Loveland Ski Area

The resort is divided into 2 sections: Loveland Valley, catered to beginners and Loveland Basin, catered to intermediate and expert skiers. Loveland Valley features a lift and a magic carpet with approachable runs that are designed for slow progression. The Basin is where you find the goods, with a split of shorter blue runs and massive bowls and rocky chutes for the more adventurous skier. 

Chet’s is the best place to start your day and warm up your legs on a few quick bomber-blues like Spillway or Waterfall, and is the only express lift on the mountain. Traverse over to Lift 4 to hit some deep moguls and scope out the high alpine terrain above or venture up to Chair 9 if the wind allows. Move over to Lift 8 for some of Loveland’s more expert-tailored terrain over the Eisenhower Tunnel and end your day at Ptarmigan for some wind-down runs that’ll dump you out right at the parking lot. 

If the in-bounds terrain isn’t enough, Loveland also offers Cat Skiing on terrain just east of Chair 8 in a massive, untouched basin just beyond reach from the rest of the resort, so there’s always freshies to be had.

Loveland is uniquely accessible amongst ski resorts, despite its lack of bustle. Because of its proximity to Denver, flying into Denver International Airport and renting a car to drive the hour-long trip there is extremely easy if you’re looking to stay in the mountains – just make sure you rent a 4wd. If you’re not looking to rent a car, you can easily hop on a Snowstang bus from either Union Station in Downtown Denver, Federal Center Train Station in Lakewood, or at the Wooly Mammoth Park & Ride in Golden.