft beers, wines and cocktails along with pizza and paninis. More at https://www.winterparkresort.com/things-to-do/dining.
Soak in Colorado’s heritage and history
As Colorado’s oldest continuously operating ski resort, Winter Park has spent more than 85 years perfecting the mountain resort experience. There’s a low key, unpretentious vibe that flourishes from the foothills to the summit of this long running ski resort that actually opened as a “winter park” for Denver residents in 1940. Learn more here.
If You Go
Getting there:
There are multiple direct flights between Austin to Denver. Once you land, it’s a 90-mile drive from Denver International Airport to Winter Park Resort. Time your visit with the Winter Park Express –– Winter Park Resort is Colorado’s only ski resort you can get to by train.
Stay:
There’s plenty of family-friendly lodging options in and around Winter Park, but when skiing with kids, there’s nothing more convenient than staying slopeside. Zephyr Mountain Lodge, located at the base of the resort just 110 feet from the lift which features one-, two- and three-bedroom fully equipped condos perfect for families.
Eat + Drink:
Whether you are craving an après ski beer, a memorable mountaintop meal or a family-friendly dinner, you won’t have to leave the resort to find it. Refuel and warm up between runs with sugar waffles hot off the griddle at one of the four Waffle Cabins scattered around the mountain. Stop for lunch midmountain at The Lodge at Sunspot, the two-mile high mountaintop lodge serving up strong drinks and hearty meals alongside panoramic views of the Continental Divide and Rocky Mountains. Or fill up at the base at the village base, sprinkled with nearly a dozen restaurants and eateries.
Insider tip:
It’s worth the investment to hire one of Winter Park’s local guides or book a private family lesson with a certified instructor, whether you want to gain a little confidence on the snow or want a seasoned local to help you map out your ski days for the rest of your trip. An added bonus? You’ll get to cut the lift lines.
