Life with ArielTo me, the 3 best ski cities in the US are Lake Tahoe, Colorado, and Park City in Salt Lake City. I have been to Lake Tahoe many times. This February I made a trip to Colorado with a friend. There are many skiing resorts in Colorado, Vail, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte and more. We chose Keystone this time mainly because my friend’s epic pass couldn’t be used at other resorts. This is my first time to Colorado and wanted to have a diverse experience. Although skiing was the main reason we were there, I planned other activities and it turned out I really enjoyed my company as well as Keystone. I will be back for summer adventures for sure!
Skiing at Keystone Resort
Keystone is less than 2 hours away from Denver, which makes it very accessible. The downside is that the skiing resort was always crowded, even on weekdays. What I liked the most about Keystone was that it has full range of slopes for people at all levels. There are not many green slopes, but the ones they had are really long, great for beginners to practice without losing much time on lifts. I mostly skied on blue slopes. The difficulty level varies a lot among the blues. I never got bored.
Colorado snowed more often than California. The slopes were groomed very well with fresh snow, much better than California. We were lucky that it snowed the night we arrived and cleared up the next day. In addition, I really enjoyed the view of snowy mountains and forests on the slope. It reminded me of my hometown. The sky was crystal clear in bright blue. I even felt the air was fresher there in CO than in CA. It feels so good to ski on the Rockies.
However, be mindful of the high elevation. I couldn’t breathe very well in the first two days even when walking. My friend even threw up on the lift. Take frequent breaks when lifting your gears and don’t rush it.
Skating and Sleigh at Keystone Lake
I stayed at Keystone Lodge, about 8-minute driving distance from the lifts. The lodge was built around the Keystone Lake which was turned into a skating ring in winter. The lake was vast and the ice was in deep blue. I could only imagine how beautiful it will be during summer times. I was surprised that not a lot of people were skating there during my stay and had to try it out even though I was never good at it.
Another popular, family-friendly activity which I didn’t get a chance to do there was riding a sleigh. It was so popular that it was all booked out one month in advance.
Hot Springs at Mt Princeton
Soaking in hot springs is a great way to end a tiring skiing day. Therefore, it’s also very popular in Colorado during winter times. I highly recommend booking ahead of time. There are many options. I booked Mt Princeton Hot Springs for two reasons. First, it’s not that far away from Keystone – only 1.5 hours of drive. More importantly, it has a private soaking pool, making me feel safer during pandemic. To make it even better, the private pool was an instagram-worthy infinity pool. The price was very reasonable as well, much cheaper than average spas in the Bay Area.
Mt Princeton provided true privacy, no other people and no crews on site. As soon as we got our towels and the key to the changing room, we were by ourselves, soaking in natural hot springs, surrounded by ultimate quietness, accompanied by snowy mountains, hugged by purple sunset, and eventually covered by starry sky. It was so relaxing and soothing that we lost tracking of time.
I had to mention a few not-so-great things. It was a little hard to find the exactly location of the private pool and required several phone calls with the host. Furthermore, the pool didn’t look as nice as in the pictures on the website because there were some empty pools next to it under construction. The changing room didn’t have hot water. We were disappointed that we couldn’t take a shower after the soak.
Dining around Keystone
A great trip must involve unforgettable dining experience. I never liked eating at skiing resorts. The food was overpriced and didn’t taste good. I ate there only for the convenience. Keystone was no difference from that perspective. There were also limited dining options at the lodge. However, we found great restaurants in nearby cities. We not only enjoyed the food but also appreciated their on-going cute holiday decorations. I highly recommend Bistro North in Dillon and its sister restaurant Blue River Bistro in Breckenridge. Their food is new American, creative and delicious. Ambience and service was great as well.
