Winter Park Resort was the last stop of our journey, and it was a pretty epic one. This mountain is different from the others we visited because it is broken up into different territories rather than all of the trails being one mountain.
Skiing
The skiing at Winter Park is very nice. There is a great blend of powder, groomed, and moguls. There's also a wide variety of different types of terrain for all ski abilities, which are broken up into different zones. The Red zone is, also known as Winter Park territory, has something for everybody from groomers to moguled black diamonds. The blue territory, which is the Mary Jane zone, has a lot of trees and a lot of moguls. The orange territory has hidden powder. The black territory is all of the mountains terrain parks in which there are copious amounts. The eagle wind territory is designed to make you feel like you're skiing out of bounds while within it. The green zone, also known as the Parsenn Bowl, is at the very peak of the mountain at 12,000 feet in altitude and has extremely beautiful 360° views. The last territory is the cirque territory, with all of your extremely advanced terrains, including cliffs, steps, and ungroomed backcountry trails.
Winter Park has 23 chairlifts across 166 trails. It is easy to get away from the crowds and find your own peace while skiing here. We had to go from the bottom to the very top of the mountain to see the stunning views, and it was indeed that. However, it is extremely windy at that height, and there's nowhere to hide, so it can get a little chilly. We would love to come back when it is more of the beginning of one of our trips because we were exhausted by the time we got to this mountain. Our legs were so tired; we did not get the chance to experience some of their extreme double black diamond moguls and trails.
I also noticed that many of the beginners stayed more to the bottom of the mountain and to the wide-open groomers. It reminded me of Killington, where many people are crashing into each other because they are beginners. The further up the mountain you went the more advanced the skiers around you became.
Village
I really enjoyed Winter Park Village because it was very family-friendly. They had these little red wagons for parents to pull their kids and their stuff around, making it much easier to walk. They had an awesome Starbucks, and I got the coolest Colorado mug there. They also had this little gondola you could take from the parking lot to the village so that you didn't have to take a shuttle or walk that far.
They have the cutest gift shops and an amazing candy store that I highly recommend. It has all the throwback candy from the early 2000s that you wouldn't think exists anymore, but they have it. They also have a wide variety of different kinds of chocolates and children's books. The awesome thing about many stores and lodges is that they accept the ikon pass for a discount. So make sure you utilize that discount if you want to save some money.
Parking
The parking pricing was relatively the same, and we spent $20 for the day, which we were able to do through the mobile park app, which was really nice and convenient. They did have free parking that was much further away, but they did offer shuttles to bring you closer to the lifts. We parked in the vintage parking right next to the village Cabriolet lift, a little gondola that brings you over to the village. Next to it is the Coca-Cola tubing hill which looks like it was a lot of fun.
Lodging
Again for lodging, we chose not to stay directly at the resort as it was extremely expensive, and I had a very difficult time trying to find any accommodations. We stayed about 20 minutes away near the town of Granby. We ended up renting an Airbnb in the Silver Creek inn. This location was the cheapest place we stayed on our entire trip coming in at $70 a night. The building our condo was in had a pool and four hot tubs, a gym, a restaurant, and more. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this place as it wasn't the cleanest, but for our budget and needs it was fine. The host was very kind, and she had great communication skills. So, if you are looking for a much cheaper alternative staying in Granby is a great option.
We would love to come back and check out all of the mountain's trails. I really enjoyed the atmosphere on this mountain, and I hope to come back soon.
Winter Park: https://www.winterparkresort.com
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