There’s something about the drive into a ski town. The anticipation that builds as you approach the mountains, which rise up around you like old friends. And it’s not just the thought of powder turns, or the promise of great après: it’s the feeling that you’re entering a brand new adventure, just waiting to unfold.
In a famed ski destination like Colorado, each ski town holds its very own story.
Once you’ve experienced a few chapters, you’ll find yourself wanting to return over and over again to discover more.
Aspen Snowmass: the ultimate mountain culture
Aspen needs no introduction, we’ve all seen the plethora of celebrities sipping champagne with designer shopping bags in hand, and the ski pros hiking Highlands Bowl for double black runs. But what you don’t know about this luxurious alpine destination with four glorious mountains is that the heritage-town streets of America’s most famous ski resort also happen to be a cultural powerhouse.
The Aspen Art Museum hosts exhibitions that rival major urban galleries (hello Damien Hirst and Yayoi Kusama), and the “Art in Unexpected Places” initiative turns the slopes into a canvas, with lift passes featuring commissioned artwork and installations scattered across the terrain.
Add in the legacy of locations like the Aspen Institute (global think tank) and Hunter S Thompson’s favourite Hotel Jerome, and you’ve got a town that’s as intellectually rich as it is physically stunning.
You’ll also find over 100 “shrines” dotted in the woods across the mountains, impromptu art sanctums dedicated to the likes of Elvis, John Denver, Jerry Garcia, even Snoopy.
Did we mention TERRAIN? The newest expansion, Hero’s, opened in 2023 and marks the resort’s most significant addition since 1985. It added 153 acres and boosted lift-served terrain by over 20 percent.
Telluride: remote, raw, radiant
Telluride is the kind of town that gets under your skin, in a good way, and lures you back with its box canyon ways season after season. North America’s most-stunning-ski-town Main Street looks like it’s been plucked from an old school western film and is nestled amongst 4000 metre peaks.
It’s no surprise that Butch Cassidy managed his first bank robbery here and that the hills are still dotted with old mining sites.
The Telluride terrain will make you a better skier or snowboarder, it’s steep and dramatic if you want it to be, you can even hike purpose-built stairs to chutes and bowls to make your knees chatter. There’s plenty of groomed runs for the intermediates, enough to deposit you on ski-in restaurant decks for world class dining with a view.
But don’t stress too much about getting first chair, because there’s rarely a lift line to be seen anyway. You can focus on your next run, and on getting a cute snap of the ski patrol dogs, because they have cult status here (and even have their own website).
Steamboat Springs: powder & ponies
Steamboat Springs is such a great ski town that it’s literally nicknamed ‘Ski Town, USA’. It’s famous for a few things, including its light, Steamboat resort’s fluffy Champagne Powder® snow (a term they trademarked for good reason), its ability to produce Winter Olympians and its next-level tree skiing.
Steamboat Springs’ town soul is in its ranching roots.
The Main Street was built wide enough for cattle drives and the town hosts a major cowboy style ski-joring event every season. You can even saddle up at Del’s Triangle 3 Ranch for a snowy horseback ride once just outside of town to channel your inner cowboy. Afterwards, have a soak in rock rimmed Strawberry Park Hot Springs in various degrees of hot and cold.
Forgot your cowboy boots? Head to FM Light & Sons for authentic cowboy boots and headwear since 1905.
Vail: elegance in motion
The town of Vail is polished, poised and unapologetically upscale with a purpose built pedestrian only village complete with heated sidewalks and an ice rink for romantic après skating. Two Euro inspired villages, Vail and Lionshead, service the 5300 acres of skiable terrain (the largest resort in Colorado) including the legendary Back Bowls – seven bowls opening up 2785 acres of skiable terrain.
The Vail Valley boasts not one but five Michelin restaurants including Sweet Basil in downtown Vail village or hit up 10th Mountain Whiskey Distillery for a wee dram of local whiskey inspired by the mountain soldiers of old.
If you’re adventurous take on the Minturn Mile, an off piste ski run that finishes in the town of Minturn at the Minturn Saloon. Nearby Beaver Creek is also worth a visit for the complementary hot cookies fresh from the oven every afternoon (and a ski-in ski-out Bloody Mary bar at the Ritz Carlton).
Breckenridge: history with heart
Breckenridge is layered with stories. Its mining past (founded in 1859) is visible in the architecture and the multi-coloured facades featured throughout the town that services the highest lifted resort in Colorado founded in 1961.
Breck’s (as it’s known) Five Peaks feature on the horizon as you drive into town, you can’t miss them, boasting 3000 skiable acres of high alpine terrain from tree skiing to alpine bowls.
You’ve got to love a ski town that has started each season for the last 62 years with Ullr Fest, a viking style Main Street party and parade dedicated to Ullr, the Norse god of snow (and the world’s longest shot ski).
Add The Edwin Carter Museum, named after Colorado’s earliest environmentalist, that’s celebrating 150 year anniversary and the beloved LGBTQ+ The Bunk House Lodge soon to be added to the Colorado State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Did we mention the town’s local distilleries and breweries? You’ll find them.
Crested Butte: the OG of ski soul
Surely the most soulful ski town in Colorado? Crested Butte is old school charm tucked away in the Elk Mountain Range in Gunnison County and filled with characters drawn to the town over the decades.
Think of Crested Butte as Byron Bay before influencers, but with snow.
Originally a coal mining town, Crested Butte is solid in its working class roots. There’s no pretension in the styling gentrified town, just locals who-may-be-big-in-city-industry but you’d never know. Expect Grammy award-winning country artists mingling with local hardware shapers drawn to the mountain’s challenging terrain that schools many a skier and snowboarder.
Oh-so-many more
Once you’ve started discovering just how many ski towns there are to love, it’s impossible to stop. Like Colorado classic Arapahoe Basin, affectionately known as A-Basin, and steeped in local legend. The real moment to be had here is at The Beach, a stretch of parking at the base where camp chairs and grills are brought out for tailgating parties all season long.
Or there’s Purgatory, which funnily enough is less like a place you’re unable to leave and more like a place you never WANT to leave. Intimate, scenic, and refreshingly low-key, the terrain is uncrowded and the art scene is next-level. Plus the nearby hot springs offer the perfect retreat after a day on the slopes.
And then there’s Winter Park, just 90 minutes from Denver and Colorado’s most accessible major resort, there’s even a train from Denver direct to the resort.
But don’t mistake proximity for predictability; the terrain is diverse, and the town is full of surprises, like dog sledding, stargazing snowcat rides, and ice bumper cars on the village ice rink adding whimsy to the winter experience.
Denver, the urban counterpoint
Flying into Denver from Australia is the best way to access Colorado’s ski towns, with direct international connection and easy access to major resorts via well-maintained highways or short regional flights.
When planning your travels, keep in mind that Denver isn’t just a transit point, it’s a destination in its own right. Before heading to the mountains, take time to explore the city’s cultural and culinary scene, whether it’s sipping award-winning whiskey at Root Shoot Spirits, dining at The Arboretum (the country’s highest estate winery) or catching a live show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Museums like Meow Wolf and the Denver Art Museum also offer immersive experiences that your whole entourage will love. And by late 2025, the Leonardo da Vinci Museum will add a world-class attraction to the region.
Celebrate the Colorado story
On your next trip, whether you’re in the city or in a ski town, you’ll be able to take part in the Colorado story.
In 2025 and 2026, this spectacular state will celebrate the twin anniversaries of America 250 and Colorado 150, with events, exhibitions, and public initiatives all happening for the occasion.
*Feature image, Steamboat, Colorado. Photo credit: Shannon Lukens.
