10 Colorado Resorts to Ski this Thanksgiving

Wondering how you’ll spend your time in Colorado this Thanksgiving? In many parts of the country, November is considered part of fall rather than a winter month. The trees are bare, but there’s only the occasional snow flurry. In Colorado, however, ski season begins in November for most resorts around the state. Last week, Colorado got wave after wave of snow storms, and several of the mountains that are already open reported 30 to 40+ inches in a 7 day span. Even more snow is in the forecast for this weekend, with predictions of up to 30 more inches for some areas. That means you’ll be treated to fantastic ski conditions when you get into town for the holiday.  
 

Wondering where to go for the best turns? Here are our picks for the 10 Colorado mountains with the best conditions for skiing and snowboarding this Thanksgiving.
 

Aspen and Snowmass are both scheduled to open on Thanksgiving Day, which means the 1 to 2 feet of snow expected to hit the area this weekend will be untouched and ready for fresh turns on top of the already great base. Plus, having multiple mountains to choose from means there will likely be plenty of terrain open.
 

Wolf Creek consistently gets the most snow of any mountain in Colorado, and that means you’ll probably find some soft turns this Thanksgiving. The mountain got 19 inches last week and should get several more this weekend starting Saturday night.
 

Monarch is located in something of a sweet spot when it comes to getting tons of snow, and with more snow on the way, they’ll likely be adding a foot or two onto the 45 ½ inches they’ve gotten so far this season.
 

Crested Butte reported 26” of snow accumulation during the recent series of storms and 42” so far for the season, which means they’ll be kicking off the season with a great base (and some serious powder stashes) when they open on November 26th. As if that weren’t good enough, they’re expecting to receive another 7 to 14 inches this weekend.
 

Winter Park has already received over 50 inches of snow, with 10 inches accumulating last Sunday alone. It is predicted to receive up to 30 more this weekend, which means the mountain will probably open more terrain for the holiday – that means plenty of deep spots. 
 

Steamboat’s trademark “champagne powder” is likely to be fantastic next week as they bask in an additional foot to 2 ½ feet on top of the current 42.5 inch base. Steamboat opens for the season on Wednesday, so a lot of that snow will still be untracked.
 

As with many of the resorts along I70, Vail received plenty of snow last week, bring its base up to 46”. As a result, they have quite a lot of terrain open already, and with up to 30 more inches of snow on the way, there should be plenty to ski next week.
 

Not only did Keystone report 3 feet of new snow last week, but it’s just down the hill from A-Basin and Loveland, which have also been enjoying the recent series of November snowstorms. Sample all three to find the best powder stashes – as some of the earliest Colorado resorts to open for the winter, they’ve gotten a head start on snowmaking and grooming, which means they’ll probably have more terrain open by Thanksgiving than most of the other mountains around the state.
 

Copper enjoyed the recent series of storms, accumulating 3 ½ feet of snow in a week and bringing the season total to 60 inches. Earlier this week the mountain opened more terrain, and it’s likely that additional trails will open for the holiday week, especially with more snow in the forecast – predictions for Copper range from 16 to 31 inches from Saturday to Tuesday.
 

Breckenridge opened last Friday in the middle of the storm systems that pummeled the i70 corridor and reported an astounding 46 inches (that’s almost 4 feet!) of snow in just 7 days. The mountain has steadily been opening more terrain thanks to the added base, and with up to 30 more inches on the way, it’s probably safe to anticipate many more trails opening for the holiday week.

Next week is looking like it will provide fastastic conditions for early-season skiing and riding across the state of Colorado.  As you plan Thanksgiving festivities, make sure you leave plenty of time to get out on the hill.

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