Colorado Vacations
Vacation Planning Guide for Visiting Colorado with the Kids
Vacation Planning Guide for Visiting Colorado with the Kids
Family Skiing at Copper Mountain, Colorado
Going skiing in Colorado with your kids may be one of the best vacations you'll ever have.
| Did You Know? Copper Mountain Ski Resort recorded over a million skier visits each year for the last three years. |
Photo: Devil's Gut ski trail at Buttermilk Ski Area in Aspen, Colorado, requires adults to be accompanied by children.
Photo: Copper Mountain Ski Area's long runs make little skiers'
legs a bit wobbly. Nothing wrong with pulling over to the
side of the trail for a flop in the snow.
Located 75 miles west of Denver, on I-70, this area is an easy drive from the Front Range. Beware of bad traffic jams in the mornings and evenings, especially on weekends and three-day holidays in winter.
With three different base areas, each serving slopes with different degrees of difficulty, Copper Mountain feels like three ski areas in one. When families have members with various skill levels, or when the kids are rapidly improving and need ever more challenging slopes, they can find what they are looking for all on the same mountain.
The ambiance at the Union Creek base area particularly pleasing to kids. This is where the ski school classes meet, and it has a cozy, homey feel. Lessons for skiers or snowboarders last all day, and we were a bit unsure about leaving our precious babies with the instructors from 9:45 am until 3:30 pm. But when we saw how much they had progressed, we were impressed. Ski school was well organized and at least one of my boys came away with a crush on his beautiful skiing teacher.
With 2,433 acres, Copper Mountain is the largest ski area in Summit County. From top to bottom, it drops 2,601 vertical feet, and is serviced by 22 lifts, including one which carries families to the top of an inner-tubing hill.
Twenty-five percent of Copper's 125 trails are for beginners. Twenty-one percent of the terrain is intermediate, and 36 percent is advanced. Eighteen percent of the trails are designated for experts.
All in all, Copper offers a well-rounded skiing or riding experience in the heart of the Colorado Rockies.