Best Ski Resorts in Colorado for 2026-27

The first Colorado ski resorts to open in 2026-27 are Breckenridge and Copper Mountain on 6 November 2026, followed by Vail on 13 November. Epic Pass covers Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone, and Ikon Pass covers Winter Park, Copper, Arapahoe Basin, Steamboat and Aspen Snowmass. We read the pages named below on 14 October 2026. Every opening date is a target and moves with snow.

The eight resorts at a glance

This list is not a ranking, because we found no source that ranks Colorado resorts fairly. We picked eight that most visitors from Denver ask about. Aspen Snowmass has two rows in the table because its four mountains open on two dates. Telluride is left out because its 2026-27 date was still "TBD" on its own site on 14 October.

Note: Vail Resorts announced on 18 August 2026: Keystone "as soon as possible in October," Breckenridge 6 November, Vail Mountain 13 November, Beaver Creek and Crested Butte 25 November. The release says "Opening dates are subject to change based on weather and conditions" (Vail Resorts newsroom, read 14 Oct 2026)

Opening dates, resort by resort

Note: Copper Mountain: "26/27 Opening Day is set for Nov. 6!" (Copper Mountain website, read 14 Oct 2026). Steamboat Nov 21, Copper Nov 6, Winter Park TBA and Arapahoe Basin TBA, on Ikon's "26/27 Tentative Opening Date" column, which says dates are "subject to change without notice" (Ikon Pass opening dates page, read 14 Oct 2026)

Note: Aspen Mountain and Snowmass open 26 November 2026 and close 18 April and 11 April 2027. Aspen Highlands opens 12 December and closes 11 April. Buttermilk opens 12 December and closes 4 April (Aspen Snowmass lift ticket FAQ and Aspen Mountain lift status page, read 14 Oct 2026). The closing dates are "as conditions allow," per the Aspen Times of 9 September 2026

Arapahoe Basin's home page says only "We will open for winter ASAP!" Winter Park's home page showed no 2026-27 date, and a Denver7 list of openings gives Winter Park as "as soon as possible. Telluride's said "Winter 2026-27 Dates TBD." Steamboat's own events page was not readable for us, but Ikon's page lists 21 November. Colorado Ski Country USA's opening dates post that we found is for 2025-26, so we did not use it.

Epic or Ikon in Colorado

Note: Ikon destinations in Colorado, Ikon Base Pass then full Ikon Pass: Winter Park unlimited and unlimited; Steamboat 5 days and unlimited; Aspen Snowmass 5 days and 7 days; Copper Mountain unlimited and unlimited; Eldora unlimited and unlimited; Arapahoe Basin unlimited and unlimited. The page does not label the season (Ikon destinations page, read 14 Oct 2026). A Steamboat Pilot report of 5 March 2026 says the Base Pass is new at Arapahoe Basin for 2026-27

Price: Ikon prices: the full Ikon Pass starts at $1,399 and the Ikon Base Pass at $949 for 2026-27 (Steamboat Pilot & Today, 5 Mar 2026, read 14 Oct 2026). Copper sells its own pass at $899, "unlimited & unrestricted" (Copper Mountain website, read 14 Oct 2026). We did not confirm Epic prices

Epic's home page lists Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte and Telluride in Colorado. It does not show day limits for each pass tier, so open the Epic Pass or Epic Local Pass page before you buy.

If you plan to ski Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone, you want Epic. If you plan Winter Park, Copper, Arapahoe Basin or Steamboat, you want Ikon. Aspen is Ikon only. No source we read says which is cheaper for your trip, and lift ticket prices were not published as a single number on the pages we read, so we list none.

How far each resort is from Denver

These are the resorts' own figures. Some pages disagree with themselves, and some start from Denver International Airport (DEN) instead of downtown.

Getting there: Vail: "From Denver: 90 miles; 1.75 hours" in one place, "97 miles from downtown Denver" and "119 miles west of Denver International Airport" in another, and "100 miles from Denver International Airport" in a third (Vail website, getting here page, read 14 Oct 2026)

Getting there: Breckenridge: "104 miles west of Denver International Airport" and "86 miles from downtown Denver," and in the driving list "From Denver: 97 miles; 1.75 hours" (Breckenridge website, getting here page, read 14 Oct 2026). Keystone: "70 miles" from Denver in one place and "72 miles from downtown Denver" and 90 miles from DEN in another (Keystone website, getting here page, read 14 Oct 2026)

Getting there: Winter Park: "a 75-mile drive" from the Denver metro area via I-70 and US 40, and "a 90-mile drive from the airport" (Winter Park Resort getting here page, read 14 Oct 2026). Steamboat: "156 miles from Denver" and "about 2 hours and 45 minutes, depending on traffic" (Steamboat Springs Chamber, read 14 Oct 2026). Arapahoe Basin: "Just 70 minutes from downtown Denver" (A-Basin blog, 6 May 2025, read 14 Oct 2026)

Getting there: Aspen: "Glenwood Springs is 157 miles west of Denver," then about 41 miles south and east to Aspen on Highway 82, which adds to about 198 miles by our arithmetic. In winter the Independence Pass road is closed. The page puts Denver International Airport at 220 miles from Aspen (Aspen Snowmass ground transportation page, read 14 Oct 2026). We did not find an official drive time

We did not find a Copper Mountain mile figure on its own site. Ski weekends and snow can double a drive on I-70, which CDOT warns about.

Getting there without driving

Getting there: Pegasus: a CDOT shuttle van from Denver to Avon, per the Bustang home page. It leaves from Denver Union Station with stops at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Idaho Springs, Frisco, Vail and Avon. It has racks for skis and snowboards. Bustang also runs on the I-70 route (Colorado Ski Country USA public transportation page and Visit Denver mountain transportation page, read 14 Oct 2026). We did not confirm current Pegasus fares or a 2026-27 timetable

Getting there: Snowstang in 2025-26: round trips to Arapahoe Basin, the town of Breckenridge and Breckenridge Ski Resort, Copper Mountain and Loveland, every Saturday, Sunday and holiday Monday from 13 December 2025 (Copper from 20 December) through early May 2026. Pickups were Denver Union Station, RTD's Federal Center Station in Lakewood and the Wooly Mammoth Park-n-Ride at the Morrison/Red Rocks exit. An adult round trip was $25, a child 2 to 11 was $12.50 with a paying adult (CDOT news release, 8 Dec 2025, read 14 Oct 2026). CDOT had not announced the 2026-27 season when we checked

Getting there: Winter Park Express: "a seasonal train between Denver Union Station and the doorstep of the ski resort," fares start at $9, and "Tickets for winter 26/27 will be on sale this fall" (Winter Park Resort getting here page, read 14 Oct 2026). The train page itself still shows the 2025-26 days, 19 December 2025 to 29 March 2026. Amtrak's 5 November 2025 release gave a 7:00 a.m. departure from Denver, arriving at the resort at 9:11 a.m., and a 4:35 p.m. return reaching Denver at 7:05 p.m. Regular service ran Thursday to Sunday. Fares started at $9, $4.50 for kids (Amtrak media release, read 14 Oct 2026). Tickets are sold by Amtrak. We could not confirm 2026-27 dates

For Vail, the resort says the Vail/Beaver Creek Express Shuttle runs every 20 minutes in winter, and Epic Mountain Express sells shared shuttles from DEN. Aspen has the Roaring Fork Express between DEN and Aspen Snowmass, daily. We did not check fares or timetables for either.

The I-70 Traction Law

Note: The Traction Law applies every year from 1 September to 31 May on the I-70 Mountain Corridor between Dotsero and Morrison. AWD and 4WD vehicles need tires with at least 3/16 inch of tread that are rated winter (mountain snowflake), all-weather, or mud and snow. Vehicles that do not meet this must carry chains or an approved traction device on two or more drive tires. Noncompliance carries a $50 fine and a $17 surcharge (CDOT news release, 20 Nov 2025, read 14 Oct 2026)

Note: FOX31 Denver reports that under the newer law, front and two wheel drive cars must carry chains or traction devices for at least two tires when the law is active (FOX31, about November 2025, read 14 Oct 2026). We did not read the bill itself

Four wheel drive alone does not meet the law. Check your tires before you leave Denver. Rental cars may not have the right tires. We did not check any rental company's policy.

What we checked and what can change

Checked on 14 October 2026: Vail Resorts' 18 August 2026 opening date release; the Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper, Winter Park, Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Snowmass and Telluride sites; Ikon's destinations and opening dates pages; the Epic Pass home page; the Steamboat Springs Chamber; the Aspen Times of 9 September 2026; Colorado Ski Country USA's public transportation page; Visit Denver's mountain transportation page; Winter Park's train and getting here pages; CDOT's traction law release; CDOT's 8 December 2025 Snowstang release; Amtrak's 5 November 2025 Winter Park Express release; Denver7's opening date list; FOX31's traction law report.

Not confirmed: Epic Pass prices and day limits, lift ticket prices for any resort, Copper's mileage from Denver, Arapahoe Basin's miles, Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin opening dates, Telluride's date, Steamboat's date on its own site, Pegasus fares and 2026-27 times, Snowstang 2026-27 dates and fares, Winter Park Express 2026-27 days, and rental car tire policies. Dates, passes and prices change, so read each official page the week you book.