The Skiers' Guide to Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek, known to locals simply as ‘the Beav’, is a large ski area in central Colorado. Though undeniably overshadowed by its neighbor Vail, found 10 minutes down the road, Beaver Creek has it all. It has a lot to offer to skiers all types, and even does a few things better than Vail. Its 2,000 acres of skiable terrain include lots of great slopes for beginners and mid-level skiers as well as places like Birds of Prey, a steep face covered in moguls that has hosted dozens of World Cup events. Beaver Creek does not see the headline-grabbing chairlift queues which occasionally strike its neighbor. The resort is also known for its posh villages, fine dining, and luxurious ski-in/ski-out homes.

The terrain at Beaver Creek is quite varied. Though it lacks anything like Vail’s bowls or lifts that ascend far above the treeline like you see at Breckenridge, the ski area still has terrain for almost every type of skier. There’s a remarkably even spread of terrain, with roughly even amounts of slopes rated beginner, intermediate and advanced. Beginner and intermediate slopes are found all across the mountain. Compared to its neighbor Vail, Beaver Creek is far less crowded while offering a large resort with nearly identical snowfall.

The ski area can be divided into eastern and western halves. The westernmost part of the mountain is called Arrowhead. A quick tip: the base area of Beaver Creek consists of predominantly north-facing slopes, so trail maps are oriented with east on the left-hand side. Arrowhead and its near-neighbor Bachelor Gulch consist almost entirely of beginner and intermediate runs. Bachelor Gulch is also notable for its many skiable roads which provide access to dozens and dozens of ski-in/ski-out homes.

Above Arrowhead and Bachelor Gulch, you will find McCoy Park, a lovely beginner area with an excellent view of the Gore Range. It’s also home to on-mountain snowshoeing and cross-country skiing and a couple of places to eat.

All in all, the western end of Beaver Creek offers excellent terrain for beginners or those who simply prefer groomed terrain. There are several lifts to choose from if things get stale and the area is seldom crowded. There is some advanced terrain on the eastern end (Thresher Glade is my top pick for tree skiing), but it’s generally an intermediate and beginner-oriented region.

The eastern half of Beaver Creek is larger and has more varied terrain. The base area is (somewhat confusingly) called Beaver Creek. From there, you can access the western mountain via the Strawberry Park lift or proceed upwards. This base area has a few lifts serving a bunny hill but also more advanced terrain. Take Centennial (the main chairlift) and you can ski down on pistes that run the gamut in terms of difficulty. It’s good skiing, but during busy periods Centennial gets quite crowded, so it’s sometimes best to just ride the chair and move on.

If you take that advice, there are a few options for where to go next. The Rose Bowl is one option. Though it doesn’t really qualify as a bowl in my eyes, the skiing is good enough. Most runs are black, but there is an easy way down. These aren’t as steep as what you’ll find higher up, but they still present a challenge.

The summit of Beaver Creek Mountain services high-altitude beginner and intermediate terrain and is home to a few small terrain parks. These are good for those just looking to play around on small jumps and rails, but anyone looking for big park action should go to a different resort.

Three lifts meet in the area between the eastern and western halves. These are the Larkspur, Grouse Mountain and Birds of Prey chairlifts. I love the variety that being able to run different lifts provides.

In terms of terrain, Birds of Prey and Grouse Mountain offer steep mogul-strewn runs. This is experts-only terrain. Birds of Prey, home to annual races and, frequently, World Cup events, is the more challenging of the pair, but I prefer Grouse Mountain thanks to Royal Elk Glade, a powder-rich tree run. Larkspur, on the other hand, is more geared towards intermediate skiers and snowboarders. Its handful of runs are frequently groomed but none are rated for beginners. The fact that it is so easy to alternate between lifts (and to tuck in for a beer or meal at Talon’s Restaurant) makes this trio of slopes my favorite part of Beaver Creek.

Though more famous for the posh restaurants found at the various base areas, Beaver Creek does offer on-mountain dining. In fact, some of these are just as extravagant as what you’ll find at the base. Or in any large city, for that matter.

You can get dining hall-style food at Talon’s Restaurant, Spruce Saddle and Broken Arrow. The food is expensive for what you get, but if, don’t want to fuss or waste time and are willing to spend at least $20 on something rather basic, they’ll do the trick.

Sit-down dining is possible in the various cabins found throughout the ski area. Zach’s Cabin, Beano’s Cabin and Allie’s Cabin all offer fine dining. The food and service are excellent for those willing to spend. Reservations are almost always required. The hours for these cabins have been inconsistent the last several seasons (thanks, COVID) so you may find that they’re only open for dinner.

As for the base, Blue Moose Pizza is a great casual option that has stood the test of time, feeding Beaver Creek for almost 30 years (an eternity, by resort standards). It’s one of those family-friendly places that also happens to have a lively bar. The Dusty Boot Saloon has a more varied menu and similar prices, which are pretty good for Beaver Creek. Avon, the larger town adjacent to the ski area, has many more affordable options. These include standard fast food franchises and local hits like Sauce on the Creek (mostly Italian), Phở Bay (Vietnamese), North Side Kitchen (American food) and Rocky Mountain Taco (I’ll make you guess what they serve).

There are heaps of options for those looking for fine dining. I haven’t been to any that were a colossal disappointment, but obviously some are better than others. Splendido is the place to go for gorgeously presented contemporary cuisine. If you want a heartier, more meat-heavy meal, try the Golden Eagle Inn.

Most of the après action in and around Beaver Creek is found within its restaurants. Naturally, some of these are more oriented around food than others, but there are few establishments just offering drinks and none that could reasonably be called a nightclub.

Ein Prosit in Avon offers an Alpine-style drinking atmosphere. If wine is your drink, Vin48 is right across the street. Closer to the base, C Bar is better for those looking to try interesting cocktails and is usually decently busy after the mountain closes. On the other side of the mountain at Bachelor Gulch, the local Ritz Carlton is well worth visiting for anyone who wants to experience the luxuriousness of Beaver Creek for the price of a drink rather than an eye-watering hotel stay.

Beaver Creek is very much a family-friendly resort. The ski school is well run and certainly benefits from the ski area’s surplus of beginner and intermediate terrain. As a mountain without bowls or a huge number of faces, Beaver Creek is fairly easy to navigate and it’s next to impossible for you or your children to wander off into a wilderness area. You do need to study the map to discover how to traverse between the eastern and western halves, but overall the resort is easy enough to navigate.

As for family unfriendly activities, you’re not likely to see any. Beaver Creek is very upmarket and though plenty of patrons will down their share of cocktails, it is impossible to confuse it with a ‘party mountain’.

Beaver Creek for Non-skiers

Perhaps half of Beaver Creek’s reputation comes from things unrelated to skiing. I said above that the skiing is absolutely underrated, but I have to acknowledge that the resort’s reputation for grandiosity certainly isn’t unearned. This means that those uninterested in skiing have a lot they can take in. Whether you’re staying at a fancy hotel or just want to pop into one for a drink, simply taking in the luxury is an activity unto itself.

On to less abstract subject matter, Beaver Creek and Avon both have ice skating rinks, sledding hills, ice sculptures, and regular events. And don’t forget that on-mountain snowshoeing and cross-country skiing can be a first step towards converting a non-skier into a proper Snomad. The local area is served by free buses. The historic mining town of Minturn is just down the road. It has its share of dining options. None are as upmarket as what you see in Beaver Creek, but the place is big on character. Vail, with its own luxury hotels and restaurants, is only about 10 minutes down the road.

Beaver Creek is about as far from a budget destination as you can get. This obviously has its downsides but it means those willing to pay can get quite the luxurious experience. Major hotels adjacent to the ski area include a Ritz Carlton, the Alpine Lodge, McCoy Lodge, and the Westin Riverfront Resort. There are also dozens upon dozens of condominiums and pricey homes available for rent. Many, especially those on the Bachelor Gulch side, offer the ski-in/ski-out experience.

Just as we saw with dining, accommodation is cheaper in Avon than it is in any of Beaver Creek’s base areas. The Comfort Inn and the newly opened Cohabit Podtel offer some of the best rates. Even though these are a bit of a hike from the ski area, free buses and a chairlift that goes from Avon to the ski area’s base make this a negligible issue.

But if you want to spend as little as possible, consider staying further afield in Edwards or Eagle. This will make getting to the resort more of a chore, but if you’ll have a car it can be a good option. Parking at the main garages is expensive, but there is a far cheaper option in the form of the Bear Lot (you will have to bus from your car to the chairlift, but it runs frequently and only takes a couple minutes).

Beaver Creek is part of Vail Resorts Incorporated. In 2017, Vail Resorts made a commitment to reach a company-wide goal of zero net emissions by 2030. This came on top of an earlier promise to produce zero landfill waste by the same year. According to public documents, Vail has made substantial progress toward both of these aims, namely through offsets, diversions, and rigorous recycling in resorts like Beaver Creek.

This goal is highly ambitious and it remains to be seen whether it will be achieved. Some activists have criticized its emphasis on offsets and hold that Vail’s other promise to have zero impact on wildlife habitats is essentially impossible. Regardless, as a very prominent resort in Vail’s portfolio, sustainability is very visible at Beaver Creek. Recycling is ever present, often in the form of staff sorting waste at on-mountain restaurants. The local buses are all electric and information about the resort’s sustainability promises are not hard to find.