Monday Jan 21 2008
Sunday’s Denver Post features a graphic/map of Colorado’s smaller ski areas.
Included are the popular Loveland and Eldora areas, unarguably the closest and most accessible to the Denver metro area, save for the new Echo Mountain. Also charted are Monarch and Wolf Creek, towards the southwest corner of the state.
It’s a great summary and orientation for those planning a Colorado ski trip sans condos, large hotels, and spas.
I would have added Arapahoe Basin. (pictured left.) Perhaps because it’s just down the road from Keystone it gets lumped into the Summit County megaresorts. Not quite as old timey feeling as the others, but still a place where you can park on site, lunch in a large dining hall, split up and still easily meet up at the base or picnic back at the car with the dogs.
Being a long time skier I chose this place to take on my first serious snowboard session last season. It remains to be decided if I’ll do it again.
List and graphic here. More of my A-Basin photos.
a p.s. tip: For car-free visitors to Denver the Eldora Ski Area, west of Boulder in Nederland, is served by RTD’s “N” route.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:54 am
Colorado Ski Country USA has a promotion called the Gems of Colorado to showcase these small areas — the ones that people nostalgically describe as “the kind of place where I learned to ski.” I am glad that they are getting spotlighted (I’ve written about them individually and collectively for years too, in a “day job” as a freelance writer). I would add to POST cointributor Linda DuVal’s recommendation the suggestion that people not only ski/ride at some of these areas occasionally, but buy lunch or a bowl of soup or a cookie or an apres-ski beer. These small, endearing and very seasonal places can’t stay in business on nostalia and goodwill.
Claire @ http://travel-babel.blogspot.com
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Absolutely. For the same reason I choose to frequent independent coffee shops, or small local grocers like Pappa’s.
Megaresorts with onsite condos, rec centers, and an international crowd are great. They bring a wealth of tourist dollars into our state. But I love having the smaller places as a choice too - especially when family and friends visit. It’s our duty to support them and keep them around…