Skiing & Snowboarding

The 11 Best Ski Resorts in Colorado

With luxurious hotels, fantastic food, and some of the best terrain around, Colorado offers something for everyone.

By 

Todd Plummer

 |  November 12, 2024

Colorado is a land of majestic mountains, warm hospitality, and more powder than any skier would know what to do with. Skiing here is an exercise in duality — it’s a place where luxurious resorts meet a truly rugged skiing experience, with terrain and destinations suited to skiers of all abilities and inclinations. Some towns cater to luxury travelers and have Michelin-starred fine dining and five-star hotels, and others still have an unpretentious Gold Rush–era charm. From the highly accessible Front Range (where some resorts can be reached in under an hour drive from Denver) to the remote San Juan Mountains on the state’s western edge (reachable by private jet), there is a multiverse of skiing to explore in the Centennial State.

If you’re planning to ski at multiple resorts, be sure to check which ski passes they accept. While the Epic Pass has more ski destinations, the Ikon Pass offers access to some of the best ski resorts in Colorado. The main question is: Where will this winter bring you?

The 11 Best Ski Resorts in Colorado

Best All-Around: Aspen

The alpha and omega of Colorado ski towns, Aspen truly offers something for every type of skier. Aspen Snowmass is one of the largest ski resorts in Colorado, encompassing four mountains — Aspen Mountain, Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, and Buttermilk — with a gargantuan 5,500 acres of skiable terrain. Be warned: Aspen Mountain is for intermediate and expert skiers only, but Snowmass has a plethora of beginner-friendly trails and is a short drive away (read more below). The real draw of this ski resort though is the lifestyle. This town caters to everyone from serious skiers to non-skiers, making this a solid all-around destination.

In terms of shopping and dining, you’ll find a lot of familiar names here that you’ll also find in major cities. These names include Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, and Prada, as well as Sant Ambroeus Coffee Bar and Matsuhisa, a world-class sushi restaurant by chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Aspen also benefits from a fabulous hotel scene, including the ski-in, ski-out The Little Nell, a Relais & Châteaux property. The historic Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection, which has roots dating back to Aspen’s Gold Rush era, is another fabulous ski resort in Colorado. The St. Regis Aspen Resort has an incredible spa with an oxygen bar that can help you combat altitude sickness before a decadent massage. The newcomer Mollie Aspen has contemporary rooms and a sceney bar conceived by the same group behind the famed Death & Co cocktail bar in New York.

Don’t forget the ultimate Aspen souvenir: a bespoke cowboy hat from Kemo Sabe. Check out our ultimate Aspen travel guide for insider tips on staying in the famous mountain resort town.

Best for Intermediate Skiers: Snowmass

If you’re looking to see, be seen, and shop at Hermès, stay in Aspen; if you’re looking to clock some serious skiing, stay in neighboring Snowmass, one of the best ski resorts in Colorado. Snowmass Village’s layout lends itself to more ski-in, ski-out accommodations, which means less time schlepping with gear and more time on the slopes. Check out the Viceroy Snowmass, which has an array of one-, two-, and three-bedroom rooms — an excellent option for groups. It also offers an extended stay option to turn your Snowmass ski trip into a one or two-month stay. 

Best for Advanced Skiers: Crested Butte

Steep trails, deep powder, and backcountry-style skiing — you’ll find it all here at Crested Butte, a remote resort town that is a bucket list destination for advanced skiers. If you’re looking for a five-star hotel with a spa and ski concierge, you may want to try one of Colorado’s glitzier ski towns. Crested Butte isn’t the type of place where you go for multicourse caviar tastings for après-ski — it’s where you head down to the dive bar and ply the local ski bums for the whereabouts of their favorite powder stashes. If a rugged and challenging ski trip sounds appealing, then Crested Butte is for you.

Best for Hotels: Vail

Vail offers expansive terrain — 5,317 skiable acres of it — and a base village inspired by the great European ski towns. On the mountain, make sure to experience the legendary back bowls, which offer adventures and the deepest powder for advanced skiers. At the base, the diversity of hotel offerings stands out.

Vail’s most iconic hotel is the family-owned Sonnenalp, which has offered European-style hospitality for over 40 years. Grand Hyatt Vail is perfect for families with its fantastic (heated) outdoor pool, ski-in, ski-out access, and dedicated chairlift with ski valet. Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail, has a superb spa, including a Spa Dual Suite ideal for couple’s massages, and wonderful restaurants. The intimate Gravity Haus Vail has just 27 rooms and a “Vail Vitality Center,” a gym that also offers fitness classes, nutrition counseling, regenerative medicine, and chiropractic work. Plan your next trip with the help of our guide to the perfect long weekend in Vail.

Best for Families: Beaver Creek

Traveling with the kids in tow? Consider Beaver Creek, a ski resort in Colorado with beginner and intermediate terrain parks for skiers and riders. The village offers a range of amenities to make your stay as seamless as possible — like heated sidewalks and covered escalators.

In town, check out the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, a family-friendly hotel with a fantastic spa (try the Colorado Wild Rose Cure, a restorative massage that incorporates local botanicals). A few minutes away, the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch is as quintessential a Western ski hotel as you’ll find anywhere, with its soaring timber and stone architecture and warm hospitality. It also has a dedicated team of ski butlers to coordinate rentals and get everyone’s gear sorted. Wherever you end up staying, be sure to book a guided ski lesson — the instructors here are incredibly experienced at working with children and can show you the best skiing areas. 

Best Powder: Wolf Creek

Visitors don’t come to Wolf Creek for five-star hotels or award-winning dining — they come here for the powder, and Wolf Creek claims to receive the most of it in all of Colorado. For that reason, it has accrued a cult following, and visitors will come from far and wide to experience Wolf Creek’s powder. This is one of the state’s few family-owned ski resorts, so the experience is still delightfully low-fi. (Read: There isn’t a Louis Vuitton boutique in the base area.) The ski resort offers an abundance of tree skiing, as well as challenging chutes, bowls, and steeps for advanced skiers. There are also more relaxed and wide-open groomers for intermediate skiers. 

Best for Low-Key Luxury: Telluride

If Telluride were more accessible, it would’ve probably developed the way Aspen has — but due to its marginally more remote location on the western side of the state, this charming Gold Rush–era town has remained delightfully low-key (which is why VIPs like Oprah and Ralph Lauren have homes in the area). Two airports service Telluride: Montrose Regional Airport, which is 90 minutes away, and Telluride Regional Airport, just six miles west of town. Montrose has seasonal direct flights from 11 major cities across the US while Telluride has more limited flights. You can fly directly on a private jet or fly commercially if you don’t mind connecting through Denver or Phoenix. 

For such a small town, you’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to hotels. The sprawling rooms at Lumière with Inspirato offer residential-style privacy, and the Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection has a tranquil spa with Alpine-inspired treatments. The award-winning five-room Dunton Town House offers a uniquely homey approach to Telluride — and for an added treat, book a night at the nearby Dunton Hot Springs, a converted ghost town with geothermal hot springs that make for a fantastic recovery after a few days of skiing Telluride’s legendary slopes.

Best for a Western Atmosphere: Steamboat

Despite its growth in recent years, Steamboat has managed to retain its authentically Western vibe. Situated in the historic Yampa Valley, a former Ute hunting ground, this region offers panoramic vistas and plenty of wide, open spaces (whereas the more developed resort towns can feel a little busy). To be close to the ski lifts, stay at the Steamboat Grand, which has an expansive outdoor pool and hot tub area for a post-ski soak. Twenty-five miles up the road, you’ll find Vista Verde Ranch, a luxury guest ranch offering all the Western experiences you could hope for, including horseback riding in the snow. A little closer to the slopes, one of the most unique accommodations to book is Falconhead Lodge North, a five-bedroom house with over 7,000 square feet of space. It features the stone and timber construction so typical of this region and offers expansive views over the town. 

Best for Proximity to Denver: Winter Park

At just 90 minutes from Denver, it’s tough to beat the convenience of Winter Park. It offers over 3,000 acres of diverse terrain, from kid-friendly groomers to steep and narrow chutes. The resort does a particularly good job at managing its moguls, so this is where you’ll find some of the best bump skiing in Colorado. If you’re looking to stay overnight, the ski-in, ski-out Zephyr Mountain Lodge is where you’ll want to stay. If you’re making a day trip out of it from Denver, then stay at the buzzy and brand-new “carbon negative” hotel, Populus.

Best for Night Skiing: Keystone

Nothing kills the vibe of a perfect ski day faster than realizing the lifts are about to close, but you still have a few hours’ worth of energy to expend. The party continues past the usual stop time at this unpretentious Colorado resort. With one of the best (and only) night skiing setups in the state, Keystone keeps operating its lifts and gondolas well past the usual 4:00 PM stop time, with night skiing until 7:00 PM on most weekends and holiday periods throughout the winter (check its website for the complete list of night-skiing dates). 

Catch the sunset from the summit for an unforgettable Rocky Mountain experience, then make your way down the long, illuminated runs with barely a fraction of the daytime crowds in sight. You won’t find a village at the base filled with luxury hotels and over-the-top amenities — but an unfussy experience is what Keystone is all about.

Best Local Favorite: Arapahoe Basin

In Colorado, calling something a “local favorite” does not mean it’s in any way secondary. On the contrary — “A-Basin” offers spine-tingling steeps and is one of the highest-elevation ski resorts in Colorado and North America, meaning its season typically goes longer than anywhere else in the state. Speaking of locals, you’re sure to encounter them in the parking lot, where tailgating is a beloved tradition, and the après-ski scene is more about swapping stories than ordering Champagne. For everything, there is a season — and if you want the full Colorado ski-bum experience, this is where to find it.

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