Loveland

Terrain:

There are two different areas to ski and board at Loveland; Loveland Basin and Loveland Valley. Loveland Valley is mainly for beginners who wish to learn how to ski. It is completely separate from Loveland Basin and there is a shuttle that can take you to and from these different areas. Loveland Valley is all blues and greens. This is great for beginners because it gives you plenty of space to learn and never feel embarrassed for falling because everyone else is doing the same.

Loveland Basin on the other hand, holds some fun expert terrain via hiking or cat skiing. Loveland is right over the Eisenhower Tunnel and from the tunnel you can never see the full magnitude of terrain Loveland has to offer. At first glance it looks like a small fun resort. But once you ride up that first lift and truly see what Loveland has to offer, you will be blown away. The terrain above tree line is so open and filled with different bowls, chutes and vastly open runs. Loveland is truly a skier and boarder playground.

There is free cat skiing available on select days with good conditions. You just have to sign a waver and you’re given easy access to sweet expert terrain. As someone who enjoys finding the gnarly terrain at each resort, I quickly tried to do as many cat runs as possible. I had a blast skiing on Marmot to the Rock Chutes; even with not the best conditions, these runs were very fun. Even if you are not an advanced skier, it is worth the cat ride up the top of the ridge just for the view of the rockies. Everywhere you look, you are surrounded by beautiful views of snow capped mountains. You can even see other resorts and various famous peaks like 14ner Greys and Torres.

If you are someone who does not mind a quick hike to get to less tracked out terrain, most runs off of Chair 9 will give you access to great bowls. Loveland has one of the steepest inbounds runs off of Chair 9. This is called Wild Child, which is just over a 50 degree slope angle, so quite steep. This run was my absolute favorite run of the day. It is not steep for long and mellows out at the bottom, but will get your heart racing if you haven’t skied above this angle before. Another great expert run off of Chair 9 is the #4 Headwall, which can be a touch tricky to find because it’s roped off except for the gate entrance. It is roped off for a reason. This area is a small cliff area that seems to pop out of nowhere by the lift. #4 Headwall has a few great drops that don’t need much of a lead into and an open landing run off to slow you down.

If you don’t wish to hike or take the cat, there are some great advanced runs off of Chair 8 and Chet’s Dream. These runs are at tree level, which will keep you out of the wind that Loveland always has. I highly recommend the tree runs on either side of Chair 8. These runs are open for tree runs and once you find your mogul rhythm, it’s like skiing or boarding on a race track. The moguls usually flow well together, are playful and make for very fun runs with friends. When you want to get back to the base, you can ski right up to I-70 and walk through the tunnel underneath it. This run to the tunnel is not for beginners though, because it is steep and you’re skiing around rocks.

The lower part of Loveland Basin is almost all groomed blues and there is even a small terrain park. This terrain park is not for beginners. There are many advanced creative features such as rails, boxes, side hits etc. There are usually not any jumps either. As for the blue terrain, these runs can be narrow so be careful of others. But the blues are great groomed runs to get you where you need to go. The above tree line blues are super open, they give the rider plenty of creativity to explore the terrain how they choose.

Base Elevation – 10,800 ft

Peak Elevation – 13,010 ft

Number of Lifts – 10

Number of Trails – 94

Total Terrain – 1,800 acres

Easiest Terrain (Greens) – 13%

More Difficult Terrain (Blues) – 41%

Most Difficult Terrain (Blacks)  – 20%

Expert Terrain (Double Blacks) -26%

Resort Hours – 9am-4pm Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4pm Saturday-Sunday

Atmosphere and Locals:

I love coming to Loveland for the fun locals. There are always people dressed up having fun skiing. It’s hard to find people at Loveland not having a good day. Since Loveland is not on one of the main Colorado season passes,  Loveland has true Colorado locals who only ski or board at Loveland. They know the mountain like the back of their hand. They are happy to share which runs are the best, where to find good snow and what place has the best beers. It can be hard not to have friendly conversations with people on the lifts, in the snow cat, on the runs or in the bars. The employees also added to this great atmosphere. They are insanely friendly and helpful. They told me about the free cat skiing, where to find the best snow and how to get to the specific runs I wanted.

Accessibility and Parking:

Loveland only has free parking. There is plenty of parking at the base of Loveland Basin and Valley. They also do a great job with overflow parking. If you are in an overflow lot, they will bus you back and forth from the base to your car without hassle. Even when the overflow lots are full, there are still minimal lift lines. 

Loveland is also great because, although it is straight up I-70 from Denver, Loveland is right before the Eisenhower tunnel. This usually means that, on weekends, you do not have to deal with tunnel traffic on the way there or on the way home. This makes for a much smoother, shorter trip to the mountains.

Pricing: $

Lift Tickets – 

Adult (15+): $89

Senior(60+): $65 

Children(6-14): $35

Associated Season Pass – Power Pass

Lessons – 

Adult Group Lessons: $119 (Full Day), $99 (Half Day)

Private Lessons: $179 (2 Hours), $249 (3 Hours), $429 (6 Hours)

Family Private: $479 (Max 4 members 7+)

Youth Group Lessons: $139 (6-14), $149 (4-5 Ski Only)

Rentals – 

Adult (15+)

Ski Package: $42

Skis Only: $32

Ski Boot Only: $18

Snowboard Package: $42

Snowboard Board Only: $32

Snowboard Boots Only: $18

Youth (4-14)

Ski Package: $15 (5 and under)

Ski Package: $28

Skis Only: $21

Ski Boots: $15

Snowboard Package: $15 (5 and under)

Snowboard Package: $28

Snowboard Board Only: $21

Snowboard Boots Only: $15

For more information visit https://skiloveland.com/