Colorado Gems: 11 Most Affordable Ski Resorts
Looking to ski without breaking the bank? The Colorado Gems are 11 small ski resorts in the Colorado Rockies where you can afford to ski without the crowds.
Skiing is the lifeblood of Colorado. Back in the mid-twentieth century when mining towns were shutting down, it was skiing and tourism that saved them from extinction (the lucky ones anyway). Small tow-ropes and single and double chairlifts eventually turned places like Aspen, Telluride, and Crested Butte into major resort towns.
Understandably, these famous ski resorts aren’t an option for everyone (including myself) – they’re expensive and often very crowded. Thankfully, Colorado has eleven ski areas nicknamed the “Colorado Gems” and they’re among the most affordable ski resorts in Colorado, making them a perfect choice if you’re learning how to ski.
Scattered across the state, these hills harken back to an older time. Lift ticket prices and crowds are significantly reduced, the mountains are smaller, and the lifts are a bit slower. But what these ski resorts lack in modern efficiency, they make up for in old-school ski-vacation charm. All of the smaller resorts below are the cheapest ski areas in Colorado that are worth checking out!
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Colorado Gems – Mapped
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1. Loveland Ski Area
- Location: Dillon, Colorado
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $149
- Nearest mega resorts: Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain
Loveland is the closest ski area to Denver on I-70. It spans around and over the Eisenhower Tunnel and it sits at the Continental Divide. On a powder day at Loveland, riding the bowls from the second-highest quad lift in the world is the best feeling in the world!
2. Arapahoe Basin
- Location: Dillon, Colorado
- Difficulty: Advanced
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $105
- Nearest mega resorts: Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain
Arapahoe Basin is located over the Loveland Pass from 1-70 outside of Denver. The extra effort is worth it though! A-Basin has the highest in-bounds skiable terrain in North America. As a bonus, Arapahoe Basin is also part of the multi-mountain Ikon pass, giving you no excuse to miss out on this Gem experience if you are an Ikon pass holder.
3. Eldora Mountain Resort
- Location: Nederland, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $119
- Nearest mega resorts: None
Eldora is a true winner when you don’t want to fight the traffic on I-70. If you are staying in Boulder, you can even catch the local bus to get to the mountain.
Time your visit with an up-slope storm – the kind that shuts down Denver. Everywhere east of the divide gets pounded with snow and the major resorts on the west side only get a dusting. Eldora is part of the Ikon pass, so you get unlimited skiing at this affordable ski resort in Colorado.
4. Monarch Mountain
- Location: Salida, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $69
- Nearest mega resorts: Crested Butte
Monarch Mountain can be experienced as its own trip or as a warm-up mountain to those heading over to Crested Butte. The resort is about a three-hour drive from Denver on US-285, which allows you to avoid traffic on I-70. Monarch Mountain is known for its deep snow, diverse terrain, excellent tree skiing, crowd-less slopes, and backcountry snowcat operation.
5. Cooper Mountain
- Location: Leadville, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $80
- Nearest mega resorts: Vail and Copper Mountain
Cooper, (formerly Ski Cooper) is situated at the top of Tennessee Pass above Camp Hale, just west of Vail and Copper Mountain. This area outside of Leadville was the training ground for the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. While 10th Mountain Alumni went on to start Vail and Aspen, modeling them off European ski resorts, Cooper has remained a humble local ski hill.
If you are looking for something a bit more extreme and personal, Cooper also offers snow-cat access skiing up on Chicago Ridge with terrain similar to Vail’s back bowls. If you’re overwhelmed by the size of the mountain (or the crowds) at the nearby big resorts, pop over to Cooper for some old-school mountain time.
6. Sunlight Mountain Resort
- Location: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $59
- Nearest mega resorts: Aspen-Snowmass
While Cooper plays little brother to Vail and Copper, Sunlight Mountain Resort is second (well really, fifth) fiddle to the four-mountain monolith that is Aspen-Snowmass. Sitting above Glenwood Springs on the west end of the Roaring Fork Valley, Sunlight offers just about the opposite of everything Aspen. Glitz, modern gondolas, and champagne bars turn into humble, old-school double-chairs and hot chocolate from the tiny ski patrol hut.
Sunlight is a favorite with families. But don’t let the kiddos trick you into thinking this mountain is all beginner’s luck: the Gibson and Sundown Glades on a powder day is the definition of steep and deep, peaking out at a vertigo-inducing 52 degrees…inbounds.
7. Ski Granby Ranch
- Location: Granby, Colorado
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $109 (minimum 2-day pass)
- Nearest mega resorts: Winter Park and Steamboat
Ski Granby Ranch, formerly known as Solvista Basin, is sandwiched halfway between Winter Park and Steamboat Springs on US Highway 40. A lot of people overlook this little mountain because it has gentle terrain. But for families that want a more laid-back and budget-friendly spring break, this is a smart way to go.
Stay in Grand Lake and fill your days with runs at Ski Granby. Staying at Grand Lake also gives you quick access to some of the winter adventures on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
8. Powderhorn Mountain Resort
- Location: Mesa, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $99
- Nearest mega resorts: None
Powderhorn Mountain Resort is the only truly Western Slope ski area. When I say there are no mega-resorts nearby, I mean it. Telluride and Aspen are the closest—over 100 miles away. When I’m looking to get far away from the busy ski destinations, Powderhorn is my spot.
Located on Grand Mesa, the largest flattop mountain IN THE WORLD, this gem has weather systems practically all its own. On a sunny and dry January day down in Grand Junction, Powderhorn is likely getting dumped on if there’s a cloud cap on Grand Mesa.
9. Echo Mountain Resort
- Location: Idaho Springs, Colorado
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $67
- Nearest mega resorts: None
Since 2016, Echo Mountain has prided itself on being the closest and most affordable ski area to Denver. Thirty-six miles from downtown, this is a great place to take your family skiing or tubing for cheap. Plus, you can do it all in a single-day adventure.
Due to its proximity to the city, it’s best to make a reservation, especially for tubing. People say they admire the “mom and pop” family feel of this Colorado Gem with affordable skiing near Denver.
10 . Hesperus Ski Area
- Location: Hesperus, Colorado
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $48
- Nearest mega resorts: None
Hesperus Ski Area is one of the most affordable ski resorts in Colorado. Nestled in San Juan National Forest, this ski area is minutes from downtown Durango. At nearly 9,000 feet at the summit, the mountain offers 700 feet of vertical downhill.
When you’re done skiing with your family, go tubing down the mountain for a sunset cruise. By the end of the day if you’ve still got it in you, hit up the slopes again for night skiing. Their claim to fame is that they’ve got the largest night skiing operation in all of the southwest.
11. Kendall Ski Area
- Location: Silverton, Colorado
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Average adult weekday ticket price: $26
- Nearest mega resorts: None
Companion to Hesperus in the San Juan National Forest, Ski Kendall is nearest to the town of Silverton. These two are much smaller than other ski areas in Colorado, but you can’t beat the stunning beauty. Kendall is beginner and family-friendly, so take your kids skiing here for a scenic, affordable ski trip this winter.
Also, look out for their free ski days once a month. Though its 300 vertical feet isn’t extreme, you honestly cannot get a cheaper ski trip than this in a more picturesque place.
Warm up with cocoa in the charming town of Silverton once you’re off the slope.
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