Overall Rating

Keystone

Keystone3.5/517
Keystone3.5 out of 5 based on 17 reviews
  • Recommend
    71%
  • Would Revisit
    65%

Keystone - Reviews

Keystone - Reviews

Lacking some basics.

Holly Cullen
14/03/2024
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Intermediate
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Month Visited:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    3

Lacking some basics.

Holly Cullen
14/03/2024
Came with a group. Lots of great trails to ski but greens are so crowded. I’m not a green skier but whenever I needed to ski one they were packed. Rode the lift with a “safety officer” who was saying the number of collisions were off the charts.

But where are the basic amenities? Got to lunch at 1:30 and the ONLY things left were a grilled cheese sandwich or chili. After the price of a lift ticket I would have liked to visit the taco bar (closed) or noodle bar (closed).

No soap or toilet paper in the bathrooms. What is the kitchen staff doing?
See our video here

Where Bubba goes to ski and I chase vert

25/04/2023

Eivind Moen

Powder Enthusiast
Powder Enthusiast

Eivind Moen

Powder Enthusiast
Powder Enthusiast
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Telemarker
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    November
  • Admin Rating
    5

Where Bubba goes to ski and I chase vert

25/04/2023
Powder is scarce, but it can be found...
Beware of Bubba on the mountain
I don't really like Keystone. I've been there a bunch of times, but never later in the season than early December. Massive snow-making investments by Vail Resorts has enabled the mountain to compete with A-Basin on which Colorado resort will open the earliest. For the years when I have the Epic pass, Keystone has therefore been the early season go-to place when i get the itch to go skiing after a long summer break. And early season skiing in Keystone is actually not bad. The lift infrastructure is quite efficient, and if you go on an early season week-day the crowds are also not too bad so you can get a bunch of runs in in one day which makes the place attractive to dust off the skiing technique early season. Most of the runs fall in the blue category which is not a bad thing if you use the resort to get back into things in early season. The runs on the front side are quite fun, and you can log lots of vert on a single run and ultimately in a day. Some of the highest vert-days i've ever had have been there.

But then we get to the off-piste. The number one issue with Keystone is that snow falls are significantly below what the nearby I-70 resorts in Colorado receive. I've found some pow-turns there, but they have rarely been great. A caveat to my review is that i've never hiked up to the Bergman bowl, and with the recent lift installation this area could actually be quite fun for offpiste skiing assuming it actually gets snow and the crowds are tolerable...

The village looks a bit like it was bought at the ski-resort department of IKEA. Fairly newly developed "alpine looking" buildings with about as much soul as it sounds like, straight out of the box.
Apres ski is decent, but far from classy. You don't get Aperol Spritz'es at Keystone, this place is about beer, Jagerbombs, and whiskey shots, all served the best at Kickapoo. A big plus for Keystone is the abundant and free parking, with the crowds and types that such a thing attracts. And that brings me to perhaps my biggest issue with Keystone. The crowds can be HUGE, and this is also where Bubba goes to ski, usually with his family. Don't be surprised at pick ups in the parking lot with "DEEZNUTS" customized license plates (see picture).
So yeah, a decent early season destination. Limited off piste, although that is about to change with the new lift access to Bergman. And don't let Bubba run into you.
I can not recommend the place, but i will be back..
See our video here

Best intermediate skiing in Colorado

Jerry Hofmann
27/03/2023
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    70+
  • Month Visited:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    4

Best intermediate skiing in Colorado

Jerry Hofmann
27/03/2023
I’m a Colorado Native, and started skiing in 1968. Summit County Colorado has to be the epicenter of skiing in our State. 6 major ski areas all close enough together to ski a different one each day from any accommodations in the county. I’ve skied them all over the years. Keystone, hands down, has the best intermediate skiing in the group. There are no less than 9 groomed runs from the Gondola or the Summit express chair the shortest of which is well over 2 miles. Each run has a very different character. If you do each of these twice, you’ll have skied 40 miles… Just can’t do this anywhere else in Colorado.

Any weekend in Colorado in a major resort is busy with locals… so it’s really best to ski any of them weekdays. Or nights in Keystone are amazing…
See our video here

Disappointed - Will NEVER visit again

Chewy
31/12/2022
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Intermediate
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    3

Disappointed - Will NEVER visit again

Chewy
31/12/2022
This is our first year, 2022, going to Keystone. We bought a 3 day pass for our teenagers for 2021/2022 season and they had a fun time. So, for 2022/2023 we bought a 5 day pass, and when we got to the window, they mentioned that we could upgrade for $50 each pass. We did. We asked all kids of questions as we were skiing/snowboarding during the Xmas/New Year time. The pass was valid they said all the time. Great. Xmas week was ok with very rude staff. Very unprofessional staff. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Superhuman, Keystone staff get -2.
Example. One of our skiers was making the last run and was not sure which way to head to get back to the parking lot. There were two staff members and she asked them. One of them replied, "Read the boards, maam." Now - who asks those kids of questions. 1) someone new to the mountain; 2) a beginner as they don't want to go down the black diamond. Also, if the boards were that visible, the skier wouldn't have asked.
Second incident. December 30. We went skiing, as we had he pass. The teenager gets all dressed up and onto the line. When he got to the check point, the guy says, our teenager can't go up. Why? We had the all season pass, said the teenager. The reply from the checkpoint guy, "Get lost kid."
Off we went to the ticket office. They said, our pass did not allow as it had restricted dates. Hold On. When we upgraded, they clearly mentioned we could ski all season. We got completely disappointed, and went off to Loveland Ski Resort and bought a day pass.
Loveland was not as big but the staff was super nice. We go as a family to have fun, and we had a good time at Loveland. The staff were easy going, and explained a few things to us, that made us welcome. Something the idiots at Keystone need to learn. Customer service. Little things go a long way with families. You insult one kid - you insult the whole family. Viva la familia!!
Next year we won't be buying the pass to Keystone. We will be going to Loveland.
Skiing is an expensive sport and the money we spend is disposable income. Between ski passes, coffees, lunches and tchachkis - they just lost $1500 on one family per season. Maybe Keystone management shouldn't have slept through the Economics class........
See our video here

They try really hard

07/03/2022

Robert

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy

Robert

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    51-70
  • Month Visited:
    January
  • Admin Rating
    4

They try really hard

07/03/2022
My bias: I have a love/hate relationship with Keystone. There are so many things to love about this mountain - diversity and size of terrain, access, quality of grooming, night skiing (yes!!!). There are a couple of factors I hate about this mountain, starting with getting off the mountain at the end of the day.

Specifics: Keystone is owned by Vail Associates which will tell you much before you set foot on the mountain. Shameless hyperbole, shameless prices for tickets and food. It also means they have good snowmaking and will generally do more with less than many ski areas. It also means crowds on weekends and holidays although once you get on the mountain it's not as bad in the more challenging portions of the mountain. High speed lifts abound and the gondola is a blessing when the wind kicks up.

Typical Colorado snow quality - can get some good, dry pow but usually a little heavier than ideal. It's pretty great when you have a few inches and have had a day there where it was knee-deep and loads of fun.

This is a Denver-area family-friendly resort, as long as your family can afford it. Good ski school, a lot of beginner and easy-intermediate terrain. This means crowds. The harder runs and some fine trees can be found in the Outback and North Peak areas and there are some fine chutes and bowls if you don't mind hiking a little - take a look at the trail map and you'll see.

My biggest beef with Keystone is getting off the mountain at the end of the day. EVERYONE is funneled into 2 areas to get off. It's a dangerous free-for-all with experts and rank beginners a couple of feet apart trying to get off the last small pitch. I've been hit from behind, have seen other people hit and after 59 years of skiing, it strikes me as the most dangerous egress I can recall. Worse than Lionshead at Vail.

Keystone's location is fantastic in relation to skiing multiple areas over a few days. 7 minutes to Arapahoe Basin, 15 minutes to Breckenridge, 20 to Copper Mountain, 40 to Vail.
See our video here

Jerry Paradise

Pallavicini
23/10/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    N/A
  • Rider Level
    N/A
  • Rider Age
    N/A
  • Admin Rating
    2

Jerry Paradise

Pallavicini
23/10/2019
Its hard to find any redeeming qualities in Keystone for a serious skier.
The mountain gets less snow than every ski area around it, the terrain is lackluster and the crowds are omnipresent.
If you like being told to slow down by mountain cops this might be the place for you.
See our video here

The place you didn't know you loved

Chris
24/11/2015
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Snowboarder
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Month Visited:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    3

The place you didn't know you loved

Chris
24/11/2015
I am a more off- piste backcountry focused snowboarder but I have always enjoyed my time fooling around on resort, Keystone changed that for me. Now I see that off the chair one can find some of the best riding out there. A lift ride up to the bottom of north bowl, a quick walk up to your preferred line and you can drop in to pow turns for days after a storm, provided you know where to look. The best part of keystone is the stuff not even given a name. The powder fields between bowls would make any snowboarder or skier smile. Now through in an amazing park and an all time staff and you have one of the best resorts in America.
See our video here

deceitful prices

Carine
06/01/2015
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    N/A
  • Rider Level
    N/A
  • Rider Age
    N/A
  • Admin Rating
    1

deceitful prices

Carine
06/01/2015
Very deceitful practices regarding ticket prices, both online and on the phone. They do not disclose the price of the window ticket (not even at their actual window!), all the posted prices are supposed to be discounted tickets but since nobody on the phone knows nor is it written online what the actual price of a window ticket is, you have to blindly trust that you are getting up to 25% discount from the window price. I bought a 4 day ticket online thinking I was getting a 25% discount (that's what the computer was telling me and I doubled checked by calling a rep who confirmed). When I got to the window to retrieve my tickets, the posted prices were the same! When I complained about it, they pointed out that those posted prices at the window are the discounted peak prices (indeed in a small corner it says "save with peaks). I have never seen such deceitful practices in any other ski resort.
See our video here

Afternoon at Keystone

Chris Skeehan
23/12/2014
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Snowboarder
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Admin Rating
    3

Afternoon at Keystone

Chris Skeehan
23/12/2014
Went to CO for a long week with my wife and hit up a A-Basin, Vail, Breck, Keystone, and did backcountry with Vale Powder Guides and Keystone Powder Guides.

We only had an afternoon at Keystone on our first day, which we used for some lessons in the trees. The glade trails were great and very accessible. The instructors were very informative and patient. Really enjoyed our time here, but again a little pricy if it weren't for the military discount.
See our video here

Good for families

Greg
22/10/2012
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Admin Rating
    4

Good for families

Greg
22/10/2012
This is the resort you want to take your kids to when they're first learning how to ski.

It is relatively inexpensive and does not have huge crowds or come across nearly as intimidating as some of the bigger resorts.

We had a fine time here, although I just went there one day to try it. It's not exactly my cup of tea only because I do not have a family (I went with the guys) and we like more to tear into the mountain - more extreme skiing - and then party at night (hangover in the morning) kind of thing.

Pros: Great for families, very close to Denver, relatively inexpensive and quiet.

Cons: Not a resort you can go to if you're like me and looking for some extreme skiing and good hardcore nightlife! haha.

Best suited: most definitely for families. I would say if you're an older couple you might like this resort as well.

I would not go here again, until I have a family or am older at least, just because these days I look for the more challenging terrain.
See our video here
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