Perched among the highest skiable terrain in North America, Arapahoe Basin tops out at almost 3,980 metres and runs one of the longest seasons on the continent, often turning lifts into June. This is raw, high-alpine skiing built around the legendary East Wall and Montezuma Bowl rather than fancy real estate. A-Basin keeps a stripped-back, day-use soul that locals fiercely protect. If you want steep lines, thin mountain air and a true Colorado powder culture, few places deliver like the Basin.
Arapahoe Basin is a ski resort in United States, in the Colorado Rockies. The village sits at 3286 m and the lifts top out at 3978 m, with 100 km of pistes and 9 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 90/100, and the season usually runs Oct 22 → Jun 15.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Excellent · 1.1k reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Arapahoe Basin, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.7/5 from 1,096 reviews). It sits about 17.3 km from the slopes. A upper-scale option for Arapahoe Basin, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Very good · 1.3k reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Very good · 1.3k reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Very good · 930 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Good · 1.1k reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Very good · 471 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Arapahoe Basin.
Great · 710 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Good · 670 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Good · 611 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Arapahoe Basin, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Great · 405 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Arapahoe Basin.
Great · 278 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Arapahoe Basin.
Great · 274 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Arapahoe Basin.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
There is no real ski-in, ski-out hotel base here. A-Basin is a day-focused, no-frills ski area with only a small base lodge and no slopeside village, so travelers stay nearby in Keystone, Dillon or Silverthorne and drive the short distance in each morning.
Arapahoe Basin suits confident intermediates and, above all, advanced and expert skiers and riders, with green runs making up only a small share of the mountain. Roughly seven percent of the terrain is beginner, twenty percent intermediate and the remaining seventy-three percent is single and double black, including the exposed East Wall, the Pallavicini face, the Steep Gullies and the wide-open Montezuma Bowl served by the Zuma lift. Sitting at 3,286 metres at the base and 3,978 metres at the summit, the altitude and aspect hold snow long after other Colorado resorts close, giving A-Basin its famous spring and early-summer skiing. The area is on the Ikon Pass, with unlimited access on the full Ikon Pass and more limited days on the Ikon Base Pass. Access is easy off US Highway 6 over Loveland Pass, about a 90-minute drive from Denver. Because A-Basin is a day-use mountain with no hotels of its own, plan to base yourself in nearby Keystone, Dillon or Silverthorne and drive in for the day.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Arapahoe Basin: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Arapahoe Basin offers 100 km of pistes across 9 lifts, from 3286 m to 3978 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Oct 22 to Jun 15, with a snow score of 90/100. The best conditions are usually from late January through February, while spring skiing in March and April brings longer days and softer afternoons.
There is no real ski-in, ski-out hotel base here. A-Basin is a day-focused, no-frills ski area with only a small base lodge and no slopeside village, so travelers stay nearby in Keystone, Dillon or Silverthorne and drive the short distance in each morning.
Arapahoe Basin has 100 km of marked pistes served by 9 lifts, between 3286 m and 3978 m of altitude.
Arapahoe Basin counts about 145 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
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Cascades
Australian Alps
Sangre de Cristo