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

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

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

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

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

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

I had the opportunity to experience Keystone on a ski/road trip through Colorado. It wasn't originally on my planned list of places to check out, but it was definitely a worthwhile day. I didn't know the mountain and had to quickly find my way around, and soon realized that some of the hike-to terrain was the way to go. From both the Outback and North Peak, there are some great alpine runs if you are prepared to hike a bit.

There definitely is lots of intermediate terrain that is well lift serviced, so for intermediates, I think this is a great mountain. I was surprised to find night skiing at Keystone, as this isn't the "norm" at typical western ski resorts. I found that pretty cool, and added a different element that you don't see in other resorts in Colorado.

Overall, I think Keystone is a cool place. Only got to spend one day there, but I would definitely go again if I had the chance.

Pros: 1) Good hike-to terrain, 2) Great mountain for intermediates to get tons of runs in a day, 3) Night skiing is unique

Cons: 1) Not the biggest overall terrain See our video here

Keystone is a pretty fun place to ski on a bluebird day, or pretty much any other kind of day. It's easy to rack up lots of vertical feet and the gondola is a welcome shelter from the cold. You can't go wrong on top of Dercum while checking out the view over to Breckenridge. Keystone usually opens a week earlier than Breckenridge which is great if the snow is falling.

Pros: Lots of chill groomers and a cool vibe. Lifts are fast and the staff are friendly. On a typical Colorado day the views are amazing. Night skiing shouldn't be missed because the good vibes just get better after dark. Seriously, fondue at the top of the mountain—yum!

Cons: The tunnel of ice as you work your way to The Outback. Also, be sure to choose your runs wisely if you ride a snowboard because a lot of the runs bottom out into flat Cat tracks. See our video here

Keystone is a fun place and a great place to ski. It's good for both experts and intermediates, but it's best suited to intermediate and advanced skiers. Keystone has three separate peaks. A beginner and intermediate peak is serviced by the first peak, off the Montezuma Express lift. These groomers tend to have good snow and are generally less icy and crowded than some other resorts. For advanced and expert skiers and snowboarders, I recommend the third peak off the Outback Express lift. The best tree runs are below the North Bowl and offer the best spot to ski after a big powder dump. I've had one of my best snow days of all time at Keystone and it was an awesome experience.

Keystone also has night skiing, which is very fun. They close down most of the runs and only have a fun runs open, but it's still fun to be able to take the day past 4:30pm lift closings. A piece of advice to stay off the runs that are open during night skiing, as they tend to get icier than the other runs.

Keystone's ice rink is a very fun place to go after a day of skiing and a great place to go with the family. See our video here

Keystone has some great strengths such as the terrain parks, the grooming, and the intermediate terrain. Another bonus for advanced and expert riders is the Keystone cat skiing.

If you like the buzz of being with lots of people then Keystone is for you. If you dislike parking 3 miles from the lift, or standing in long lift lines, or queuing to get lunch, then Keystone is not for you. Half of Denver seems to be there on the weekends, and unlike resorts like Vail that have experience with crowd management, Keystone doesn’t seem to be quite there. As an example it was a little frustrating standing in long lift queues - there wasn’t a singles line, and the lift attendants let groups of 2 or 3 get on a quad chair.

I’d recommend visiting Keystone for a few days (mid-week) whilst sampling other Colorado ski resorts, rather than choosing Keystone as a stand-alone destination resort for a 1-2 week-long vacation. See our video here