Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, USA

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, USA

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Guide To Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort

Arapahoe Basin ski resort is located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, just a few hours from Denver. It is one of the most popular ski resorts in the state, with skiing and snowboarding terrain that is highly dynamic and caters to all abilities and levels. 

Arapahoe Basin offers a wide variety of terrain for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. It has an impressive number of ski runs, including plenty of beginner trails that are perfect for first-timers. It also has some of the highest lifted terrains in Colorado which, in turn, influences the snow quality.

There is no on-mountain accommodation at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort. However, visitors can stay in the nearby towns of Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne. In these towns, you’ll find an array of cozy and affordable accommodation options where guests can enjoy delicious meals and drinks while taking in views of the surrounding mountains.

What Arapahoe Basin has to offer 

Services

Mountain Features

Resort Features

ARAPAHOE BASIN OPEN DATES AND TIMES

Arapahoe Basin Ski Field is estimated to be open

Between the dates of October 23, 2022 and estimated to close on June 1, 2023 for the 2022-23 winter season.

Ski life Services at Arapahoe Basin open as early as 8:30 AM and last to close is at 4:00 PM.

Mountain Map/ Info

Arapahoe Basin Trail Map

Arapahoe Basin Terrain

The resort features 1,428 acres of skiable terrain that contains various zones within it. These zones are:

  • The Front Side – This zone juts from the main base lodge and includes mainly beginner and intermediate slopes.
  • Pallavinci – This zone lies in the front of the Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort and is renowned for its double-black terrain.
  • The Beavers area has a number of steep groomed runs, tree skiing, and moguls
  • The Steep Gullies is for experts and has challenging rocky and steep chutes that usually open late during the season.
  • Montezuma Bowl – Also called Zuma, it is a south-facing bowl with great intermediate groomers.
  • The East Wall is mostly famous for its extreme terrain.

The skiable acres consist of 147 trails that are situated on a 1,692-foot vertical. The official slopes’ statistics for the resort’s terrain are:

  • Beginner - 7%
  • Intermediate - 20%
  • Advanced - 49%
  • Expert - 24%

Beginner Skiing and Snowboarding at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort

Although there is limited beginner terrain, the resort’s green slopes are great places for novices to learn to ski or snowboard and get used to the snow. To help beginners get around, the area has a couple of Magic Carpet lifts as well as one chairlift, the Molly Hogan double. More confident beginners can find progression opportunities on the Black Mountain Lift.

Intermediate Riding at Arapahoe Basin

Intermediates find great cruising opportunities off the Lenawee lift but sometimes they have to hike the hill below the Larkspur run and head over to the Montezuma area.

Advanced riding at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort

The area around the Montezuma Bowl is a great snow playground for advanced skiers and snowboarders. Here, there are challenging features that include cornices. After you clear the challenging areas, the terrain evens out and becomes a great cruising zone.

Expert Skiing and Snowboarding at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort

The terrain here tends to be gnarly and steep although these areas tend to open much later in the season due to inadequate snow cover. The advanced areas have challenging features such as icy bumped chutes, glades, rocks, and steep bowls as well as cornices that more experienced riders delight in.

Lifts at Arapahoe Basin

The Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort has 9 lifts. These include 6 Chairlifts, 1 Rope tow, and 2 people movers. These ski lifts ferry up to 13,000 riders per hour and travel a combined vertical length of 9,000 meters.

The following are the named lifts at the resort:

  • Lenawee Express – This is a detachable, high-speed six-person chairlift. It was commissioned in the year 2022 and covers a vertical length of 1,042 kilometers. This chairlift has a carrying capacity of 2,400 people per hour.
  • Pallavicini Lift – This is a fixed–grip double commissioned in 2020 and was manufactured by Leitner-Poma. It has the capacity to ferry up to 1,200 riders per hour and covers a distance of 1,060 meters of vertical length.
  • Molly Hogan Lift – This is a fixed-grip quad that has a ferrying capacity of 800 riders per hour. It covers a vertical length of 121 meters. 
  • Black Mountain Express - This is a detachable high-speed quad chair that was that covers a vertical length of 876 meters and has the capacity to carry up to 800 riders per hour.
  • Beavers Lift – This is a fixed-grip quad chairlift that was built in 2018. It covers a vertical length of 1,257 kilometers and has a vertical speed of 2.50 meters per second. It has the capacity to carry 1,800 people per hour.
  • Zuma Lift – This is a fixed-grip quad chair that covers a vertical length of 1,257 meters and can carry up to 1,900 riders.
  • Lazy J Tow – This is a Rope tow/baby lift that has a low rope tow. It covers a vertical length of 114 meters and has an hourly carrying capacity of 500 riders.
  • Molly's Magic Carpet – This is a magic carpet lift that covers a vertical distance of 3,294 kilometers. It has a ferrying capacity of 1,200 riders per hour.
  • Pika Place Carpet – This Magic carpet covers a vertical length of 23 meters, and its carrying capacity per hour is 1,200 people.

How To Get A Ski Pass To Arapahoe Basin

There are two ways you can get a ski pass for skiing and snowboarding at Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort. You can either buy them physically at the resort or buy them online at their official website. Purchasing passes online is advantageous as you save money from pre-season sales and discounts. You also get to avoid long queues at the ticketing offices.

You can purchase the following kinds of passes at the resort:

  • Gold pass – This pass provides unlimited and unrestricted access. You’re not subjected to any blackout dates, and is fully transferable to family, friends, coworkers, or students.
  • Gems Card – With this pass, you can enjoy the slopes hassle-free.
  • Kids’ Ski Passport – This applies to 3rd to 4th grade students who get the opportunity to explore the slopes with this pass. It gives them access to 20 ski areas for four days at each zone. 

Arapahoe Basin Snowcam  

Curious to know what the snow is like today at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort?

The following is a live webcam feed of the slopes at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort. We’ve curated the best views to show you the current snow conditions from around the resort.  

Arapahoe Basin RESORT Snowcam

Ski Resort Weather

The Arapahoe Basin Ski resort is located at a high altitude of 12,472 feet above sea level. This exposes its alpine areas to icy cold winds. When the windy conditions are really high revelers can bunk in the refuge hut constructed by the resort. The freezing wind conditions create cornices, which are the signature features of the Arapahoe Basin terrain.

The resort receives an average seasonal snowfall of about 350 inches. However, the snow is generally exposed to the elements due to the nature of the resort’s topography. For this reason, there needs to be at least 60 inches of snow cover to make it worth skiing or snowboarding on.

The resort also has artificial snowmaking capabilities on a minimal number of its slopes.

ARAPAHOE BASIN SNOW REPORT

In the following live graphic, you can see the currently estimated snow depth for the Arapahoe Basin snow resort.

ARAPAHOE BASIN WEATHER FORECAST

Knowing the projected weather conditions at and around the resort can help you plan your trip better. The following graphic shows an updated forecast for Arapahoe Basin’s weather.

https://www.yr.no/en/content/2-6947774/meteogram.svg

Arapahoe Basin RESORT Weather Forcast

BOOK NEARBY HOTELS

ARAPAHOE BASIN ACCOMMODATION AND WHERE TO STAY WHEN VISITING THE SKI RESORT.

There is no on-mountain accommodation at Arapahoe Ski Resort. Lodging and dining areas can be found in any one of the nearby resort towns. Alternatively, visitors can stay in any one of the nearby ski resorts including:

Revelers can also stay in the adjacent towns, which are connected by a bus system. The accommodation facilities in these towns range from deluxe to affordable options. The towns are:

There is additional accommodation in Georgetown, a small historic former mining town which is located about 20 miles to the northeast of Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort.

ARAPAHOE BASIN ACCOMMODATION AND WHERE TO STAY WHEN VISITING THE SKI RESORT.

There is no on-mountain accommodation at Arapahoe Ski Resort. Lodging and dining areas can be found in any one of the nearby resort towns. Alternatively, visitors can stay in any one of the nearby ski resorts including:

Revelers can also stay in the adjacent towns, which are connected by a bus system. The accommodation facilities in these towns range from deluxe to affordable options. The towns are:

There is additional accommodation in Georgetown, a small historic former mining town which is located about 20 miles to the northeast of Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort.

Getting To The Resort

How To Get to Arapahoe Basin

Arapahoe Basin is located in Colorado, Summit County. The resort is 86 miles from Denver Airport and 64 miles west of Denver.

The ski field is about 7.8 miles off the 170 interstate overlooking the beautiful scenery of Loveland Pass Road. The resort is about 5 miles away from Keystone Resort, 13 miles west of Silverthorne Town, 11 miles from Dillon, and 16 miles to the southwest of Frisco Town.

Getting to the Arapahoe Basin Resort by car

To get to the Arapahoe Basin Resort through Highway 6, take the I70 interstate route. Highway 6 from Keystone is safer than using the Loveland Pass due to its road conditions that can be quite unpredictable. You may need to use a 4WD vehicle equipped with snow tires, chains, or auto socks to comply with Colorado’s traction law.

Getting to the Arapahoe Basin Resort by bus

Summit County offers free shuttle services that ferry people to and from Arapahoe Basin Resort and to other towns and resorts. The shuttles from the Summit Stage are pocket-friendly and operate hourly to get to Arapahoe Basin.

While you’re traveling from Summit Cove, Keystone, and Breckenridge, use the Swam Mountain Flyer route to get to the Arapahoe Basin Resort. You will require to change buses when traveling from Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorne Resort to Arapahoe Basin Resort, and change two buses if traveling from Copper Mountain

Getting to the Arapahoe Basin Resort by private shuttles

There are several Summit County companies that provide door-to-door shuttle transport options to Arapahoe Basin.  

Ski Resort FAQ

WHERE IS ARAPAHOE BASIN?

Arapahoe Basin is located in Colorado, Summit County. The resort is 86 miles from Denver International Airport and 64 miles west of Denver.

HOW MUCH SNOW IS AT ARAPAHOE BASIN?

Arapahoe Basin receives an average seasonal snowfall of 350 inches. The resort also has artificial snowmaking capabilities on a small number of its slopes.

HOW BIG IS ARAPAHOE BASIN?

The Arapahoe Basin Resort has a skiable terrain of 1,428 acres, with 147 trails situated on a 1,692-foot vertical.

IS THERE PARKING AT ARAPAHOE BASIN?

Yes, there is both paid and free parking lot at Arapahoe Basin Resort.

IS ARAPAHOE BASIN BEGINNER FRIENDLY?

Yes, the resort has plenty of beginner trails with designated areas where novices can enjoy snow sports undisturbed. There’s also a ski school and equipment rental and sale services.

DOES ARAPAHOE BASIN NEED SNOW CHAINS?

Yes, snow chains are required following Colorado’s strict winter driving traction laws that go into effect during the winter season.