Finding new family-friendly adventures at Winter Park Resort

By: Mauri Elbel

December, 2023

Winter Park Resort, Colorado’s longest continually operated ski resort, is one of our family’s favorite spots to ski. In fact, since our first family ski trip to Winter Park Resort in 2017, we’ve returned a half dozen times –– mainly, because we love the low-key vibe and varied terrain these snow-blanketed slopes tucked away in the high country corner of the Rockies is known for.

Writer Mauri Elbel and her family skiing together at Winter Park Resort.

Winter Park Resort is also fairly easy to get to –– it’s the closest major ski resort to Denver, sitting just 67 miles away, and multiple airlines offer nonstop, 2-hour flights from Austin. It’s also the only ski resort in Colorado you can get to and from without a car if you time your trip right. Starting in mid-January, passengers 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 seasonal train picks up passengers at Union Station in downtown Denver and delivers them straight to Winter Park Resort every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the end of March. From Denver’s airport, take the A-Line to Union Station in downtown Denver, stay the night, then hop on the Winter Park Express in the morning to swap downtown Denver adventures with snowy mountain thrills.

But one of the biggest perks of skiing at Winter Park Resort for families like us, who all ski at different levels, is its varied terrain which ranges from chill to challenging. 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 advanced and expert skiers can challenge themselves on the steeps and cliffs in the extreme, double-black diamond terrain of the Cirque Territory. Our boys typically gravitate to the Mary Jane Territory, known for its world-class bumps, thrilling tree skiing and wide-open alpine bowls.

Winter Park Resort is known for its varied terrain, which ranges from chill to challenging. Credit Winter Park Resort

Because of this, Winter Park is a ski resort that grows with your family. On our first ever ski trip to Winter Park Resort in 2017, we dropped off our kids, then 3, 6 and 9, each day at Ski and Ride school to learn the basics while my husband and I skied solo each day. Fast forward six years and just as many ski trips, and our older boys, now 12 and 15, spend their ski days blazing down some of the most challenging terrain on the mountain. My husband and I can still keep up with our daughter, now 9, but we know it’s only a matter of time –– or a few more trips –– until she passes us up, too.

Winter Park Resort is ideal for families. Photo by Mauri Elbel

But that’s the thing I probably love most about Winter Park Resort –– no matter how many times we return, our ski experiences are always different, and each trip is filled with new experiences.

Just this season, Winter Park Resort opened the new six-person, high-speed Wild Spur Express Lift –– a Leitner Poma lift with a ride time of 6.7 minutes and capacity to move 2,400 people up the mountain in an hour. The Wild Spur Express is the only lift that serves Vasquez Ridge terrain, which is nearly 285 acres of mostly blue intermediate trails and more advanced, steeper bump runs, allowing intermediate and advanced skiers and riders to maximize their on-mountain time on the terrain they want.

Below are a few more new experiences we discovered on our most recent trip to Winter Park Resort.

Writer Mauri Elbel and family ride the gondola up the mountain to ski the day with Winter Park Resort guide Kevin Mitchell.

Ski with a Local Guide

These days, we typically start our ski trip by booking a private family lesson with an experienced ski instructor –– and Winter Park has one of the state’s best ski and ride schools with instructors we’ve consistently found to be incredibly positive and motivating. Over the years, we’ve had a handful of different instructors, each who could teach our kids and build their confidence on skis in a way that neither my husband nor I are skilled (or patient) enough to do.

But during our last trip, we swapped family lessons for a ski day with Kevin Mitchell –– one of Winter Park Resort’s experienced Ski and Ride Guides who has more than 35 years of Winter Park skiing under his belt. If you’re looking for the best way to get the most out of your ski trip at Winter Park Resort, hitting the slopes with a local guide is the way to do it. Guides are local experts who are geared toward skiing with any ability level, from intermediate to expert skiers and riders. (Although guides are local experts, they don’t provide lessons, so if improving skills is your goal, you’ll be better off booking lessons with a certified instructor).

Rather, hiring a local guide helps you map out the best –– and most fun –– trails for your family for the duration of your entire trip. Skiing with Mitchell that first day on the mountain amplified our ski days for the rest of the week. Not only did he let us in on the lesser-known hidden gems and least-crowded runs on the mountain, but he also helped us pick the trails that would be fun for our older boys and still doable for our daughter. Mitchell also peppered us with local mountain lore throughout our time skiing together, and by the time the lifts closed, we felt more connected to the mountain than any trip before. Another unexpected perk? When you ski with a guide, you get to cut the lift lines. Select your guide and personalize your ski day here.

Soak in the mountain scenery and get a cardio workout on a Summit Snowshoe Tour at Winter Park Resort. Photo by Mauri Elbel

Snowshoe through higher alpine terrain

One morning following the previous day’s epic powder dump, sunshine spread across the snow, making it sparkle like a field of diamonds against a bright bluebird sky. I left my husband and kids on the slopes and set out to join a group Summit Snowshoe Tour led by Winter Park guide James Barks.

As Barks led us to jaw-dropping vistas of the Continental Divide and adjacent ranges, he would share the local history and ecology of Fraser Valley each time we paused to catch our breath. Along with stunning mountain views, snowshoeing through Winter Park’s higher alpine terrain, blanketed in soft, deep summit snow, came with a stellar cardio workout. I’m a runner, and while the elevation gain was minimal, I still got a heart-pumping workout trekking through the deep snow for a couple of miles. Tours, offered twice daily, depart from the top of The Gondola, accommodate groups up to 14, and average around two hours from start to finish. Book your snowshoeing experience ($54) here.

Warm up between runs with sugar waffles hot off the griddle at one of the four Waffle Cabins scattered around the mountain. Photo by Mauri Elbel

Après-ski slope side adventures

After we clicked out of our skis each day, we found plenty of post-slope snowy fun during our evenings at Winter Park Resort. One afternoon, we raced our kids down the curvy snow tubing lanes at Winter Park’s Coca-Cola Tube Park before warming up with hot chocolate. Another night, we laced up our skates and took some spins around the ice skating rink, located in the heart of Winter Park Village –– glow night skating is offered Thursday through Saturday nights throughout the winter.

We tacked the sweetest ending onto our trip the last evening and set out on a snowcat and s’mores tour adventure. As the snowcat purred up the mountain to Vasquez Ridge, we watched the sun set, and by the time we headed back to the base, stars were spackled brightly across the coal black sky. But the highlight for the kids was up at the top where we sunk our teeth into gooey s’mores and sipped beverages (some for the adults, too). The tour price ($99 per person) includes the snowcat tour, s’mores, and a beverage. Find a comprehensive list of Winter Park activities 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. Starting mid-January, 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 with kids and all of the accompanying ski gear, there’s nothing more conducive to a seamless day on the slopes than when it starts and ends right outside your door. We like to stay at 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:

Our kids love to 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 –– Doc’s Roadhouse boasts comfort food and a full bar serving craft beers and whiskey flights; Lime serves big-as-your-face fresh-squeezed margaritas and yummy al pastor street tacos; and Vertical has delicious plates and a solid wine list. Sundog Taproom is a brand new spot, 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.

Insider tip:

If you know how to ski but you aren’t familiar with the mountain, hire a local expert to be your guide at the beginning of the trip to map your ski days for the rest of your time on the mountain.