Copper Mountain Ski & Snowboarding Resort Guide
Situated halfway between Breckenridge and Vail, Copper Mountain is often overlooked, however the ski and snowboard areas offers impressive family-friendliness, some great terrain, and world-class terrain parks. At nearly 2,500 skiable acres Copper Mountain has a wide variety of terrain, from nice beginner slopes, to high alpine skiing and snowboarding above treeline. A base area dedicated to beginners and families makes Copper an awesome place to learn, too.
Copper Mountain has a small base area village with shops, restaurants, and hotels for those skiers and snowboarders that want to stay just steps from the mountain. Also off the mountain is Woodward at Copper, a world-renowned training facility for freestyle skiers, snowboarders and skateboarders. Woodward offers on and off hill coaching for those looking to progress their freestyle skills.
Copper Mountain has a small base area village with shops, restaurants, and hotels for those skiers and snowboarders that want to stay just steps from the mountain. Also off the mountain is Woodward at Copper, a world-renowned training facility for freestyle skiers, snowboarders and skateboarders. Woodward offers on and off hill coaching for those looking to progress their freestyle skills.
Copper Mountain has three base areas for skiers and snowboarders to explore, East Village, Center Village, and Union Creek. The Super Bee quad chair serves the East Village, which holds early season training for the US Ski Team on the steep groomed runs. This side of the mountain accesses intermediate and advanced terrain, with high speed cruising and big moguls. It also offers quick access to the advanced terrain on the upper mountain, like the Storm King double chair. Laps down Spaulding Bowl to Resolution Bowl are super fun on a powder day, with lots of small natural features to jump off and jib on.
Center Village has the most variety of the three base areas. Skiers and snowboarders will first notice the huge 22’ halfpipe right at the base. This halfpipe is often the first in the United States to open and holds events like Olympic Qualifiers. Center village has some great intermediate terrain as well as access to the two backside chairlifts. The backside has advanced and expert bowls and chutes. From the bottom of the Mountain Chief chairlift skiers and snowboarders can take the free Tucker Mountain Snowcat to gain access to more open bowl skiing and the extreme terrain on Tucker Mountain. Advanced skiers and snowboarders will not want to miss out on this terrain. Taking the American Flyer chairlift from Center Village gives skiers and snowboarders access to the world-class Woodward terrain parks as well as the Union creek base area. Union Creek is almost like its own ski area with four chairlift serving beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders. This area is awesome for families and beginners that want to learn without fear of getting run over by advanced skier and snowboarders.
Copper Mountain ski and snowboard areas is located a 90 minute drive west of Denver just off of I-70. The drive on I-70 can get very busy on the weekends, however, extending travel time by as much as multiple hours to and from Denver. The Summit Express Shuttle brings skiers and snowboarders to Copper Mountain from the Denver International Airport. Likewise, the Summit Stage bus runs from nearby Summit County to Copper Mountain.
Travel Resources:
Copper Travel Overview
Summit Stage Bus
I70 Road Conditions and Travel Times
Copper Mountain ski and snowboard areas is located a 90 minute drive west of Denver just off of I-70. The drive on I-70 can get very busy on the weekends, however, extending travel time by as much as multiple hours to and from Denver. The Summit Express Shuttle brings skiers and snowboarders to Copper Mountain from the Denver International Airport. Likewise, the Summit Stage bus runs from nearby Summit County to Copper Mountain.
Copper Travel Overview
Summit Stage Bus
I70 Road Conditions and Travel Times
Skiers and snowboarders have a number of option for staying in the Copper Mountain Village. Free busses then operate around the village and the three base areas of the ski and snowboard area. Skiers and snowboarders can also stay in the towns of Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne, each about 20 minutes west of Copper Mountain.
Copper Mountain Lodging
Our Favorite Snowboards For Copper Mountain
Local Food Picks
For the relatively small village, Copper Mountain has some great shops restaurants and apres ski options. Endo’s at the Center Village base area has delicious, and giant nachos. Enlist a friend or three to help you take them down after a long day skiing and snowboarding. The Storm King Lounge serves sushi so good you’ll forget you’re in landlocked Colorado. Mulligans meanwhile is a ski bum dive bar also in the village.
Our Favorite Skis For Copper
Where to Find Lift Tickets to Copper Mountain?
Copper Mountain offers some of the cheapest skiing and snowboarding lift tickets of the Summit County ski resorts, Copper, Keystone, and Breckenridge. Buying tickets online in advance can save up to 30-40% versus buying at the base area ticket window. Children and seniors receive discounted Copper Mountain lift tickets, too.Copper Mountain Weather & Conditions Information
Copper receives 405” of snow annually, which is above average for Colorado ski and snowboard resorts. Less crowds than the neighboring ski resorts also mean less people to ski and snowboard all of that powder. While there is some good tree skiing, a lot of Copper’s advanced and expert terrain is exposed and above the treeline, which can mean low visibility on stormy days, however. This is when the skiing lower down the mountain in areas like Resolution Bowl is recommended. All of the alpine terrain makes for awesome slushy skiing and snowboarding in the spring when the sun is shining. Copper Mountain has enough snow left throughout the summer to run on-snow camps for Woodward, and a public terrain park on the weekends.Copper Mountain Ski Report
Copper Mountain Webcams
Copper Mountain Snow Forecast
Copper Mountain is one of the most underrated ski and snowboard areas in Colorado. The topography allows for a natural separation of terrain by difficulty across the three base areas, giving skiers and snowboarders of every ability their own piece of the mountain. Paired with steep and fun advanced terrain, and the Woodward at Copper terrain parks, Copper Mountain has the complete package. The under the radar status helps keep the crowds away, too, so don’t forget about Copper Mountain on your Colorado ski and snowboard vacation!
