Sixteen kilometres west of Vail, Beaver Creek is what happens when a 1980s developer is told to build the most polished ski village in America and given a quiet valley to do it. A gated, car-free hamlet, escalators between hotels, freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies handed out at three in the afternoon, and one of the best children's ski schools in the world.
Beaver Creek is a ski-in/ski-out resort (most of the village is genuinely on the snow) in United States, in the Colorado Rockies. The village sits at 2470 m and the lifts top out at 3488 m, with 150 km of pistes and 24 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 91/100, and the season usually runs Nov 22 → Apr 13.
How we score and classify resortsResearched by the BestSnowHotels team
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, 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 · 3.9k reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Beaver Creek, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.7/5 from 3,871 reviews). A luxury option for Beaver Creek, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Very good · 1.2k reviews
Moments from the lifts in Beaver Creek, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 316 reviews
A polished, high-end base for Beaver Creek when you want to be properly looked after after a day on the snow.
Very good · 331 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Beaver Creek, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
Beaver Creek was built around the idea: most of the village hotels open directly onto the snow, and where they do not, the famous escalators move guests up to the lifts in ski boots without breaking stride.
On paper the mountain is smaller than Vail at 150 km, but the terrain is far more varied than the brochure suggests. Beginners stay on the long greens of the upper village, intermediates roam Larkspur Bowl and Bachelor Gulch, and serious skiers head for Birds of Prey, the World Cup downhill course where the men's speed events have been run since 1997. Grouse Mountain and the Stone Creek Chutes add genuine bumps and tight tree skiing for anyone tired of the cruisers. Crowds are noticeably lighter than at Vail next door, which is the resort's quiet secret on busy weekends. The village itself was designed as a closed loop with everything within walking distance: a small ice rink, the Vilar performing-arts centre, a handful of high-end restaurants and the famous cookies at the bottom of Centennial. Beaver Creek attracts families, repeat visitors and skiers who have aged out of Vail's louder energy and want something more discreet. Most stays begin and end at Denver International Airport via I-70, with a transfer of around two hours fifteen minutes that ends with the gated village entrance and a valet taking the car.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Beaver Creek: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Beaver Creek offers 150 km of pistes across 24 lifts, from 2470 m to 3488 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 22 to Apr 13, with a snow score of 91/100. Snow is usually most reliable in the heart of that window, deep in winter, while the closing weeks bring longer days and softer afternoon snow.
Beaver Creek was built around the idea: most of the village hotels open directly onto the snow, and where they do not, the famous escalators move guests up to the lifts in ski boots without breaking stride.
Beaver Creek has 150 km of marked pistes served by 24 lifts, between 2470 m and 3488 m of altitude.
Beaver Creek counts about 150 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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