While there’s no arguing that “big brother” Vail next door has enough to keep you busy until you run out of vacation time, energy or money (yikes!), many people come to Beaver Creek for that real, intimate ski-village type experience.

Beaver Creek Ski Resort has an interesting beginning. Vail Ski Resort purchased the area back in the early 1970s. Vail convinced the Olympic Committee to host the 1976 Winter Olympics at Beaver Creek which surprisingly the state of Colorado vetoed. Vail persevered and opened Beaver Creek to the public in 1980.

For winter sports, Beaver Creek offers a superb set of runs for intermediate and advanced skiers. The “Beav” (as it is affectionately referred to by both loyal guests and locals) also offers a uniquely wonderful snowshoe and cross country park – McCoy Park, located at the top of Bachelor Gulch Mountain. There you’ll find close to 20 miles of trails marked out for the Nordic skier in you.

Beaver Creek is as big an attraction in the summer as in the winter – with golf in the forefront, followed by the hiking, biking, and whitewater crowd. The Ultra 100, a mountain bike competition, is a very popular draw.

Beaver Creek just keeps getting better and better! In the past three years, it’s made the top 5 list of Ski Magazine. Fanatics love the smaller crowds, the village to village ski-ability between Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch, and Arrowhead, and the family focus activities and lay-out of the Village.

Located just 2 hours west of Denver and only 10 minutes west of Vail, it’s no wonder that most people heading to Colorado for ski time make sure they stop by Beaver Creek.