Sunlight Offers Affordable Ski Vacation for Families
Skiing with a family of five people can rack up quite a bill, unless you know where to go. When my kids were smaller and getting their ski legs, Sunlight Mountain was one of our favorite destinations and quite possibly one of the most affordable ski vacations we’ve enjoyed in Colorado.
Sunlight Mountain is about 12 miles south of Glenwood Springs, home of the world’s largest hot springs pool, and the perfect après for the family. And when you book Sunlight’s Ski Swim Stay package, you’ll get a room for about $100 a night, a free lift ticket AND kids 12 or young ski for free. A lot of value for a flat rate.
The mountain itself is an ideal environment for beginner and intermediate skiers with 67 trails spread out among ability levels, and easy access to the base. After you park in the lot and head up a set of stairs, you are at the lift and ready to ski. The terrain is great for beginners with wide open trails as well as more challenging intermediate runs. And Sunlight has one long cruiser, one of the longest in the state, where newbies can get plenty of practice.
This isn’t the place to ski double black diamonds. Aspen Snowmass is just down the road for expert runs, but at double or triple the price you would pay for a lift ticket at Sunlight.
The staff is probably the best part of the resort, very friendly and helpful. They really seem to enjoy their job and helping guest have a pleasant experience, which is a rare experience at the bigger resorts. One of our kids dropped their glove while on the lift, and an employee skied over to our trail and returned it to us.
On-site dining is also very reasonable. We were able to grab a quick lunch for a family of 5 for about $25. But if you want to venture away from the mountain for a bite to eat, the mountain is just 12 miles from Glenwood Hot Springs, a nice place to après with the entire family. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance of Glenwood’s historic downtown, and other things to do.
The family and I combined a ski trip with sight-seeing at the Glenwood Caverns adventure park underground caverns. For dinner, we had some great barbeque at Rib City. You can stay in Glenwood on the Ski, Swim, Stay Package or pick up hotel rooms for about half the price of a Vail hotel.
Whether you’re a visitor skiing with a group of different ability levels, or you’re skiing with your little ones, you get lots of ski vacation for your money at Sunlight Mountain.
Rene Toy
The frugal skier