Colorado Winter Park and Eldora

[Black Dog]

Planning a trip soon to Colorado. I have a Max Pass (and Epic) and going to based in Breck so going to hit all the Epic hills nearby. Definitely going to hit Copper on the Max pass but was thinking about a trip up Winter Park or Eldora. Is it worth a the trip up from Breck or should I just ski the resorts around Breck? Maybe a good place to go for the weekends?
Thanks

 

[coskigirl]

Winter Park might be worth it. Eldora isn’t easy to get to from WP even though they’re pretty close as the crow flies and wouldn’t be worth the trip. Weekends are nutso at Eldora with parking often filling completely.

 

[Magi]

Planning a trip soon to Colorado. I have a Max Pass (and Epic) and going to based in Breck so going to hit all the Epic hills nearby. Definitely going to hit Copper on the Max pass but was thinking about a trip up Winter Park or Eldora. Is it worth a the trip up from Breck or should I just ski the resorts around Breck? Maybe a good place to go for the weekends?
Thanks

Winter Park is definitely worth some days (Some of the best snow conditions in CO currently). Eldora I wouldn't bother with unless you want to check it off your list.

 

[tball]

Also, it would be crazy to drive to either WP or Eldora from Breck on the weekend!

Copper and Beaver Creek will probably be the least crowded for you on the weekend, though my Beav intel is getting pretty old.

 

[Ken_R]

All these cars are coming down from WP towards i70 on 40 at 2pm today. This line is about 10+ miles long. Its hell on the weekends.

 

[cosmoliu]

^^^ Yikes! I've only left WP in early morning, so have never experienced that line up.

 

[Ken_R]

All these cars are coming down from WP towards i70 on 40 at 2pm today. This line is about 10+ miles long. Its hell on the weekends.


View attachment 40205

^^^ Yikes! I've only left WP in early morning, so have never experienced that line up.

Its like that every weekend. The road just can't handle the traffic volume from the ski area. I was not at WP I was at Jones Pass so I only dealt with the last bit. This line goes all the way to Berthoud Pass!

 

[Magi]

Also, it would be crazy to drive to either WP or Eldora from Breck on the weekend!

Copper and Beaver Creek will probably be the least crowded for you on the weekend, though my Beav intel is getting pretty old.

I'd argue that if you timed it right (Saturday night or early Sat morning) - you'd be just fine.


Also for anyone seeing those traffic photos without context and thinking that Berthoud's traffic is uniquely bad (It's bad at peak times - no doubt). Check the traffic on i70 out Friday evening or Sunday afternoon/eve...

Turns out we have too many cars to/from Denver for all the front range resorts.

One bonus for Berthoud pass - it looks scary so people in rental cars tend to drive sanely, sadly not the same for i70 post Eisenhower Tunnel.

 

[Ken_R]

I'd argue that if you timed it right (Saturday night or early Sat morning) - you'd be just fine.


Also for anyone seeing those traffic photos without context and thinking that Berthoud's traffic is uniquely bad (It's bad at peak times - no doubt). Check the traffic on i70 out Friday evening or Sunday afternoon/eve...

Turns out we have too many cars to/from Denver for all the front range resorts.

One bonus for Berthoud pass - it looks scary so people in rental cars tend to drive sanely, sadly not the same for i70 post Eisenhower Tunnel.

i70 is insane. Its really almost out of control on weekends (AM heading west and PM heading east)

Yes, 40 is slow but much safer compared to 70 no question.

 

[PinnacleJim]

Are you talking about a day trip to WP from Breck? Not worth all that driving IMO. However a couple days at either end of your trip would be a good option.

 

[StuckonI70]

Depends what you are looking for. If you love trees and bumps, you should take a trip to WP.
If you prefer big alpine terrain and longer runs, stick with Breck and Copper.

 

[Johnny V.]

Thanks for the traffic reminders/warnings. We're heading out there next week.

 

[Don in Morrison]

The only time I encountered a line like that on 40 was right after they implemented the toll lane on I-70. They had a metering light at Empire backing traffic up all the way to Berthoud Falls. They stopped doing that by the next weekend. I ski on Saturdays, and the eastbound traffic has always been pretty decent on Saturday afternoons, unless someone crashes and causes a bottleneck that way. The worst traffic I've seen typically happens on the westbound approach to Floyd Hill on Saturday mornings.

 

[coskigirl]

The only time I encountered a line like that on 40 was right after they implemented the toll lane on I-70. They had a metering light at Empire backing traffic up all the way to Berthoud Falls. They stopped doing that by the next weekend. I ski on Saturdays, and the eastbound traffic has always been pretty decent on Saturday afternoons, unless someone crashes and causes a bottleneck that way. The worst traffic I've seen typically happens on the westbound approach to Floyd Hill on Saturday mornings.

I encountered it a couple weeks ago when I returned from Steamboat through Winter Park. The problem wasn't getting on I-70, it was the slow down through Empire. Once I got through that it was clear.

 

[mikel]

All these cars are coming down from WP towards i70 on 40 at 2pm today. This line is about 10+ miles long. Its hell on the weekends.

@Ken_R , believe it or not it was still like that after 4:00 p.m. I did a bump camp at MJ yesterday and probably left about 4:20 p.m. and was pretty surprised when I got stuck in that mess. The line actually started just before reaching the summit. I couldn't believe the people trying to pass as many cars as possible nearing top. For what? To get maybe 3-5 vehicles ahead? It was insane to see them doing that only to sit in the line for the next hour to get thru Empire. Once thru Empire the drive back to Copper was fast. I felt bad for all the people sitting in traffic heading east.

I'm glad that President's week is over. Maybe the crowds will diminish somewhat now. MJ was a pretty darn crowded. Wind was still an issue. I didn't see anything spinning heading up to the top.

@Black Dog I agree with everyone. I would absolutely go to WP/MJ but wouldn't want to do the drive all the way to Eldora and back. Not sure where you are staying but WP/MJ is about a 60 mile drive from Copper.

 

[Snowflake2420]

Beaver Creek is still a good pick for not being crowded. It helps people have to drive by Vail on the way there.

 

[Black Dog]

Thanks for the responses.
Around Breck where are the lowest crowds on a weekend. A-Basin, Copper or Keystone?
We are going to Beaver Creek on our second week of the trip.

 

[Slim]

I think Vail has an App that shows real time lift line wait times?

we were at Copper starting Monday, Presidents’ Day, and it was very quiet. This might be because of snow warnings, many people left early to try and beat a potential closure of I-70.

 

[tball]

Thanks for the responses.
Around Breck where are the lowest crowds on a weekend. A-Basin, Copper or Keystone?
We are going to Beaver Creek on our second week of the trip.

Copper.