Pros and Cons of the Ski Resorts
Park City
Pros: Tons of skiable area with great runs. In my opinion, the best part about Park City is the town itself. You can take the gondola straight into town, making it super accessible, and the town itself is a GEM! Its proximity to the Salt Lake City airport is the best there is. Just a quick 45 minute drive and you're there.
Cons: It is very popular, so it can get hectic, and the slopes can wear down if there's not a ton of snow.
Steamboat
Pros: Steamboat boasts some of the best tree skiing I've ever done. To me, that's the biggest highlight there can be. On top of that, they have an excellent ski school (although I learned how to ski there, so I might be partial), a fantastic base atmosphere with donut holes being handed out at the end of the day, and so much more.
Cons: The town of Steamboat is not right at the base, and it's not the best ski town I've been to. It is also one of the more challenging resorts to get to if you fly into Denver, and with bad weather, rabbit ears pass may give you some issues.
Vail
Pros: Vail has some of the most gorgeous skiing I've ever done; I found my jaw dropped at almost every turn. It also has fantastic runs for every type of skier, which can sometimes be hard to come by. Additionally, it has the legendary back bowls. I feel like that one's self-explanatory. Vail's town is beautiful too.
Cons: Even those who have never been skiing know what Vail is, and for a good reason. However, I found it to be highly crowded, which can make skiing less enjoyable. The mountain is also massive so it can be hard to traverse at times.
Beaver Creek
Pros: Beaver Creek is a super manageable and kid-friendly mountain, and it has a fabulous atmosphere both at the base and on the mountain. On top of that, it has a super cute town plaza with restaurants and shops all around an ice-skating rink perfect for winter festivities.
Cons: My only complaint is that I found the mountain to not be super wooded, which for me was a con as I love tree skiing.
Whistler
Pros: There is SO MUCH skiable terrain! Technically, Whistler consists of both Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain, so between the 2, you will never be short of runs. The town of Whistler is also great, and there are lots to do. Another plus is that the drive from Vancouver to Whistler is stunning.
Cons: We found that kids aren't allowed in most restaurants when it gets late which was a bummer when we were looking for late-night eats. With two mountains being a pro, it can also be a con as it may be difficult to easily ski between the 2, given the gondola you have to take to get from one to the other. I also found Whistler to be a bit of a hassle to go to coming from the Midwest because of the long flight to Vancouver comparative to Colorado, but if you live on the west coast, that's not an issue. When we skied there, the slopes were very icy, but I'll give Whistler the benefit of the doubt that it was due to bad weather conditions that day.
Deer Valley
Pros: The mountain is incredible, with many great runs, tree trails, and places to stop on the mountain. Deer Valley is also the swankiest ski resort I've been to; even the faucets are gold! That being said, the mountain is very clean and also super kid friendly. I can't go without mentioning that the mountain is skiers only, which was very nice for me, but if you or someone in your group snowboards, Deer Valley would have to be a no-go for you.
Cons: I've talked a lot about the towns at these ski resorts, so, notably, Deer Valley doesn't have a town, more just a conglomerate of resorts which is its only drawback. However, Deer Valley and Park City are pretty much "sister mountains," They are very close to each other, so a quick drive can take you into the town of Park City to enjoy.
Breckenridge
Pros: The town! Seriously, Breck is one of the cutest ski towns I've come across, bonus points for the delicious crepes at Crepes a la Carte. It also has lots of skiable terrain, so there is something for everyone.
Cons: The altitude is definitely something to bear in mind, as Breck has the highest ski resort elevation. Altitude sickness had never bothered me before, but I had a constant headache when we were there, so definitely pile on the water before you leave and always bring oxygen. Additionally, I didn't like how big the mountain was, and instead of there being 1 or 2 peaks with a lot of runs, there are five peaks at Breck, making it hard to centralize things.
Winter Park
Pros: Winter Park is super chill and laid-back, so if you're not looking for the fuss of Deer Valley or Vail- Winter Park might be the place for you. They also have great moguls, and fantastic expert runs if that's what you're into.
Cons: That being said, I wouldn't say Winter Park is the best place to go with family as they only have a small portion of beginner runs, and their ski school isn't anything gold medal worthy. I also found that Winter Park didn't have as much character as the other resorts I've been to which to me was a drawback.
