Near Silverthorne, Colorado, Keystone is a terrific ski resort with seemingly endless terrain for all ski levels. I went April skiing with my 10-year-old to finish out the season before we transition to summer of hiking, camping, and more.
In this video below we will travel a 3.5 mile green slope from the top of the resort to the base.
In the distance you will be able to see Dillon Reservoir at 2:38 in the distance.
Our ski and snowboard journey took us to Loveland Ski Area which sits right off the I-70 at the entrance to the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnel at the continental divide. This ski area is more basic with lifts in two areas (Loveland Valley and Loveland Basin), a few eateries, a rental shop and no on-site lodging.
We actually found that the Basin area is much more enjoyable than the Valley area. The Valley area has only a couple lifts and is meant for beginner skiers and snowboarders. Since my kids have progressed tremendously in one season we had no reason to spend much time in this area which was also quite crowded.
After returning by shuttle bus to the Basin area we had more fun on more interesting terrain and it was also less crowded (and the people actually less rude and willing to wait in line to get onto the lifts).
While we enjoyed the nearby Arapahoe Basin area which is just over Loveland Pass when we went to it a few years ago, Loveland was somewhat disappointing overall. We’ll head further on to a larger resort next time we go skiing.
We had an overall good time spending Thanksgiving weekend at Crested Butte, CO. This early in the season not all the runs were open but the man-made snow was better than expected (winter is starting late this year). Also a lot of the resort and the town as a whole wasn’t quite up and running as it would be in the middle of ski season.
We saw a surprising amount of wildlife too. Lots of bighorns, a red fox, and some stellar jays in the photos below.
Overall I don’t think we’d go back at Thanksgiving just because it’s not prime skiing time, but the slopes weren’t busy and it was easy to get the kids practice time. Daniel is just starting to learn the snowboard while Evan has a few lessons under his belt on the skis. We’ll be skiing again in the next couple months.
At Crested Butte on a couple different runs. I was holding the camera so I had to be a bit careful.
Trav-Art 