Between lift tickets and gear purchases, skiing isn’t exactly known for being a budget-friendly sport. And that’s before you factor in lodging should you decide to do a destination slope stay.
Luckily for Coloradans, a couple of the state’s resorts are considered among the most affordable in the U.S. That’s according to a new Ski Price Index for the 2021-2022 season released Tuesday by Holidu, a self-described vacation rental search engine.
Holidu, which aggregates rentals from sites such as Booking.com and Vrbo as well as offers its own bookings, ranked 41 stateside ski resorts based on their average daily expenses. Those were calculated using the median weekly price of lodging based on the company’s database of rental properties for the upcoming season and the price of ski passes at the various resorts. Only mountains with 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) or more of skiable terrain were considered.
According to the price comparison, Purgatory Resort in Durango is the most affordable ski resort in Colorado this season, costing skiers an average $110 per day, followed by Winter Park Resort at $135 per person per day. The Colorado resorts ranked No. 5 and No. 10, respectively, most budget-friendly resorts in the country, Holidu said.
Here are the top 10 U.S. ski resorts for deal-seekers, according to Holidu:
- Powder Mountain resort in Utah — $73.67 average daily expense
- Schweitzer in Idaho — $78.38 average daily expense
- Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon — $103.61 average daily expense
- Alta Ski Area in Utah — $103.87 average daily expense
- Purgatory Resort in Colorado — $109.97 average daily expense
- Mt. Baker Ski Area in Washington — $112.44 average daily expense
- Sugarloaf in Maine — $117.65 average daily expense
- Mission Ridge in Washington — $125.07 average daily expense
- Mt. Bachelor in Oregon — $131.96 average daily expense
- Winter Park Resort in Colorado — $134.79 average daily expense
Holidu lauded Purgatory for its vast terrain, with 119 runs and six lifts. “Ski through the wide open mountain or check out one of their more challenging tree trails, Purgatory has so much to offer,” the site said.
Terrain is also a major selling point for Winter Park Resort “with 26% reserved for beginner to intermediate and the remaining 72% for advanced to experts,” Holidu said. “But with its expansive slopes covering 143 km (about 89 miles) the whole family is sure to find suitable slopes.”
Keystone Resort came in No. 12 on Holidu’s list, followed by Arapahoe Basin (No. 14), Loveland Ski Area (No. 16), Breckenridge Ski Resort (No. 23), Copper Mountain (No. 24), Steamboat Ski Resort (No. 25), Crested Butte Mountain Resort (No. 26), Aspen Snowmass (No. 27), Beaver Creek Resort (No. 28), Telluride Ski Resort (No. 35), Aspen Highlands Ski Area (No. 36), and Aspen Mountain (No. 37). Vail Ski Resort rounded out the list as the least affordable ski resort in the U.S. (No. 41) with a $394 daily average expense.