Snowmass Ski Resort and Village
The Snowmass Ski Resort is up there as one of the
best ski resorts in Colorado. The ski area is large and diverse, and the extensive ski-in ski-out lodging in Snowmass Village Colorado is a huge bonus. As a stand-alone ski area, Snowmass is very impressive, however it isn’t an isolated ski resort. As part of
Aspen Snowmass, it packs the Power of Four whereby one lift ticket provides access to three other nearby ski resorts: Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, and Aspen Highlands. With the town of Aspen nearby, it’s also easy to catch a free bus to enjoy all the nightlife and buzz that Aspen has to offer.
Pros & Cons of Snowmass Colorado
Pros
- Snowmass is an all-round great destination ski resort and has something for everyone.
- The Snowmass ski resort has large & diverse terrain. Particular strengths include the intermediate runs and the terrain parks.
- Snowmass Village Colorado has plenty of ski-in ski-out lodging.
- It is incredibly family friendly.
- Snowmass is more laid back than Aspen without losing anything in the flair and style stakes.
- The lift infrastructure and amenities are very good, and it seems that Aspen Snowmass prioritizes their development spend on Snowmass.
Cons
- Just accept that a Snowmass ski vacation will not be an inexpensive affair, but thankfully Snowmass Village is generally a little more affordable than staying in Aspen itself.
- Snowmass Village doesn’t have a lot of nightlife compared to the town of Aspen, and the purpose built village lacks the atmosphere you’d find in various Colorado ski towns.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective
- The elevation is higher than the other Aspen ski resorts, which is great for snow quality, but it makes it that little bit harder for those with altitude afflictions.
- The Aspen Snowmass ski school is highly prestigious and has many career ski instructors, so the quality of the lessons is high but you’ll pay for the privilege.
- The Aspen Snowmass ski resorts are accessible on the Ikon Pass, which has contributed to crowd levels similar to the front range resorts.
Snowmass Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Snowmass Ski Resort is the largest of the four
Aspen Snowmass ski areas at 3,339 acres (1,351 hectares), and it’s one of the largest of the Colorado ski resorts. It’s not called Snowmass for nothing! And if you want to attempt a top to bottom run, undertake an intensive pre-season fitness regime, as the vertical descent is the longest in the United States at 4,406 feet (1,343 metres). Most of the ski resort is below the tree-line, but there’s also a smidgeon of alpine terrain.
Many ski resorts claim that they have terrain for all ability levels, but in reality many don’t cater for all segments of the riding fraternity, especially real experts. However Snowmass Colorado truly does have the goods for all abilities. There are family friendly runs, mellow beginner slopes, and many wide open groomed cruisers for intermediates. Snowmass also has mogul runs and gladed terrain for advanced riders, and an abundance of double black runs, some which fall into the seriously scary category. Snowmass is also shredder heaven with a few terrain parks.
Snowmass doesn’t receive snow en masse. The 300 inches (7.6 metres) of fluffy white stuff each season is pretty average for a Colorado ski resort. And typical for Colorado, fresh tracks don’t last for days, but at least Snowmass doesn’t get the weekend day trippers from Denver. Thankfully any crowds that do exist are usually not that noticeable because the lift infrastructure is very well developed. The fleet of 20 lifts includes the Elk Camp gondola as well as several other high speed lifts.
Where is Snowmass Village & Resort?
Snowmass Village sits at the base of the Snowmass ski resort, only 12 miles northeast of the town of
Aspen Colorado (a 20 minute drive). The Snowmass Village sits alongside Brush Creek in Pitkin County, 197 miles southwest of Denver and 219 miles from Denver International Airport. The closest airport is Aspen-Pitkin County (Sardy Field) which is only 6.5 miles from Snowmass. See the
Snowmass travel page for more information.
Snowmass Lodging
Snowmass Village Colorado at the base of the mountain has been well planned such that the majority of the lodging is conveniently ski-in ski-out. Snowmass accommodations are mainly upscale hotels and condominiums, although you’ll generally find better value than with downtown Aspen hotels. See our
Snowmass lodging page for more information on where to stay.
Snowmass Accommodations Search
Snowmass Resort Facilities & Family Friendliness
A significant amount of money has been invested at Snowmass to upgrade the facilities. The Snowmass Village area has restaurants, drinking holes, shops and the celebrated Treehouse Kids’ Adventure Center which houses the child care center, kids’ ski school, equipment rental and cafeteria. In some areas of this child-centric center, there are no adults allowed!
Even beyond the kids’ center, Snowmass is incredibly family oriented. The ski area and village have lots of facilities for the little tackers such as interactive kids’ trails, a specific terrain park, tubing, ice skating rink, alpine coaster, and other kids’ activities.
Just because Snowmass is exceptionally child friendly doesn’t mean that it isn’t adult friendly too. There are various activities on offer, and there are a range of Snowmass restaurants and bars. Or if the nightlife at Snowmass is too quiet for your liking, you can easily pop into Aspen for the nightlife.