Copper Mountain, Colorado

By Amanda May
Staff Writer
Rockies.com

About 75 miles west of Denver lies Copper Mountain, a self-contained ski resort and tiny town in the picturesque Colorado Rocky Mountains.

A family warms itself by the communal fire pit in Copper. (Matt Inden/Weaver Multimedia Group/Colorado Tourism Office)

Copper Mountain attractions center around the ski resort, the largest of the four resorts in Summit County. Copper Mountain lodging can be found in their three base areas, which has new condominiums along with unique restaurants and a cozy shopping plaza.

The closest town is Frisco, about five minutes from Copper Mountain. Silverthorne is another just 12 minutes away by car and home to a variety of outlet stores and restaurants.

Copper Mountain is a good place to base your Colorado adventure trip, as it is just about an hour and a half outside of Denver, twenty-five minutes from Vail and very close to Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Keystone, Colorado.

The mountain itself opened in 1972 and was well developed. Its attention to design allows for easy navigation for skiers and snowboarders, and makes it hard to accidentally find your self on too steep of terrain.

Advanced skiers prefer the east side, intermediate level skiers congregate on the more moderate terrain in the center and beginning skiers are safe on the farthest west side of the ski area. Above 12,000 feet you’ll find the two peaks at the resort, Copper and Union, and their double-black diamond terrain and four bowls: Copper Bowl, Union Bowl, Spaulding Bowl, and Resolution Bowl. These expert-only bowls have been compared to those at Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge. The adventurous also play on their first-rate terrain park, Catalyst.

Like nearby Colorado Rockies resorts, A-Basin and Ski Cooper, Copper Mountain is usually thought of as a local’s mountain, despite the fact that they too have beginner and intermediate terrain. This is probably because unlike Vail and Winter Park, there are far fewer lines at the majority of their lifts, even at the peak of the season.

Cross-country skiing is also popular on Copper’s 16 miles of trails and sledding can be a fun activity for all members of the family.

After all that snowy activity, take a cat nap and then head to Copper’s fun nightlife at the local bars and restaurants. Live music is common and there are places for everyone’s taste- whether you’re in the mood for a big party with friends or an intimate date with your sweetheart.

Golf or go mountain biking at Copper Mountain in the summer months to see and enjoy a totally different landscape than when you come for skiing, even though you’ll be using the same ski lifts to get the summer trials!

Whitewater rafting, playing a few sets of tennis or going fishing in the nearby lakes and streams are other activities that make Copper Mountain a fun wilderness adventure outside of the ski season. And their rich culinary options are worth a trip no matter what time of year it is!