Winter Park Resort, Winter Park

We came to Copper Mountain and Winter Park for our first ever snowboarding trip. While Copper is nicer, we did prefer Winter Park for many reasons. CM has super clean facilities (lockers, bathrooms) and WP facilities are equivalent to a gym or YMCA. We noticed a big difference when being fitter for our gear. At WP they measured our feet to get the perfect size and our boots seemed to fit better than at CM. Every staff member we asked for help was very friendly and helpful. We took a snowboarding class at CM and went to WP the next day but still hadn’t learned to get down a slope. We talked to the instructors at WP and they actually teach you how to navigate down a slope on your first class, so in hindsight we would have preferred that. We did sign up for a class at WP but were too sore and had to cancel. The cancellation process was fast and seamless. We rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and there is a cafe there for food and drinks. The gondola is free after 4 pm. Will definitely be going back to WP on our next trip. CM is super nice too and I would say appropriate if you’re looking for luxury, whereas WP is no frills/laid back.

FYI… If you bought tickets on the website, make sure you have the credit/debit card that you purchased the tickets with on you! It is a beautiful park but expensive.. For beginners… Mount Discovery is the best one to start with. The staff is outside all day in the cold.. and they still have a GREAT ATTITUDE! The staff was absolutely amazing and very helpful! The village has a lot of restaurants and shopping areas. We stopped in at Bradley’s Restaurant, there is a cafeteria connected to it, there is a different variety of foods you can select from.