Winter Park

Terrain:

Winter park likes to divide their terrain into seven territories, which each hold their own charm. These seven territories are Winter Park, Vasquez Ridge, Terrain Park, Mary Jane, Parsenn Bowl, The Cirque and Eagle Wind. I usually divide Winter Park into two different sides; the Winter Park and Mary Jane sides. The Winter Park side which includes the Vasquez Ridge, Terrain Park and Winter Park territories, with the Cirque and Eagle Wind territories as the back bowl of the Winter Park. Finally the Mary Jane side which has the Mary Jane and Parsenn Bowl territories.

I usually stick to the Mary Jane side when I am skiing here because of the fun advanced terrain. Mary Jane has some of the best tree runs in Colorado. Which can be found on the runs around the Challenger Lift. These trees are the best because I never see them crowded due to the sheer amount of possible tree runs. There are also a few hidden mountain huts and caves spread throughout the trees. These are great places to stop, take a break, look at the views and eat a snack. Many mountains have hidden huts, but Winter Park has some of the biggest. There is a three story hut that you would think would be easy to find, but if you don’t know exactly where it is, you would think it didn’t exist. There are about 10-15 different huts and caves at Winter Park, so keep your eyes peeled while you’re enjoying some tree runs. Even though I consider myself a local, I only know where three of these huts are.

The Mary Jane side also has an amazing open bowl, that is a blast on powder days. This bowl is not just for advanced skiers and boarders though. Because it is so open, a lot of the terrain is blues and blue blacks. This is a perfect bowl for intermediate skiers. This bowl will get very crowded on a powder day, so be ready to wait if you want fresh tracks. Since the bowl is so open the lift crowds get spread out so you are finding yourself with open runs clear of other skiers and boarders.

When I make it over to the Winter Park side, it is mainly to ski the park or do some fast laps with friends. This side has more of the beginner and intermediate terrain. Some of my favorite memories of learning to ski with my family are all on the Winter Park side. This base area tends to be more crowded than the Mary Jane side. 

When going to the parks, Ash Cat and Re-Railer are my favorites. Ash Cat is a great beginner park with boxes and a fun S/M jump line that is perfect to learn simple grabs. When getting into park I would spend hours in this park. I work my way up to the Re-Railer park because it has a bigger M jump line and tons of rail features. The other parks at Winter Park are either mini starter parks or advanced parks with L features. Unlike other terrain parks at resorts I have found that Winter Park’s are often not as crowded. Usually you have to wait your turn in a big group of people, but more often than not you can find that the terrain park is pretty empty and take your time on the features you want to hit.

Winter Park has an amazing back bowl that is often overlooked. Most people know of the Cirque, which is the first place locals will go on a powder day if it is open. But Eagle Wind holds more amazing tree runs as well. Eagle Wind Lift only has advanced terrain. This Lift is rarely used and even days after a good storm you can still find fresh snow. I love skiing at this lift because it is less crowded and even quiet. When going through the trees here I like to stop and take a moment to enjoy the peacefulness of the backside of Winter Park. Eagle Wind does take some work to get to and if often closed on windy days, so when given the opportunity I always try to get a few laps in.

Then, the Cirque is very popular for advanced skiers who like the feel of backcountry terrain, but still be in the resort. All of the Cirque terrain you have to hike to or spend $20 on a Cirque pass to take the sled which brings you to the best terrain. They open and close the Cirque all the time. If you catch the Cirque on an open day, there will be a rush of locals wanting to get fresh tracks, but don’t worry there is plenty of terrain for everyone to get some fresh snow. This area is very hard to do multiple laps on because it takes multiple lifts to get in. There are some amazing cliffs, chutes and headwalls which makes the Cirque the perfect advanced skier or boarder playground.

Base Elevation – 9,000 ft

Peak Elevation – 12,060 ft

Number of Lifts – 25

Number of Trails – 166

Total Terrain – 3,081 acres

Easiest Terrain (Greens) – 24%

More Difficult Terrain (Blues) – 22%

Most Difficult Terrain (Blacks)  – 50%

Expert Terrain (Double Blacks) – 4%

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

Atmosphere and Locals:

I grew up skiing at Winter Park and would consider myself to be a local of the mountain. Winter Park holds a good place in my heart because I mainly learned how to ski here. My family has been going there for as long as I can remember. This is because we love the atmosphere that Winter Park has. To me Winter Park, especially the Mary Jane side, has some of the most down to earth mountain loving riders. It is a great place for families to enjoy and friends to get together.

In my experience, Winter Park does not get as much tourism from other states as many other big resorts off of I-70 do. Thus the majority of the locals that ski and ride here are Coloradoans coming from the front range or already live near Winter Park. In fact, a few of my ski buddies have moved to Winter Park and have made it their permanent home because they love the mountain’s terrain and atmosphere so much.

Since there are two sides of Winter Park, the Winter Park and the Mary Jane side they both have their own personality. The Winter Park side is more family oriented and gives off the vibe of being like many other resorts. The Mary Jane side is catered towards a more rambusious local crowd. This is where you can find the local college kids and advanced skiers lapping. The locals love both sides and can’t get enough of the great terrain Winter Park has to offer.

Accessibility and Parking:

The Mary Jane side offers free parking and has many different lots to choose from. There is only one main parking lot at the base, the other lots lie along the resort outskirts. You either have to catch the bus from the furthur lots and roads to the base or you can hike a bit and ski down to the base. Then, on the Winter Park base side, there are more paid parking areas where you can take a small gondola to the base. There is also a free lot on this side as well. 

A huge bonus of driving to Winter Park is the great view of HWY 40. . This is one of my favorite drives because of the gorgeous views of the mountains through Berthoud Pass. Even though you spend some time getting from Denver to Winter Park on I-70, more of your time is on HWY 40. HWY 40 does get a lot of snow and can be quite tedious after a storm. I have gotten stuck in a few storms over this pass and as long as I take it slow, I have never had a problem on this road.

Pricing: $$

Winter Park has the usual cafeteria restaurant areas for food, but there are some less expensive options as well. There is a great pizza place at the base of the Mary Jane side that has $2.50 slices. Up stairs from the pizza place the cafeteria offers $3 pints after 2:30pm. Thus making a late lunch quite inexpensive for a popular ski resort.

Lift Tickets – 

Adult(13-69): $169

Senior(70+): $84

Children(6-12): $69

Associated Season Pass – Ikon Pass

Lessons – 

Kids Group Lessons (3-14): $197 (Full Day), $152 (Half Day)

Private Lessons: $800 (Full Day), $575 (AM Half Day), $530 (PM Half Day), $161 (First Tracks, 1.5 Hours)

Adult Group Lessons (15+): $153 (Full Day), $129 (Half Day)

Rentals – (Ski & Board)

Junior (12 & Under): $34.00

Sport: $47.00

Performance: $52.00

High Performance: $57.00

Demo: $67.00

For more information visit https://www.winterparkresort.com/