Love Skiing at Loveland, One of Colorado’s Gems

For almost 20 years I have been driving past (and literally under) Loveland Ski Area on my way from Colorado Springs to the larger resorts of Summit County, just over the hill. How silly some of that driving really was! While Loveland is not as large as the more well known Summit County resorts of Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain, it isn’t as far or as expensive either. The extra 20 – 30 minutes of driving (x2 when considering round trips) might be worth it sometimes for sure, but yesterday I was glad we stayed on the eastern side of the Continental Divide.

Loveland is a very approachable resort. It was a very short walk from the car to the slopes. The snow was perfect (68″ base with plenty of ‘powder caches’!), there were no crowds, and a nice variety of slopes. There were enough groomed slopes to keep us busy, and 46% of the resort is black diamond for later in the season when I’m back in ‘ski shape’. The scenery is spectacular. For snow boarders, there was a nice little terrain park,and few of the dreaded ‘cat walks’ that seem to give snow boarders more trouble than skiers. The resort divides the beginner slopes nicely from the more advanced, making a more pleasant experience for everyone. Most of the runs we took were about a 1,000 feet of vertical (the resort boasts 2200 total), making the length of runs nice and comfortable before getting back on a chair lift.

This year there have been lots of discounts available for Loveland. My own client care program gave existing clients a buy one – get one offer, and preseason specials included 4 packs for $119. Shell gas stations in Colorado Springs have been offering a buy one – get one pass as well, and their regular ticket window price is only $59, which is 40% less than many of the other resorts.

I’ll still drive through the Eisenhower tunnel (which actually goes under the resort) to get to Summit County sometimes, but I see myself stopping at Loveland more in the future. It’s a great option for a day trip for Colorado Springs and Denver area skiers – like me!