Top Cheapest Places to Ski in Colorado
Cheapest Places to Ski in Colorado
Maybe you’re counting your pennies and trying to figure out the cheapest places to ski this year. With so many different types of passes anymore, it’s hard to understand what’s right for you. Besides the big ski giants like Aspen and Vail, Colorado is also home to several smaller ski resorts, and with that smaller size comes a much more affordable price tag. We’ve done a little digging, so you don’t have to. Check out our Colorado Ski Resort Guide for more details about all the resorts in Colorado. Here are some of the cheapest places to ski in Colorado: 
Echo Mountain – Evergreen, Co
Not only is Echo Mountain Resort one of the cheapest places to ski, but it’s also the closest ski area to Denver. Just 36 miles from downtown Denver makes for a short, under-an-hour drive to Echo Mountain just west of Evergreen. Echo doesn’t have a vast terrain expanse, but they have a variety of beginner through expert runs and a tubing hill.
The other ski resorts close to Denver are also part of the cheapest places to ski, ride, and learn.
Echo Resort is Colorado’s only fully lit ski area. Plus, music is played throughout the skiable terrain. Get the best deal and buy your tickets the day before online. These are the prepurchased prices: all-day adult lift tickets are $59 – $77, and kid’s tickets are $40 – $50. Adult night ski passes are $35, and kids’ passes are $20. You can purchase tickets the day of, but they will be more expensive and possibly sold out.
Need help with learning? Echo Ambassadors are available within the beginner area to provide free ski or snowboarding instruction, tips, and ready-to-take pictures.
Passes Accepted at Echo
Loveland Ski Area, cheapest places to ski
Loveland is a winter wonderland in the heart of the Rockies, just 53 miles west of Denver. It offers 1,800 acres of skiable terrain and FREE snowcat access. It’s one of the cheapest places to ski and designed for the serious skier or rider. Loveland boasts an assortment of lessons and events for all types throughout the season. Loveland offers a Pass Card, which provides discounts on tickets, including the first ticket for free. Their affordable season pass includes access to partner resorts and membership to the Powder Alliance.
Partner resorts in Colorado are:
- Purgatory
- Sunlight Mountain
- Powderhorn Mountain
- Monarch Mountain
- Silverton
Passes Accepted at Loveland:
- IKON Passes
- Gems Pass
- Indy Pass
- 4-Paks
- Loveland Specific Passes
Eldora Resort
Eldora Resort is a front-range favorite, just 21 miles west of Boulder. Access is made even easier via their Ski-n-Ride bus, which makes several daily trips from Boulder. The resort has 680 acres of skiable terrain, however, 80% of which is considered intermediate and above. Additionally, you can access 40K of groomed trails at their touring center. Eldora offers a variety of season passes and day tickets, all at affordable prices.
Passes Accepted Eldora
Sunlight Mountain – Glenwood Springs
Sunlight Resort is on the western side of the continental divide just south of Glenwood Springs. It’s reputable as an affordable place for families to learn to ski and ride. With 75% of the terrain ideally suited for beginners. For the Nordic skiers, Sunlight has 29K of groomed trails.
Adult all-day lift tickets are around $75, children’s are $45, and senior’s tickets are around $62. Their prices fluctuate a bit with seasonal demand.
Passes Accepted at Sunlight
- Gems Pass
- Indy Pass
- Freedom Pass
- Power Alliance
Ski Cooper – Leadville, CO
Ski Cooper suffers from having a name similar to Copper Mountain, a much bigger resort that’s coincidentally close by. This naming confusion results in Ski Cooper getting overlooked, but for locals who love Ski Cooper, this works to their advantage in a significant way. Cooper is one of Colorado’s most historic ski areas and was initially used as a training site during World War II (10th Mnt. Division). Located in Leadville, the highest incorporated city in North America (at over ten thousand feet elevation), Cooper has the same incredible views and surroundings as some of the big glitzy resorts in the area and features some great, basic slopes with two lifts. There is also Chicago Ridge, a 2600-acre open powder bowl that is accessible via Snowcat for more advanced skiers. Locals mostly frequent this resort, so there is rarely a line for the lifts, and it’s a great place to bring the whole family without breaking the bank.
Resort Pass at SkiCooper
- IKON Pass
- Gems Pass
- Freedom Pass
- Day passes are available; check their website.
- Ski Cooper offers affordable season passes; check their website for pricing. The season pass includes access to partner resorts, which are:
- Loveland Resort
- Monarch
- Sunlight Mountain
Nordic Centers
For those seeking ski touring, the area offers various options for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and backcountry skiing.
When the day is done, you’ll be able to explore Leadville, home to gorgeous Victorian architecture, an illustrious past filled with names you’ll recognize like the Unsinkable Molly Brown, Oscar Wilde, and Susan B. Anthony, and in modern day, home to plenty of great restaurants, museums, and lodging where you can warm up and spend time with your fellow ski bums.
Monarch Mountain – Salida, CO
Monarch Mountain is a little out of the way but offers all the excitement of skiing at a Colorado resort without the hefty price tag. The 800-acre resort has terrain for all ability levels, plus an additional 1,635 acres accessible via Snowcat. Day passes can be purchased; however, their pricing system fluctuates according to ticket demand. This means that you get a better day ticket price the sooner you purchase. Monarch has an affordable season pass, reminiscent of yesteryear days. With the season’s pass comes access to partner resorts throughout the US.
Partner resorts in Colorado are:
- Arapahoe Basin
- Copper Mountain
- Loveland Ski Area
- Powderhorn
- Purgatory
- Ski Cooper
- Sunlight Mountain
Passes Accepted at Monarch:
- Gems Pass
- Power Alliance
- Monarch Specific Passes
Ski Touring and Snowshoeing at Monarch Park
Monarch Park offers mellow terrain for both ski touring and snowshoeing on Monarch Pass.
Powderhorn Mountain Resort – Mesa, CO
The resort is located just east of Grand Junction on the Grand Mesa. Its tagline says it all: “Mission
affordable.” The resort has 1,600 acres of skiable terrain with 50% intermediate trails. Like Monarch, you will get the best price on a day ticket the sooner you purchase. Their season passes are also very affordable and offer partner resort benefits.
Partner resorts in Colorado are:
- Loveland Ski Area
- Monarch Mountain
- Sunlight Mountain
- Silverton Mountain
Passes Accepted at Powderhorn
- Gem Pass
- Indy Pass
- Powderhorn Specific Passes
Grand Mesa Nordic Center
Just a little further up the road from Powderhorn Resort, at the top of the Grand Mesa (the world’s largest flat-top mountain), lies the Grand Mesa Nordic Center. You will not be disappointed with access to 50K of groomed trails.
Howelsen Hill Ski Area, cheapest places to ski – Steamboat Springs, CO
Howelsen Hill Ski Area is North America’s oldest operating ski area and one of the cheapest places to ski. For over one hundred years, Howelsen Hill has served as a great place to ski for locals and visitors alike. During that time, it has produced 89 Olympic skiers who used it as a training ground, more than any other ski area in North America. Howelsen Hill has four ski lifts and over 13 miles of Nordic ski trails, combined with 17 lift-serviced trails. The resort also has a unique selection of ski jumps, the tallest of which is nearly four hundred feet high.
Partner Resorts
- Hogadon Basin Ski Area
- Mont du Lac
- Sunlight Mountain
Passes Accepted at Howelsen Hill
- Indy Pass
- Howelsen Specific Passes
Lift tickets at Howelsen Hill have practically unbeatable prices; adults can ski for $47, with special deals for night skiing for night skiing. Perhaps most notable, Howelsen Hill is home to Ski Free Sunday, which is exactly as good as it sounds. Visitors can hit the slopes and the Nordic trails throughout the winter season for free on Sundays, except when special events are being held.
Howelsen Hill Ski Area is owned and operated by the city of Steamboat Springs, so after a fun and exhausting day of skiing, snowboarding, and heart-pumping ski jumping, be sure to check out what the city has to offer. Downtown Steamboat looks like a picturesque Wild West town, with a lot of cool architectural flair and unique shops from antiques, sporting equipment, art, and more. To relax some of those sore muscles, be sure to check out the Old Town Hot Springs or nearby Strawberry Hot Springs for a relaxing and refreshing soak.
Nordic Center at Howelsen Hill
15K of groomed Nordic trails circle the alpine slopes at Howelsen Hill. Snowshoeing is also allowed and extends beyond the touring center’s boundaries onto Emerald Mountain. This area is also popular for backcountry touring.
Kendall Mountain – Silverton
This small resort in Silverton is considered the cheapest place to ski in the West. Adult tickets are just $26 per day, and kids and seniors are only $18. Backcountry and cross-country skiing are accessible from the same area. This low-key, affordable resort complements the Silverton Mountain Resort, boasting some of Colorado’s most extreme skiing. Kendall is perfect for those in your group who are still perfecting their turns.
Passes Accepted at Kendall
- Day & Night Tickets
Cheapest Places to Ski in Colorado
Skiing and snowboarding have reputations as being one of the most expensive sports. We can’t help you with the equipment, although there are plenty of great sports retailers in Colorado who can. With the help of resorts and ski areas like the ones above, you can cross “expensive lift tickets” off the list of things holding you back. Now’s the time to check out these cheapest places to ski for a truly Colorado experience.
by Emily Krempholtz
