Winter Park

Winter Park

Overall Rating

Winter Park

Winter Park3.5/517
Winter Park3.5 out of 5 based on 17 reviews
  • Recommend
    71%
  • Would Revisit
    59%

Winter Park - Reviews

Winter Park - Reviews

2023 Winter Park Review

28/02/2024

Michael George

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy

Michael George

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Month Visited:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    4

2023 Winter Park Review

28/02/2024
I visited Winter Park this past spring and have some mixed feelings about the resort. Winter Park is divided into two parts, the Mary Jane side of the mountain and the Winter Park side. Those two parts are vastly different from one another and I will parse the review out into those two sides.

First the Mary Jane side of the mountain. Mary Jane is the most legendary mogul skiing in the United States, rivaling Deer Valley. The terrain winds down spaced out glades and side hits that make laps on Challenger lift and Sunnyside dreamy. Visiting in late march of last season, the snow was soft and the sun was out. There is a grungy feeling to the Mary Jane side of the mountain that draws parallels to A-Basin. The runs, being entirely made up of moguls, will wear you out very quickly. But it is all worth it when you can ride it out down to your car and take a break for a quick car lunch and drink.

Now to the Winter Park side. This side of the mountain is a swirling concoction of beginners and dead flat terrain. The lines are also much longer on this side. If you are an advanced or expert level skier, avoid this area at all costs. I do not have anything good to say about it. On the contrary, if you are a beginner skier or boarder and want long runs of easy terrain to practice on, this is one of the best places to learn.

The town of Winter Park is very lowkey and honestly quiet. There is plenty of lodging options but do not expect a spectacular ski town with tons of restaurants and bars. Lift infrastructure is top of the line and all very well placed to navigate the resort fluidly. It also seems that Winter Park gets more snow that other nearby resorts when storms come in, being close to the continental divide.

This ski resort is very family oriented and great for day trips for families in the Denver area. I would only recommend this resort for out of state visitors if you are a beginner skier who does not want to break the bank on your ski vacation. For my college group, it was a great place for the majority of people on the trip, but left some room to be desired for the more advanced skiers.
See our video here

Great Resort When There's a Lot of Snow, Decent for Intermediates, Better Options for Beginners and Advanced Skiers

24/10/2023

Jake

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy

Jake

Powder Puppy
Powder Puppy
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Month Visited:
    March
  • Admin Rating
    4

Great Resort When There's a Lot of Snow, Decent for Intermediates, Better Options for Beginners and Advanced Skiers

24/10/2023
Skied here in March of 2022, right before the resort got piled on with snow. Did not stay on resort property (VRBO in the town of Winter Park).

If you're a beginner or have friends/kids that want to learn to ski, pick a different resort. The only beginner-friendly terrain is right at the base of the mountain and gets very crowded with other beginners and guys trying to get to the terrain park.

If you've got a decent hang of skiing groomers, the two areas for you are the lower skier's-left side of "Winter Park" and most of Vasquez Ridge. There's several long groomers that will keep you entertained, along with some more open sections of "glades" to build confidence with trees. Once you're confident with those move on to Parsenn bowl. It's a little steeper but very smooth and has great views. To learn moguls, go to the main blue runs on the Mary Jane side.

The only intense smooth groomer is right in front at the winter park base but it is a riot. Can definitely clock high speeds on it. If you love groomed moguls (I don't haha) Mary Jane will be your paradise.

If you like skiing trees, the trees below Parsenn bowl and within Mary Jane are a riot. You just end up lapping them a lot. If there's not a lot of snow (like when I went), Mary Jane's trees get very bumpy. The Mary Jane chutes also get very sketchy when there's not much snow. Eagle Wind has a slow lift and gets skied out very quickly, but if you catch it on a powder day it would be heaven.

The Cirque is fun, but takes a while to get to (even with the Cat) and is very short. I did a headwall chute and one run on the bowl portion of it and didn't bother going back.

In terms of apres, Winter Park is good for the lowkey type. There aren't really any rowdy bars or ultra-luxury places to eat, just a lot of decent restaurants that close early. The bus system does a good job of getting people around town.
See our video here

First time

Kim Babin
28/12/2022
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Beginner
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    4

First time

Kim Babin
28/12/2022
This was our first time to Winter Park and my boys first time snowboarding, so we don’t have much to compare to.
We only ski/snowboarded 2 days but it was wonderful. We had the best time!!
The first day was a Thursday for lessons. The instructors were new but friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.
We rented snow mobiles the second day and went back to the slopes on Saturday.
We caught the end of the off peak season and I booked all of ours tickets in advance which cut cost for us a little.
It was expensive, but nothing too different from any other "touristy" town.
To eat out was about $20/person after tip.
After reading some reviews I decided to book a little condo about 10 minutes down the road, In Trailhead.
It was fantastic!!
Clean, quiet and spacious with absolute gorgeous views.
Would love to venture to a another spot next year but wouldn’t hesitate to go back to winter park either.
Things closed down somewhat early, so it’s hard to rate the nightlife.
Although we were exhausted, so it’s probably just as well.
See our video here

Mountain and Condo

Jio Provenzano
31/12/2021
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    2

Mountain and Condo

Jio Provenzano
31/12/2021
Where do I start with this place? Ever since I got here it has been living hell fire, ranging from terrible ski slopes, terrible service, outstandingly terrible layout of this park. This morning I got woken up by the fire alarm just to find out the fireman telling me it was a fire drill.
The slopes all are closed yet we’re getting almost a foot of snow every day, yet the slopes that are open now are short and none are in my difficulty area and the ones that are challenging only go on for about 30 seconds before I need to take the lift up again to go down.

Another thing about this place that is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS is the food, and the service of the workers at the ski rental and workers at the lifts. I have not found one person this trip who has made me enjoy my stay here at Winter Park. As these things have been said this is my very last time and all my relatives, family, friends, my friends friends, my friends family’s, VERY last time coming or even thinking about coming to winter park. On that note you will never hear or see me ever again come close to this living hell hole that they call winterpark.
See our video here

Was the bargain of Colorado until new ownership took over

Kenneth Doyle Coe
03/12/2021
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Intermediate
  • Rider Age
    70+
  • Month Visited:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    3

Was the bargain of Colorado until new ownership took over

Kenneth Doyle Coe
03/12/2021
We skied Winter Park for 18 years without missing a year. The skiing experience on Mary Jane mountain was absolutely wonderful, with tree covered glades (but not too tight, just right). Free shuttle service to everywhere. The Vintage hotel became our standard place to stay. We wouldn't consider going anywhere else but Winter Park. They had a 4 day pass that was so reasonable we couldn't believe it. This was the bargain of the skiing sport! UNTIL:

I guess all good things have to end. Winter Park ended for us about 2 years ago when it was sold to "new enthusiastic" owners. Enthusiastic about making money, apparently. A stay at the Vintage hotel would now cost just about exactly TWICE what it did two years ago. The four day pass which we initially purchased for $179 would now cost $499! As best I can tell (their web site is as difficult to interpret as most are these days) seems to indicate that equipment rentals are about twice as expensive as well.

Overall, a ski trip that cost about $1100 two or three years ago would cost about $2500 now.

Winter Park, we love you and it was a great ride, but it's over for us. You are obviously catering to a much richer class of people that us working folks from Arkansas.
See our video here

Excellent resort

Sara Moore
24/02/2020
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Intermediate
  • Rider Age
    36-50
  • Month Visited:
    February
  • Admin Rating
    2

Excellent resort

Sara Moore
24/02/2020
Just returned from a week skiing in Winter Park. I can safely say that we all had a great time. The snow was excellent, the runs were beautiful, lift lines were non -existant. Ski rentals were great , quality was very good. Boots were comfortable!.
See our video here

Why Winter Park is Awesome

Robert
12/12/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    12-17
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    2

Why Winter Park is Awesome

Robert
12/12/2019
Winter Park is such an amazing resort in Colorado. The transportation at Winter park is unusual. You can come to Winter Park by train that drops you right off at the base of the mountain right by the Gondola. The cabriolet is always fun to ride and the snow tubing is a blast also. There is also ice skating and a cute village town at the bottom. The restaurant by the Cabriolet serves okay pizza and good refreshments.
See our video here

Anit-Family

Steve Miller
14/04/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Advanced
  • Rider Age
    N/A
  • Admin Rating
    3

Anit-Family

Steve Miller
14/04/2019
I dont know what happened to Winter Park. They have discontinued their free child pass with the purchase of an adult pass. The fee for a day are now $169 at the door. The discounts are a joke. the EPIC pass is way to expensive. We bought 5 for 4 passes, but blackouts are christmas, MLK and president days. there are no buddy passes.
I skied here for years. It is sad how the maintenance has declined, and the anti-resort feel is now a FULL RESORT. I yearn for the old days when Winter Park encouraged local Denver families to ski at their resort. Unfortunately, I will need to move on and stop skiing.
See our video here

Winter Park Resort

Way
01/03/2019
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    N/A
  • Rider Level
    N/A
  • Rider Age
    N/A

Winter Park Resort

Way
01/03/2019
Our family have been skiing there forever and love it!!!
See our video here

No place to teach your own kids

n
14/12/2018
  • Recommend
  • Would Revisit
  • Rider Type
    Skier
  • Rider Level
    Expert
  • Rider Age
    18-35
  • Month Visited:
    December
  • Admin Rating
    2

No place to teach your own kids

n
14/12/2018
There is no place to teach your own small kids to ski here. They have some fantasy that I'm going to be taking my 3 yr old on a chairlift to discovery park. THAT'S WHAT A BUNNY HILL IS FOR!!! I have no idea what would cause a family establishment to be so harsh to families trying to teach their own kids to ski as to close down the only magic carpet area and charge hundreds of dollars for a ski school lesson for access. Every other resort on earth has a bunny hill that doesn't require a chairlift ride. You boneheads.
See our video here
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