I recently went to Winter Park this last week and I would have to say I was not impressed. It is poorly laid out and the town has nearly nothing. Everywhere we wanted to go we had to take at least one green run and they had a bunch of spots where you had to walk. I decided to ski the remainder of the week at Keystone and A-Basin, it was much better there. My personal favorites are Keystone and Steamboat, I will not return to Winter Park.
Anonymous - March 22nd, 2008
2 of 2 people found this Resort Review helpful.
Overall
5 of 5
Family Friendly
5 of 5
Downhill Terrain
5 of 5
Terrain Park
n/a
Apres Ski
5 of 5
My wife and I just spent four days at WP. Being a boarder, I was apprehensive about going after reading the negative reviews about the flats. Now having been there I am not sure what the fuss is about. We did not do every run, but we rode many of them. We found minimal flat spots and were able to avoid them. All parts of the mountain were enjoyable. It was mid March and occasionally we ran into a crowded run or a long line, but for the most part everything was great. The upper lifts had shorter lines, and it was easier to find runs with fewer people. The runs off of the Panoramic Express lift were awesome!
Anonymous - March 13th, 2008
1 of 1 people found this Resort Review helpful.
Overall
3 of 5
Family Friendly
4 of 5
Downhill Terrain
4 of 5
Terrain Park
3 of 5
Apres Ski
1 of 5
So just got back from a couple days at Winter Park. Mid March and the place was pretty dead. . .very few if any lift lines on a Sunday and Monday. The new Panoramic Lift is awesome and contains the best blue runs in the resort. Winter Park has a frequent and reliable bus transport system. My biggest disapointment is lack of any "real" village. Looks like they are expanding now, but currently there is basically a Starbucks and a horrible "Docs" restaurant at the base village, that's basically it besides the normal high priced lodge food ($8 bowl of soup). Skiing - B+, apres-ski and restaurants - D
We just got back from a week in Winter Park and absolutely loved every minute of it! We've been to five other CO resorts in the past (Breck, Vail, Steamboat, Aspen, and Copper), and for skiing, we loved WP the best! We are intermediate skiers, and found plenty of challenging runs, including some of the greens off High Lonesome Express, and Olympia. Some folks complain about the flats, but once you know your way around the mountain, you can get through them without much trouble.
Speaking of getting around the mountain, we found this the easiest and most hassle-free of any place we've been. It was really straightforward and simple to go from WP to Vasquez Ridge, and over to Mary Jane. We were able to ski plenty of runs each day on all three peaks. The best feature by far is the addition of the Panoramic Express lift to Parsenn Bowl. What a treat! There are runs for everyone up there, the view is fantastic, and we just loved skiing the glades. Wow!
We stayed at the Vintage Hotel, which was nice, and will be even better with planned upgrades. I thought access to the Base from there would be a hassle, but using the ample shuttle busses was easy and efficient. Getting into town was also easy, using the WP shuttle bus, or the Vintage Hotel van. Some folks may not like the lack of shopping and dining choices, but we found good variety and quality in what was there. Besides, if you've had a challenging day on the slopes, all you really need is a good hot tub (which The Vintage has, along with a great heated pool), and a good hot meal, which is easy to find.
There is plenty of new construction and enhancements taking place all over WP, and they should make the place an even better ski resort destination. We WILL be back to Winter Park!
Anonymous - March 3rd, 2008
1 of 1 people found this Resort Review helpful.
Overall
5 of 5
Family Friendly
5 of 5
Downhill Terrain
5 of 5
Terrain Park
n/a
Apres Ski
5 of 5
Excellent skiing at my intermediate level. The maps also indicate the level of the blue run which helped inprove my confidence rather scaring me before being ready. I did find it hard sometimes to get to where I wanted on the lift system but this didnt really matter as there was always a route I could take. The only complaint was having to walk rather than ski on bits of green runs but then I am a bit lazy. Had great time attempting mogels, tree skiing and powder. It was weird that you have runs almost all to your self fantastic especially with new snow. The ski instructor (Bruce) could not have done a better job and justified the highish cost compared to other places. I wouldnt recomend the main ski hire place at the bottom of the slopes unless you are a beginner and needing everything. I was not given what I expected and it was very battered but because of the long que in getting stuff could not do with going else where on that day. I stayed at the winter park mountain logde and got very good value equipment there the next day. The hotel and everything in it was excellent. I can also praise very highly the rescue man who brought me down the second half of the Mary Jane run in a surprisingly comfortable orange sledge and looked after me so well in first aid building. I would recommed this place for sure.
Winter Park and MJ have been awesome this year. The guy who said the lifts don't connect needs to get a map or go more then once. I just went last week and made fresh tracks for about the first 5 runs. Great place to ski and one of the best for bumps. It is harder to make the fresh tracks on the weekend but that is expected. Hope to see you soon at the Park plenty of room for everyone.
Anonymous - February 18th, 2008
0 of 1 people found this Resort Review helpful.
Overall
3 of 5
Family Friendly
3 of 5
Downhill Terrain
3 of 5
Terrain Park
n/a
Apres Ski
n/a
I know Keystone, Winterpark, Copper and Steamboat. For an intermediate skier I would say WP/MJ is the worst of them. WP is for beginners. And in MJ the lifts do not connect well at all, you need to paddle to get to the chair and there are almost always dead spots, very bad for snowboarders. I have not been there this year so I don't know the new lift.
I still go because the lift tickets and lodging are not as high as other places although the trend is more and more expensive every year.
Anonymous - February 10th, 2008
1 of 1 people found this Resort Review helpful.
Overall
5 of 5
Family Friendly
5 of 5
Downhill Terrain
5 of 5
Terrain Park
n/a
Apres Ski
4 of 5
Winter Park was awesome. Arrived on 2/1/08 and had an awesome time. My wife and i were skiing for our 2nd time. The first day we stayed on the easier greens, Bill Wilson's way was a great place to get back in the groove. We then went on to Jack Kendrick and absolutely loved it. Village way is an awesome run from the top, only a couple of flats, but if you don't feel comfortable on Kenndrick, i would advise perfecting it before trying the greens off of the top of the mountain, some of these are pretty tough for greens. By the second day, we were skiing March Hare to Village way, which is an awesome run from the top of the mountain all the way to the base. Our last run on Monday, my wife and I went to the top of the Jane, and skied Switchyard to Village Way in fresh powder by ourselves most of the way down, this run is about 2200 ft. verticle drop, "unbelievable for 2nd timers". We stayed at the Iron Horse, which was O.K., but could use some updating, and not ski in/out unless you can ski blues comfortably. The ski rental shop there was convenient and the people were very friendly and helpful. Winter Park is an awesome place to ski, and the Winter Park employees were very friendly and helpful. Special thanks to the host from Iowa City that helped my buddy get down from the top of the mountain after one too many crashes! We will definitely be back. What an awesome experience! Anonymous from Louisiana.
WP/MJ sucks, they keep building lifts and wrecking good terrain. Never a powder day, no matter how much new snow, it gets tracked out by 9AM. Just a place for transplanted California dorks from Denver, you can have it.
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