Guide to Copper Mountain

True Story: Our trip to Copper Mountain was, by far, my favorite ski trip I’ve ever been on. We had SO much fun! It’s a totally different vibe than most Colorado Ski Resorts and we loved it. Their motto “Raised on Colorado” is just perfect for them. It’s all about the Colorado lifestyle at Copper Mountain – laid back yet bad ass, gorgeously groomed yet wild and free, and family-friendly yet still cool!

Accommodations:

The resort is ALL condos which is awesome for us! We stayed in the Copper One Building last year. Full kitchen was amazing because we got to store breakfast items and Crosson never eats his whole meal on vacation. We had so many leftovers! We also loved how close our condo was to the slopes. Probably 50 feet with no stairs. IT WAS AMAZING. We had a balcony facing the slopes and over the pool/hot tub. At Copper Mountain you can choose what village to stay in – West, Center and East. We chose the Center Village to be close (another 50 ft) to childcare and the ski school. There are restaurants and shops in each village so it’s totally up to your preference.

Dining:

SO many good spots. Our favorite, by far, was Sugar Lips Mini Donuts. (Are you surprised?) We went every morning to watch her make the mini donuts on the spot with whatever toppings you wanted on top. It overlooks the skating rink so the cuteness factor increases significantly. For a nice dinner we thoroughly enjoyed CB Grille. Upscale but not snotty. Crosson was a mess but no one seemed to care. (Why we love Coloradans!) The crème brûlée was incredible. Even if you just go for deserts, go! Other spots we loved: Toast for breakfast, it’s freaking adorable, Mahi Street Tacos, Ten Mile Tavern and Mountain Melt, some dang good mac and cheese!

Now onto the important part: Copper Slopes and Ski School!

Copper Mountain Ski School:

Watching my three-year-old ski this year has been one of my most favorite memories of him. (Thus far…) The classes are limited in size which is so nice. We actually had a teacher one-on-one with Crosson the whole time. The kid was fearless too. Since he’s three we did a short lesson each morning, they provide lunch (and snacks) and then he went to the childcare center after that. He had so much fun each day. The instructor was so nice and genuinely cared for his safety and skills. We had even more fun watching him.

Copper Mountain Slopes:

Copper Mountain is perfect for my husband and I, both green skiers, because we like to take it easy. But it’s also perfect for the more advanced skiers and snowboarders, too. Their motto “Raised on Colorado” to me means a little piece of Colorado skiing for everyone. Great for beginners, great for intermediates and great for advanced. Especially with the Woodward Park, it’s a fantastic mountain for the daring skier/snowboarder. No one was pushy or snotty with their skills here either, something we have run into at other Colorado slopes. Either everyone is from Texas or the Coloradans are just as nice as we are!  Also, slopes and lifts are marked and labeled so well here. You can’t get lost, even if you tried. They’ve got some brand new lifts and always fun activities at the bottom. Ski right in to Mile High Tavern to have a beer!

Other Copper Amenities We Loved:

The Villages – It felt like Disney Land. Gorgeous fire pits, heated walk ways, light up everywhere, floating lights on the slopes at night, fireworks on special weekends, Adirondack chairs everywhere, plenty of seating to rest and outdoor games placed throughout the villages. Not to mention an ice rink with ice toys, a creek with a bridge to walk over, a hot tub at our condo, the Woodward Barn, shuttles and more. We loved that the second we parked, we never left.

Critter Kingdom – The cutest little play area for smaller age kids. We played here for half the morning while dad worked! A tiny tube hill and a playground, little houses and a tube merry-go-round. Crosson loved it here! It’s below the big tube hill so it’s fun watching those tubers, too.

Shuttles – The shuttles go between each village so it’s very easy to get around. We actually didn’t move the truck from the heated garage once. Not once!

Shopping – The shops are not the normal cheesy ski shops. There we legit ski stores for what you need, eclectic Colorado shops, a cute candy shop and some décor shops. They stay open late enough to shop before and after dinner.

Copper Mountain Childcare – The childcare was fantastic and this comes from my husband who is SUPER picky about who watches our kid! Crosson got to make art, play games, outside snow play, and story time. The meals they made were quality meals, not cheap, bad meals. One day he had a mouth-watering burger and sweet potato fries! They even do a FREE Kids Night Out on the weekends if you spend $30 in any of the shops!

If you want to get away from the “tourist-y” or “pretentious” ski slopes, do yourself a favor and go to Copper Mountain. It’s laid back, a gorgeous village, awesome skiing and so fun. Highly recommend.