Ready to Learn to Ski or Ride? Start on These Colorado Ski Trails

For new skiers and riders, Colorado’s learning areas are great places to start – these include magic carpets, “bunny slopes” and designated green runs that can help beginners get their feet under them.
We asked our member ski areas: Which run at your ski area is the best for beginners still getting their feet under them?

Arapahoe Basin

After A-Basin skiers have progressed beyond the learning area, Wrangler is the best run for beginners – you get to enjoy the scenery of the Continental Divide on a mellow, winding path from mid-mountain to the base area. You can also access other beginner trails like Chisholm Trail that loop you through the forests on the lower mountain.

Aspen Snowmass

At Aspen Snowmass, Buttermilk and Snowmass are the best resorts for beginners to learn how to ski. On Snowmass, the best learning area resides in The Meadows at Elk Camp because of the dedicated chairlift specific for beginners, easy access to bathrooms, snacks and sunscreen in Elk Camp Restaurant, and the perfect pitch/dedicated arena meant just for beginners learning to ski. At Buttermilk, Panda Peak is the best place to learn how to ski, especially for kids. The Hideout Kids’ Adventure Center is directly adjacent to Panda Peak making for enjoyable and easy experience for kids.

Cooper

EZ Street is a great run for beginners at Cooper, with a gentle slope and the state’s longest magic carpet. It is right at the base of the mountain and just steps away from the parking lot.

Copper Mountain

Copper Mountain’s Soliloquy is a long, meandering green on the west side of Copper’s naturally-divided terrain with a mellow pitch, room to spread out and some of the best views on the mountain.

Echo Mountain

Most of Echo Mountain’s terrain is intermediate, but brand new for the 2018-19 season, Echo’s new beginner area offers an easy, gently graded learning area with a covered conveyer lift. For beginners who are looking for a break from learning to ski and ride, check out Echo’s new tubing hill.
 

Eldora

Eldora’s best run for beginners, Bunnyfair, is a wide green trail with room for brand new skiers and riders to learn the ropes without too much challenge.

Granby Ranch

Granby Ranch’s green run Buckhorn, accessed from the Quick Draw Express, is a wide-open trail with a gentle slope that is great for beginners.

Howelsen Hill

Howelsen’s best run for beginners is Long John. This run is a long meander around the shoulder of Howelsen Hill, with a rolling, twisty route through dark timber forest.

Loveland Ski Area

Loveland Valley is a separate base area just for beginners with their own lifts and wide-open, gentle slopes perfect for newcomers to make their first turns. Located in the Loveland Valley off Lift 7 or the Magic Carpet, the runs All Smiles and Take Off both offer great terrain for beginners.

Monarch Mountain

Snowflake and Butterfly, both served by Monarch’s covered surface lift the Caterpillar, are great runs for beginners.  Not having to load a chairlift can make for a less intimidating beginner experience.  These runs are right by Monarch’s base lodge, so friends and family are easy to find.
If you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge once you’ve mastered the basics, try out Rookie. A short ride on the beginner lift Tumbelina takes you to a beautiful run with approachable terrain and stunning views of the surrounding 13,000 and 14,000-foot peaks. 

Powderhorn Resort

Stagecoach is Powderhorn’s easiest trail down. This trail is great for beginners to start out, winding down the mountain on a wide trail that is great to learn.

Purgatory Resort

There are a variety of beginner trails at Purgatory, such as Columbine, Angels Tread, and Divinity under the Twilight Lift 4 so beginners can enjoy several trails with gentle slopes in this beginner area.

Silverton Mountain

Silverton Mountain doesn’t offer any beginner terrain as an experts-only mountain, and recommends newcomers to the sport to visit Kendall Mountain Ski Area just a few minutes down the road.

Steamboat Resort

Why Not is a perfect run for skiers and riders who are ready to brave the mountain via Gondola. The 3-mile green run meanders gently down the mountain to deliver beginners safely back to the base of the Resort.

Sunlight

Sunlight's Midway run is a great place to learn to ski or snowboard. A wide-open trail with a mild pitch, it's the perfect terrain for beginners. Parents can watch their kids come down the mountain right from the base lodge. And for those ready to tackle freestyle, Sunlight's Pump Haus Park offers the perfect progression for beginners, where professional instructors are ready to teach the first steps of freestyle.

Telluride Ski Resort

Nestled above 11,000ft, Telluride’s Ute Park offers beginner skiers and riders the opportunity to enjoy the mountains and high-alpine vistas normally reserved for advanced skiers. Freshly groomed each night, with two beginner terrain parks to keep things interesting featuring rollers and small jumps to keep things interesting – Ute Park is a beginner skier’s paradise

Winter Park

Village Way is a nice, meandering easy run that is great for beginners because you take it all the way from the top.  It’s also Winter Park’s longest run at 4.9 miles.

Wolf Creek

One of the better-known beginner runs, Kelly Boyce Trail, off of the Raven Chairlift, a high speed detachable quad, is one of many great beginner runs at Wolf Creek. Kelly Boyce Trail is a wide trail with gentle rolling hills along with flats for skiers and boarders looking to get their feet under them early in the morning, families skiing with children and beginners getting the hang of being on snow.