Aspen Snowmass is really four mountains on one ticket, wrapped around a former silver-mining town that became old-money playground and creative hub at once. Ajax rises straight out of downtown, Highlands hides a bowl that hikers chase all winter, Buttermilk hosts the X Games, and Snowmass quietly delivers the biggest terrain of the four.
Run 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 and New Zealand; 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.
Very good · 723 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Aspen Snowmass, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Guests rate this hotel as very good (4.4/5 from 723 reviews). It sits about 400 m from the slopes. A upper-scale option for Aspen Snowmass, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Excellent · 391 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Aspen Snowmass, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Very good · 321 reviews
A polished, high-end base for Aspen Snowmass when you want to be properly looked after after a day on the snow.
Great · 505 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Aspen Snowmass, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Great · 329 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Aspen Snowmass.
Good · 433 reviews
A dependable, well-reviewed choice for a stay in Aspen Snowmass.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
Snowmass village is genuinely ski-in/ski-out with lodges built into the slope itself. In Aspen town, almost no hotel sits on the snow: you ride the gondola from the centre or take the short bus to Highlands and Buttermilk.
On the snow, the four mountains form a coherent progression rather than a confused patchwork. Buttermilk is one of the best beginner mountains in the country, Snowmass holds wide intermediate cruisers and family-friendly villages, Aspen Mountain (Ajax) is steep, narrow and adult-only by tradition, and Highlands tops out at 3 813 m with the famous Highland Bowl, a 45-minute hike-to ridge that rewards anyone willing to earn it with one of the longest sustained expert runs in North America. The shuttle network between the four is free and frequent enough to ski two mountains in a day without thinking about it. Downtown Aspen is the second half of the equation. The Victorian street grid was kept almost intact when the silver collapsed, and what filled the empty storefronts over the decades is a dense layer of galleries, designer flagships, ski-town dive bars, James Beard-level restaurants and the Aspen Institute on the hill. Celebrity sightings are common in late December and around the X Games, but the town is at its best in mid-January and March, when the snow is deep and the locals are back on their bar stools. Aspen has its own regional airport with direct flights from major US hubs, which is one of the rare cases in Colorado where you avoid the I-70 drive entirely.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Aspen Snowmass offers 310 km of pistes across 41 lifts, from 2,422 m to 3,813 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 Nov 23 to Apr 14, 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.
Snowmass village is genuinely ski-in/ski-out with lodges built into the slope itself. In Aspen town, almost no hotel sits on the snow: you ride the gondola from the centre or take the short bus to Highlands and Buttermilk.
Aspen Snowmass has 310 km of marked pistes served by 41 lifts, between 2,422 m and 3,813 m of altitude.
Aspen Snowmass counts about 236 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
Similar style, different mountain.
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies