Beaver Creek Bachelor Gulch & Arrowhead

Colorado (Eagle County, Sawatch Range), United States · 2,256–3,487 m

Vertical
1,231m(4,039 ft)
Pistes
150km(93 mi)
Lifts
24
Summit
3,487m(11,440 ft)
Day pass
from356 USD
Season
November – April

Trail map

Beaver Creek Winter Trail Map 2025/26

Official map at BC Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Beaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts)

Published by BC Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Beaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts); this copy via Vail Resorts. The current official map is at BC Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Beaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts).

Routable 3D map

The whole lift and piste network of Beaver Creek is routable in the app: difficulty limits, live lift and piste status, alternative ways to the same place, and a 3D view of the terrain.

Open in SkiAllDay

The verdict

Beaver Creek is one connected, one-ticket ski area of 2,082 acres above Avon, Colorado: the main Beaver Creek Mountain plus Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead, joined by lift and piste since Bachelor Gulch opened in 1997. Our own routing graph confirms it as a single sector, 457 of 458 nodes in one component, matching the operator's own 24 lifts almost lift-for-lift. The operator splits the terrain 28% beginner, 38% intermediate and 34% advanced by acreage; skiresort.com's independent length-based measurement finds a steeper-reading 19% easy, 43% intermediate and 38% difficult. Vail Resorts also owns Vail Mountain, 16 km up the valley and covered by the same Epic Pass, but the two share no lift or piste; this page covers Beaver Creek alone.123

Goes well for

  • Families and first-time visitors: McCoy Park, a 250-acre mountaintop beginner and intermediate pod added for the 2021/22 season, sits away from the main descent so a learner never has to cross faster traffic to reach it.
  • Skiers who want a quieter, more residential base than Vail's: Beaver Creek's three villages run a daily 3 p.m. cookie service rather than a bar-lined main street, and lodging sits closer to the lifts than in most comparable US resorts.
  • Intermediate mileage: skiresort.com's independent measurement puts 43% of the network at intermediate grade, the largest of the three bands, spread across Larkspur Bowl, Rose Bowl and the cruising terrain above Bachelor Gulch.

Goes badly for

  • Budget skiers: Beaver Creek posted the same record $356 walk-up peak-day lift ticket as Vail for 2025/26, and its lodging and dining, priced for a luxury market, add to the cost of a visit beyond the lift ticket itself.
  • Skiers wanting Vail's nightlife: the village is deliberately quieter, built around ski-in lodging, spas and fine dining rather than a bar strip, which is a genuine trade-off rather than a shortcoming for every visitor.
  • Anyone assuming 'Beaver Creek' and 'Vail' are the same resort: they are 16 km apart, owned by the same company and sold on the same Epic Pass, but share no lift or piste, so a headline figure for one is regularly quoted as the other's.

Key facts

Every card opens. The headline number is the answer; underneath is how it was measured and where it came from.

Elevation 1,231m vertical · 2,256–3,487 m
Village2,469 m1
Lowest piste2,256 m1
Highest lift-served point3,487 m1
Vertical drop1,231 m

The operator's own tip sheet gives three figures rather than one: a summit at 11,440 ft (3,487 m), a base of 8,100 ft (2,469 m) shared by Beaver Creek Village and Bachelor Gulch, and a separate, lower base of 7,400 ft (2,256 m) at Arrowhead. The operator's own headline vertical rise of 3,340 ft is measured from the higher village base; using Arrowhead, which is skiable and lift-connected, the network's full vertical is 4,040 ft (1,231 m). Our own graph ingest of the connected network independently measures the same range almost exactly, 2,262 m to 3,489 m, confirming Arrowhead rather than the village as the network's true lowest point.

Pistes 150km 166 km measured from the network
2
  • Easy 28.5km 19%
  • Intermediate 64.5km 43%
  • Difficult 57km 38%

Marketed vs measuredThe operator does not publish a piste-kilometre total, only 2,082 skiable acres across 167 trails, split 28% beginner, 38% intermediate and 34% advanced by acreage. Skiresort.com's independent conversion to piste kilometres finds 150 km, split 28.5 km easy, 64.5 km intermediate and 57 km difficult, which works out to 19% easy, 43% intermediate and 38% difficult, a noticeably less beginner-heavy picture than the operator's own acreage split. The gap is a real difference in method rather than an error on either side: broad, open bowls and glades read as large acreage relative to the length of any one named run through them, so a split by acreage and a split by piste length can diverge, exactly as it does at Vail. Our own routing measurement of the OpenStreetMap network finds 166.0 km of marked piste, about 11% above skiresort.com's figure.

Lifts 24 7 types in the fleet
  • High-speed quad 12
  • Magic carpet 6
  • Gondola 2
  • Chondola 1
  • Double chair 1
  • Fixed-grip quad 1
  • Triple chair 1

The operator's own count of 24 lifts is 2 gondolas (Riverfront Express and Haymeadow Express), 1 combination gondola-and-chair 'chondola' (Centennial Express), 12 high-speed quads, 1 fixed-grip quad, 1 triple chair, 1 double chair and 6 magic carpets. Our own routing graph, ingested independently, finds the same 18 named chair and gondola lines plus 6 magic-carpet segments, and every named lift in it, Centennial, Strawberry Park, Larkspur, Bachelor Gulch, Grouse Mountain, Rose Bowl, Arrow Bahn, Elkhorn, Cinch, Red Buffalo, Reunion, Riverfront, Haymeadow, Highlands, McCoy Park and Birds of Prey, is a Beaver Creek lift; none of Vail's lift names appear in it.1

Season November – April winter season
Winter seasonlate November – early April
Lift hours09:00–16:00
Day pass USD 356 adult, main season
AdultUSD 3564
YouthUSD —
ChildUSD 2462
Multi-resort passesEpic Pass: unlimited, unrestricted access to Beaver Creek and Vail Resorts' 41 other owned and operated mountains, with no blackout dates. $1,051 for 2025/26.
Epic Local Pass: a cheaper tier with some blackout dates at Beaver Creek.
Epic Day Pass: one to seven days, peak or non-peak, priced per day depending on the dates chosen.
Vail Mountain is covered by the same Epic Pass as Beaver Creek, but the two are separate ski areas 16 km apart with no on-snow link between them.

Vail Resorts uses fully dynamic, date-based pricing rather than one fixed rate. Beaver Creek posted the same $356 walk-up single-day adult peak rate as Vail for the 2025/26 season, the highest ever recorded at a US resort; skiresort.com separately lists a comparable child single-day rate of about $246 on the same dynamic scale. Both figures move with demand and are set well in advance for the highest-demand dates.

The mountain

These figures come from measuring the resort's actual piste and lift network rather than from its brochure. Measured from the SkiAllDay routing graph on 6 September 2026. Where the resort publishes a figure of its own, that figure is the one shown.

Piste km per lift km

2.88

Piste km opened by each kilometre of lift line. It measures how sparse the lift network is, not how good it is: a high figure means long runs off few lifts, so more skiing between rides but more traversing and more people funnelled onto each lift; a low one means dense lift service, quick laps and short waits, at the cost of repeating the same runs.

measured

Lift minutes per ski hour

37 min

Time riding up for every hour spent descending, from the graph’s own traversal times.

measured

Longest continuous descent

4.4 km(2.7 mi)

we measure 10.5 km

The longest run of linked pistes that never rides a lift.

official

Reachable on easy runs only

48%

Share of piste a skier can reach from the base without ever descending something harder than an easy run.

measured

North-facing terrain

77%

Piste facing N, NE or NW, from the bearing of each descent. Shaded aspects hold snow longest.

measured

Vertical on that descent

1,021 m(3,350 ft)

measured

Uphill on surface lifts

1%

Share of climbing served by drag lifts and platters, weighted by vertical rather than by lift count.

measured

Piste above 2,500 m

87%

measured

Median piste altitude

2,786 m(9,140 ft)

Half the piste length lies above this height and half below, weighted by length.

measured

Mean piste gradient

18%

Length-weighted across every piste. Comparable between countries in a way that piste colour is not.

measured

Piste measured

166.0 km(103 mi)

measured

Lift length measured

57.7 km(36 mi)

measured
metres piste length in this band 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,250 3,500 7.9 km 77.4 km 69.2 km 12 km Beaver Creek summit (Red Buffalo Park) 3,487 m Bachelor Gulch 2,469 m Beaver Creek Village 2,469 m Arrowhead 2,256 m
Piste length by altitude band, against the villages and lift stations that sit at each height. Squares are villages and valley bases, circles are lift stations and summits.

How steep is it, really

Piste colour is set by each resort under its own rules, so a red in one country is a blue in another. Measured gradient is comparable everywhere.

Share of piste length by gradient, measured along the run rather than at its steepest point.

Guide

One connected ski area on a single Forest Service permit covers three base villages: Beaver Creek Village, where the resort opened in 1980; Bachelor Gulch, added in 1997; and Arrowhead, purchased in 1993 and joined to the other two the same year Bachelor Gulch opened. Vail Mountain, also owned by Vail Resorts and sold on the same Epic Pass, is a separate ski area 16 km down the valley with no lift or piste connecting it to any of the three.

Three villages, one network, confirmed rather than assumed

Beaver Creek markets itself as one ski area, and our own ingest of the routing graph backs that up rather than merely repeating it: the network resolves to a single connected sector holding 457 of its 458 nodes, running from 2,262 m at Arrowhead to 3,489 m at the summit, with 166.0 km of measured piste and 57.7 km of lift line. Every named lift in that graph, Centennial, Strawberry Park, Larkspur, Bachelor Gulch, Grouse Mountain, Rose Bowl, Arrow Bahn, Elkhorn, Cinch, Red Buffalo, Reunion, Riverfront, Haymeadow, Highlands, McCoy Park and Birds of Prey, is a Beaver Creek lift; none of Vail's lift names appear in it, which is the check this page makes before describing the two as separate.31

McCoy Park: a beginner mountain of its own, added in 2021

McCoy Park is a 250-acre, mostly treeless pod at the top of the mountain, added for the 2021/22 season with two new quad chairlifts and 17 marked runs, 14 of them graded beginner and three intermediate; it opened partway through that season, on January 10, 2022. Reaching it does not require riding down through faster traffic first, which is the point of putting a learning area at altitude rather than only at the base. It is a large part of why our own routing measurement finds 48% of the network reachable from the base without ever leaving an easy run, a generous share for a US resort of this size.53

Gentler and more shaded than the marketing split suggests

Our own measurement of the network finds a length-weighted average gradient of just 18%, and 77% of piste facing north, northeast or northwest, both of which read as a gentler and better-shaded mountain than the operator's 34%-advanced acreage split implies on its own. The operator's own longest run, Centennial, is marketed at 2.75 miles (4.4 km); our routing graph finds a longer continuous descent of 10.5 km and 1,021 m of vertical when adjoining pistes are linked end to end without a lift ride, which is not the same thing as the named run and is why the two figures do not match.31

The steep side: Birds of Prey and the expert terrain around it

The Birds of Prey downhill course, designed by 1972 Olympic downhill champion Bernhard Russi and built in 1997, has hosted a men's World Cup speed weekend most Decembers since, plus the men's downhill and super-G at the 1999 and 2015 World Championships; the course itself drops 2,470 ft (753 m) over 1.71 miles at an average 31% grade, touching 68% at its steepest pitch. The mountain's other expert terrain sits away from the race course: Stone Creek Chutes, a 180-acre pod of chutes and glades reached off the Cinch Express and a gate above Red Buffalo, carries pitches to 45 degrees and cliff bands across 400 to 600 vertical feet of chute, and Royal Elk Glade is treed, hike-to terrain on the same side of the mountain.67

A quieter village than Vail's

Beaver Creek Village serves a daily 3 p.m. cookie service, at the village itself and at the base of Centennial Express, a fixture of the resort rather than an occasional promotion. It is one visible sign of a base area built around ski-in lodging and dining rather than the bar-lined main street of Vail Village 16 km away; a visitor picking between the two Vail Resorts mountains for that reason should not expect Beaver Creek's evenings to be interchangeable with Vail's.8

Snow and season

Beaver Creek has no glacier and depends on an operator-cited average of 323 in (820 cm) of natural snowfall a year across its 2,256 to 3,487 m range, backed by snowmaking on 680 acres. The 2025/26 season opened November 30, 2025, four days later than the resort's traditional pre-Thanksgiving target, and closed March 29, 2026, about two weeks ahead of the operator's planned mid-April date, after the weakest Colorado snowpack on record; Vail Mountain, 16 km away, closed early the same week for the same reason.19

SkierVerdictWhy
Family with children excellent McCoy Park gives young or beginner skiers their own mountaintop terrain away from faster traffic, three base villages spread lodging closer to the lifts than at most comparable US resorts, and the daily 3 p.m. cookie service at the village and at Centennial Express's base is a standing fixture rather than an occasional treat.58
First-timer good McCoy Park is a dedicated 250-acre learning pod at the top of the mountain, 14 of its 17 runs graded beginner, reached by lift rather than by crossing faster terrain from the base. Our own routing measurement finds 48% of the whole network reachable from the base without ever leaving an easy run, well above Vail Mountain's 22% by the same measurement.153
Second-week skier good Skiresort.com's independent length measurement finds 43% of the network graded intermediate, the largest of its three bands, spread across Larkspur Bowl, Rose Bowl and the cruising terrain above Bachelor Gulch, which gives a second-week skier more room than the operator's acreage-based split alone would suggest.2
Confident intermediate good 150 km of marketed piste across three connected base areas gives several full days without repeating a run, and the intermediate terrain above Bachelor Gulch and through Larkspur Bowl extends comfortably past a first week's ability.2
Advanced or expert skier good The Birds of Prey downhill course, built by Bernhard Russi, drops 2,470 ft at pitches to 68%, and Stone Creek Chutes adds 180 acres of chutes to 45 degrees off the Cinch Express, with Royal Elk Glade's hike-to trees nearby. It is real expert terrain, though smaller and less extreme in acreage than Vail's treeless Back Bowls 16 km away.67
Budget skier poor Beaver Creek posted the same record $356 walk-up peak-day rate as Vail for 2025/26, and its lodging and dining are priced for a luxury market on top of the lift ticket itself. An Epic Pass at $1,051 is the only way to ski more than three or four days here for less than a per-day window rate.4

By car

Beaver Creek sits off I-70 at exit 167 for Avon, about 120 miles (193 km) and, per the operator's own directions, roughly 2 hours 15 minutes from Denver International Airport outside storms or weekend traffic; the resort's street address is 26 Avondale Lane, Avon. Lee Hoover, the resort's senior director of resort operations, has told arriving guests that a car is not necessary once they reach the resort, since the free on-demand Village Connect shuttle and lot shuttles between the Bear and Elk lots and Covered Bridge run from before 6 a.m. to midnight. Parking in the Bear and Elk lots and the Village garages is paid on entry, with the first hour in the garages always free and three more free hours after 3 p.m.

By train

There is no direct passenger rail into Beaver Creek. Amtrak's California Zephyr, running between Chicago and Emeryville via Denver, calls at Glenwood Springs, about 65 miles west by road, with no dedicated onward transfer to Beaver Creek.

Where to base yourself

Beaver Creek VillageThe original base at 8,100 ft (2,469 m), with the Centennial Express chondola into the network
Bachelor Gulch 5 kmOpened in 1997, connecting the network to Arrowhead; served by the Bachelor Gulch Express
Arrowhead 8 kmPurchased in 1993, the network's lowest base at 7,400 ft (2,256 m); served by the Arrow Bahn Express
Eagle County Regional Airport 48 kmAbout 30 miles by road, roughly 25 minutes via Highway 6 and I-70
Denver International Airport 193 kmAbout 120 miles by road via I-70 to exit 167, about 2 hours 15 minutes outside storms and peak traffic

  • Spruce Saddle

    Top of Centennial Express · — m

    At the top of Centennial Express, cafeteria-style with an American grill and two full-service bars.10

  • Talons Restaurant

    Birds of Prey hub · — m

    At the Birds of Prey race hub, cafeteria-style with a reservable indoor room, tacos and burrito bowls, and a walk-up window called the Brink Bar.10

  • Mamie's Mountain Grill

    Top of Bachelor Gulch Express · — m

    At the top of the Bachelor Gulch Express, hot lunch and grab-and-go with beer and wine.10

  • Broken Arrow Restaurant

    Arrowhead Village · 2,256 m

    At the base of the Arrow Bahn Express in Arrowhead Village, full service with a sunny deck; the attached Blinky's window serves grab-and-go.10

  • Fireside Grill

    Beaver Creek Village base · 2,469 m

    At the bottom of the Strawberry Park Express in the main village, comfort food and craft cocktails.10

  • Beano's Cabin

    Base of Larkspur Bowl · — m

    A five-course, reservations-only dinner reached by open-air sleigh ride from the base, in a meadow at the foot of Larkspur Bowl below Grouse Mountain; running for more than 30 years.1112

What skiers say

Gathered from public discussions, last swept 6 September 2026. Every tip links to the thread it came from.

  • At busy periods, avoid Centennial Express from roughly 10:00-11:30 and 13:00-13:30 by uploading Strawberry Park Express and taking Beano's Trace.1314

    A snowHeads forum poster identified Centennial as the Christmas and first-three-weeks-of-March bottleneck; a January 2022 r/COsnow thread reported its usual surges slightly later in the morning and just after lunch.

  • Avoid early-to-mid December if Grouse, Birds of Prey or Larkspur is essential, because World Cup preparation can keep that entire side closed until racing infrastructure is removed.15

    A December 2024 r/COsnow thread said snowmaking and grooming initially prioritize the racecourse, Strawberry Park and Bachelor Gulch, and recommended Vail as the safer early-season choice.

  • On a storm morning, lap Centennial trees while monitoring Grouse and Royal Elk rather than assuming the best expert terrain will open at first chair.1617

    A March 2024 r/COsnow trip report described Grouse not reopening until about noon during a storm, after which skiers caught a Royal Elk rope drop; a January 2026 r/COsnow post described a Spider rope drop gathering around 10:00 that was later reclosed.

  • Ski Larkspur early, then migrate toward Arrowhead for quieter or sun-softened afternoon laps.181920

    A February 2025 r/vail thread found lower Larkspur scraped and difficult late in the day, while a Ski Diva forum thread and an April 2019 Turns All Year trip report both describe Arrowhead clearing out toward closing and skiing well once spring sun softens its lower elevation.

  • Use Beaver Creek for the Saturday of a Vail-area trip when crowd avoidance matters most.2122

    A December 2022 SkiTalk (Pugski) thread describes a group that deliberately chose Beaver Creek on Saturday and found very few lift lines, matching a June 2023 r/skiing thread calling it the better weekend bet among nearby Epic resorts.

  • For trips after spring break, check pod-by-pod operations before committing, because Bachelor Gulch, Larkspur, Grouse and Arrowhead may close well before the main Beaver Creek side.23

    An April 2024 r/COsnow thread found those western and expert pods shut in mid-April while Centennial, Cinch, Red Buffalo, Rose Bowl and Birds of Prey remained open, and its commenters suggested Vail or higher-elevation Breckenridge for more terrain.

  • Use Elk Lot instead of Ford Hall unless avoiding a short shuttle is worth about $40 to you.24

    A March 2026 r/COsnow thread quoted $10 at Elk Lot versus $50 for more than four hours at Ford Hall, put the green shuttle buses at roughly every five minutes, and found Ford Hall saved only about five minutes.

  • Treat Arrowhead's small day-skier lot as a dawn option rather than a guaranteed secret: ask the gate attendant for skier parking and keep a backup plan.25

    A January 2023 r/skiing thread described the lot as a free five-minute walk with a dated dashboard permit, with 2025 replies in the same thread confirming it still worked; commenters disagreed on capacity, from full by 07:30 to full by roughly 09:00.

  • Start through the Westin gondola when targeting Bachelor Gulch, Larkspur or Grouse, but take the bus to Beaver Creek Village when targeting Cinch or Red Buffalo.14

    A January 2022 r/COsnow thread said the Westin route gets riders onto the western mountain directly but estimated more than 30 minutes and several connections before reaching Centennial and the eastern pods.

  • From Vail, take the free skier shuttle from the Vail transportation center to Beaver Creek Village instead of driving into a paid garage.26

    An October 2024 r/vail thread described the shuttle as placing riders about as close as garage parking, with the corresponding drive estimated at 15-20 minutes in good weather.

  • On a powder morning, make Three Tree Gully an early target and resist drifting too far skier's right.27

    An August 2022 r/skiing thread calls it a first powder stop and says its trees hold more snow than much of the mountain; commenters warn the wrong right-hand line can strand skiers, while a leftward exit tends toward Larkspur.

  • Lap Royal Elk Glade from Grouse for sustained, well-spaced expert tree skiing rather than technical cliff navigation.28

    A March 2023 r/skiing thread describes Royal Elk as unusually forgiving for an EX-rated glade, although its length and low-snow rocks still demand fitness and coverage.

  • Choose Stone Creek Chutes for short technical lines and optional drops, not for high-volume vertical laps.2829

    A March 2023 r/skiing thread and a January 2023 r/snowboarding thread both praise the terrain but note the lines are short and awkward to access; the same discussion calls it the better choice than Grouse when cliffs and tighter route-finding are the objective.

  • For bumps, stay on Grouse and work the Talons terrain instead of touring the whole resort.3031

    A July 2019 r/skiing thread and a February 2022 r/skiing thread both describe Grouse's long, steep mogul fields with efficient repetition and essentially no lift line; the 2022 thread names Peregrine as the direct commitment for bump skiers.

  • When Harrier appears on the grooming report, seek out its less-obvious entrance for a fast blue that often stays quiet.1318

    A snowHeads forum poster singled it out because many skiers miss the entrance; a February 2025 r/vail progression thread separately recommends Harrier after Latigo, Gold Dust and the Bachelor Gulch blues.

  • Progress through Beaver Creek's trees in stages: McCoy Park Trees and Little Bark first, Coyote Glade or Corkscrew next, then Heads Up, Royal Elk and finally Stone Creek.32

    An October 2025 r/skiing thread lays out this difficulty ladder and was endorsed by commenters as broadly accurate, who noted that years of experience separate its easiest and hardest thirds.

  • For a true first-day beginner, ask the ticket window about the Haymeadow-only product before buying full-mountain access.33

    A March 2025 r/skiing trip report paid $110 in person for access to the two Haymeadow lifts and found that sufficient for two novice days; the price is historical and should be rechecked.

  • Buy an Epic Day Pass or dated multi-day product before its sales deadline instead of purchasing Beaver Creek window tickets.3435

    An October 2025 r/skiing thread estimated that three-to-five-day advance products could save up to about 50 percent, while a February 2014 Liftlines trip report separately describes walk-up prices as the avoidable mistake.

  • Buy ski-day food at Walmart or City Market in Avon and carry lunch rather than defaulting to on-mountain cafeterias.3637

    October 2022 and December 2024 r/vail threads favor Walmart for price and Avon City Market for range and organization; the December 2024 trip report put a basic resort lunch at roughly $15-$20.

  • For inexpensive local meals in Avon, use Bob's Place for breakfast and No Se Hagan Bolas for tacos, tortas or burgers.38

    A December 2025 r/vail thread repeatedly backs Bob's for breakfast and treats No Se Hagan Bolas as the busy, deliberately unglamorous insider lunch choice.

  • For a better-value dinner, descend to Vin48 in Avon or Craftsman, Gashouse and Juniper in Edwards instead of automatically eating in Beaver Creek Village.3940

    A May 2023 r/vail thread calls the Beaver Creek Village restaurants expensive and forgettable and notes lower tax in Edwards, though a September 2023 r/skiing thread argues the village has better restaurant selection than Avon.

  • For low-key local après, choose Coyote Cafe or Dusty Boot, then reach the Powder 8 Kitchen area shortly before 15:00 if the free cookie matters.413742

    A September 2023 r/vail thread and a December 2024 r/vail trip report both nominate the Yote and Dusty Boot over higher-end bars; an October 2023 r/skiing thread places the free-cookie distribution by Powder 8 at 15:00 and warns supplies go quickly.

  • Do not choose Beaver Creek expecting a Vail-style day of open, ungroomed bowl skiing.1343

    A snowHeads forum thread and a May 2022 r/skiing thread both describe its strengths as trees, sustained moguls and groomers; the lack of a large open-bowl experience is the resort-specific tradeoff they name against Vail.

  • Do not read the map as showing direct access from the top of Bachelor Gulch Express into McCoy Park.44

    A March 2025 r/vail thread gives the correct route: from Bachelor Gulch, ski Intertwine or Sawbuck to Upper Beaver Creek Mountain Express, which reaches the McCoy Park entrance.

  • Beginners leaving McCoy for Beaver Creek Village should ride Reunion out and download Strawberry Park rather than following the apparent ski route.45

    A January 2024 r/ski thread reported visitors accidentally funneling into blues or terrain cutting through blacks when attempting to ski back to the main village on the apparent route.

  • Avoid Primrose as a casual family or snowboard traverse toward Arrowhead or Strawberry when Reunion provides the connection.44

    The same March 2025 r/vail thread on McCoy Park access describes Primrose as a mostly flat, high-altitude skating and pushing slog, particularly unpleasant for children and snowboarders.

  • Do not mistake Red Tail for an easy connector simply because it is the shortest cross-mountain route.45

    The January 2024 r/ski thread on beginner terrain describes Red Tail as a long, sustained blue that can be too steep for true beginners moving between the separated green zones.

  • Plan the day around lift pods rather than chasing a continuous top-to-bottom descent.31

    A February 2022 r/skiing thread lays out these lap totals: Centennial plus Cinch for about 3,200 vertical feet, Birds of Prey for about 2,200, and line-free Grouse for about 1,800 per lap.

  • If parked or lodged at Arrowhead, reach Grouse and the main mountain early and begin the westward return with a generous time buffer.3546

    A February 2014 Liftlines trip report called the return from Grouse to Arrowhead roughly five miles, while a February 2021 r/COsnow post warns that connecting mid-mountain lifts close early enough to cost an hour or force a shuttle ride.

  • Do not assume Leave the Beav gets skiers from Bear Lot to their car without crossing a road; check the crossing yourself first.25

    The same January 2023 r/skiing thread on Arrowhead parking found the originally recommended bus-free finish unreliable: later replies could not identify a safe direct route across Prater Road, and follow-ups confirmed a path toward Elk Lot still meant crossing the street.

  • Wait for substantial coverage before committing to Royal Elk or newly opened Spider, or use skis you are willing to damage.4717

    A February 2022 r/skiing thread describes Royal Elk as a field of sharp boulders beneath the snow, and a January 2026 r/COsnow post found a low-tide Spider rope drop exposed snow-covered boulders on its right side before it was reclosed later that day.

  • Treat Bald Spot east of Beaver Creek as serious backcountry terrain, not a casual extension of Stone Creek.48

    A 2009 Teton Gravity Research forum report describes a mile-long, heavily wind-loaded cornice and avalanche path with exposure continuing below the trees, and stresses that current avalanche information, rescue equipment and trained partners are essential.

  • Stay in named glades unless you know the drainage and exit, even when untracked snow or existing tracks look inviting.4927

    A March 2025 r/skiing thread and the August 2022 r/skiing thread on Three Tree Gully both warn that the wrong tree line can produce severe bushwhacking, with the Three Tree regulars specifically reporting people becoming stuck after drifting right.

History

  1. 1956

    Earl Eaton and John Burke first discuss building a ski resort in the Beaver Creek and McCoy Creek drainages.50

  2. 1972

    Beaver Creek is selected for the alpine events of Colorado's 1976 Winter Olympic bid; Denver voters reject state funding for the games later that year, and Vail Associates receives its own Forest Service permit for the area in March 1976.5150

  3. 1977

    Groundbreaking is held on July 28, with former President Gerald Ford in attendance.50

  4. 1980

    Beaver Creek opens on December 15 with six chairlifts and a temporary base lodge; Governor Richard Lamm calls it the 'Tiffany's' of ski resorts at the opening ceremony.5251

  5. 1981

    Larkspur Bowl opens, adding expert mogul terrain and intermediate cruising.50

  6. 1989

    Vail and Beaver Creek co-host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.50

  7. 1991

    Grouse Mountain opens with a new high-speed quad, adding steep, gladed and mogul terrain.50

  8. 1993

    Beaver Creek purchases the Arrowhead ski area.50

  9. 1997

    Bachelor Gulch opens, joining Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead into one connected network; the Birds of Prey downhill course, designed by Bernhard Russi, hosts its first World Cup race the same winter.506

  10. 1999

    Beaver Creek hosts the men's downhill and super-G of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships on the Birds of Prey course, co-hosted with Vail.650

  11. 2015

    Beaver Creek again hosts men's speed events, including the downhill, at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.53

  12. 2022

    McCoy Park, a 250-acre mountaintop beginner and intermediate pod with two new quad chairlifts and 17 runs, opens on January 10, taking the resort to 2,082 skiable acres and 167 trails.5

Nearby and comparable

  • Vail

    Also owned by Vail Resorts and sold on the same Epic Pass, about 16 km up the valley; a separate ski area with no on-snow connection to Beaver Creek.

  • Aspen Snowmass

    A comparably upmarket Colorado name, but on the Ikon Pass rather than Epic, and split across four separate mountains rather than one.

  • Park City Mountain

    Also on the Epic Pass, in Utah with no shared terrain; a much larger single-ticket area by marketed acreage.

  • Breckenridge

    Another Vail Resorts mountain on the Epic Pass, in Summit County rather than Eagle County, with a higher town elevation and a livelier, less residential base village.

Questions

Is Beaver Creek the same resort as Vail?

No. Vail Resorts owns both and sells both on the Epic Pass, and they sit about 16 km apart in the same valley, but they are separate ski areas with no lift or piste connecting them. Our own routing graph for Beaver Creek contains none of Vail's lift names, and vice versa. This page covers Beaver Creek Mountain, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead only.31

How big is Beaver Creek, and how is the terrain split?

The operator counts 2,082 skiable acres across 167 trails, split 28% beginner, 38% intermediate and 34% advanced by acreage. Converted to piste kilometres by skiresort.com, that is 150 km split 28.5 km easy, 64.5 km intermediate and 57 km difficult, a somewhat less beginner-heavy picture. Our own measurement of the OpenStreetMap network finds 166.0 km of marked piste.123

Is Beaver Creek good for beginners?

Yes, more so than most comparable US resorts. McCoy Park is a dedicated 250-acre learning pod at the top of the mountain, added in 2022, with 14 of its 17 runs graded beginner and no need to cross faster traffic from the base to reach it. The operator's own acreage split also grades 28% of the whole mountain beginner, and our own routing measurement finds 48% of the network reachable without ever leaving an easy run.513

What is Bachelor Gulch, and is it part of Beaver Creek?

Yes. Bachelor Gulch is the second of Beaver Creek's three base villages, opened in 1997 on the same lift-and-piste network as Beaver Creek Village and Arrowhead. It is served by its own Bachelor Gulch Express lift and sits between the other two bases.50

What does a lift ticket cost at Beaver Creek?

Vail Resorts uses fully dynamic pricing. A peak walk-up single-day adult ticket reached $356 for the 2025/26 season, matching Vail Mountain's own record price and the highest ever recorded at a US resort. An Epic Pass, at $1,051 for 2025/26, covers unlimited access to Beaver Creek, Vail and 40 other Vail Resorts mountains with no blackout dates.4

Does Beaver Creek have expert terrain?

Yes. The Birds of Prey downhill course, designed by Bernhard Russi and built in 1997, drops 2,470 ft over 1.71 miles at pitches to 68% and hosts a men's World Cup speed weekend most Decembers. Away from the race course, Stone Creek Chutes adds 180 acres of chutes to 45 degrees off the Cinch Express, with Royal Elk Glade's hike-to trees nearby; it is real expert terrain, though smaller than Vail's Back Bowls 16 km away.67

How do you get to Beaver Creek from Denver?

About 120 miles by road via I-70 to exit 167 for Avon, roughly 2 hours 15 minutes outside storms and weekend traffic, according to the operator's own directions. Eagle County Regional Airport is about 30 miles away, roughly 25 minutes by road. There is no direct passenger rail into Beaver Creek.54

References

Every claim on this page carries a numbered marker linking here, and every reference links back to the passages that used it. Numbers not yet checked against a source are marked like this.

  1. 1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Beaver Creek Resort Winter 2024-25 Tip SheetVail Resorts Newsroom · 2024-08 · read 6 September 2026
  2. 2. ^ a b c d e f Ski resort Beaver CreekSkiresort Service International · read 6 September 2026
  3. 3. ^ a b c d e f g h SkiAllDay routing graph, computed from OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · read 6 September 2026
  4. 4. ^ a b c Vail Resorts Peak Lift Ticket Prices Hit Record $356, With 6 Mountains Now Over $300SnowBrains · 2025-08-26 · read 6 September 2026
  5. 5. ^ a b c d e McCoy Park downhill ski terrain makes long-awaited debut at Beaver CreekVail Daily · 2022-01 · read 6 September 2026
  6. 6. ^ a b c d e Birds of Prey (ski course)Wikipedia · read 6 September 2026
  7. 7. ^ a b c Stone Creek Chutes, Portions of Royal Elk Glade and Arrowhead Terrain Greet Holiday SkiersVail Resorts Newsroom · 2014-12-21 · read 6 September 2026
  8. 8. ^ a b Sweet Treats: Cookie TimeBeaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts) · read 6 September 2026
  9. 9. ^ Beaver Creek to close Sunday, two weeks earlier than initial targetVail Daily · 2026-03-27 · read 6 September 2026
  10. 10. ^ a b c d e On-Mountain Dining Lunch OptionsBeaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts) · read 6 September 2026
  11. 11. ^ Beano's Cabin offers elevated dining in Beaver CreekVail Daily · read 6 September 2026
  12. 12. ^ Dining at Beano's CabinBeaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts) · read 6 September 2026
  13. 13. ^ a b c Beaver CreeksnowHeads forum · read 6 September 2026
  14. 14. ^ a b Beaver creekr/COsnow · 2022-01 · read 6 September 2026
  15. 15. ^ Beaver Creek slow to open?r/COsnow · 2024-12 · read 6 September 2026
  16. 16. ^ Incredible day at Beaver Creek 3/3r/COsnow · 2024-03 · read 6 September 2026
  17. 17. ^ a b Beaver Creek Rope Drop - 01/24/26r/COsnow · 2026-01 · read 6 September 2026
  18. 18. ^ a b Best Trails to Progress at Beaver Creekr/vail · 2025-02 · read 6 September 2026
  19. 19. ^ Beaver Creek & Vail Jan 6-10The Ski Diva forum · read 6 September 2026
  20. 20. ^ April 3, 2019 Beaver Creek/ArrowheadTurns All Year Community Forum · 2019-04 · read 6 September 2026
  21. 21. ^ Colorado Kick-off!SkiTalk (Pugski) · 2022-12 · read 6 September 2026
  22. 22. ^ Breck or Beaver creek ski tripr/skiing · 2023-06 · read 6 September 2026
  23. 23. ^ BC map from epic mapr/COsnow · 2024-04 · read 6 September 2026
  24. 24. ^ First time Beaver Creek questionr/COsnow · 2026-03 · read 6 September 2026
  25. 25. ^ a b Beaver creek parking.r/skiing · 2023-01 · read 6 September 2026
  26. 26. ^ How long does it take door-to-door from the mt. village in Vail to Beaver Creek or vice-versa during ski season?r/vail · 2024-10 · read 6 September 2026
  27. 27. ^ a b Beaver Creek powder dayr/skiing · 2022-08 · read 6 September 2026
  28. 28. ^ a b Best areas at Vail?r/skiing · 2023-03 · read 6 September 2026
  29. 29. ^ Very enjoyable little tree run in Beaver Creek Colorador/snowboarding · 2023-01 · read 6 September 2026
  30. 30. ^ Missing winter | Beaver Creek, COr/skiing · 2019-07 · read 6 September 2026
  31. 31. ^ a b Beaver Creek or Vail on a Friday?r/skiing · 2022-02 · read 6 September 2026
  32. 32. ^ Help with Beaver Creek Tree Skiing Difficulty Progressionr/skiing · 2025-10 · read 6 September 2026
  33. 33. ^ Colorado Beaver Creek Tripr/skiing · 2025-03 · read 6 September 2026
  34. 34. ^ Western US Recommendation for Low Intermediatesr/skiing · 2025-10 · read 6 September 2026
  35. 35. ^ a b Beaver Creek, CO 2-20-14Liftlines Skiing and Snowboarding Forums · 2014-02 · read 6 September 2026
  36. 36. ^ Cheapest grocery stores near Vail?r/vail · 2022-10 · read 6 September 2026
  37. 37. ^ a b First time at Vail & Beaver Creek! (Detailed trip report)r/vail · 2024-12 · read 6 September 2026
  38. 38. ^ Where to Eat (value > fancy)r/vail · 2025-12 · read 6 September 2026
  39. 39. ^ Restaurant recommendations in Beaver Creek?r/vail · 2023-05 · read 6 September 2026
  40. 40. ^ Osprey or Westin, Beaver Creekr/skiing · 2023-09 · read 6 September 2026
  41. 41. ^ Beaver Creek / Avon - any interesting bars / apres ski scene, cool hotels, beloved restaurants, off the beaten path gems, cute walks through town, great views to sip hot toddies with a book and watch skiers etc?r/vail · 2023-09 · read 6 September 2026
  42. 42. ^ Beaver Creek. It's more beautiful and fun than I expectedr/skiing · 2023-10 · read 6 September 2026
  43. 43. ^ Planning a ski trip to either Park City UT or Colorado to either Keystone, Beaver Creek, or Breckinridge. Opinions?r/skiing · 2022-05 · read 6 September 2026
  44. 44. ^ a b Beaver Creekr/vail · 2025-03 · read 6 September 2026
  45. 45. ^ a b Is Beaver Creek good for beginners?r/ski · 2024-01 · read 6 September 2026
  46. 46. ^ [deleted by user]r/COsnow · 2021-02 · read 6 September 2026
  47. 47. ^ Some scratches. Can it be fixed?r/skiing · 2022-02 · read 6 September 2026
  48. 48. ^ East Face of the Bald Spot (Beav)TGR Forums · 2009-01 · read 6 September 2026
  49. 49. ^ What US resort has the best glades?r/skiing · 2025-03 · read 6 September 2026
  50. 50. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The History of Beaver Creek ResortColorado Ski History · read 6 September 2026
  51. 51. ^ a b Beaver Creek, ColoradoWikipedia · read 6 September 2026
  52. 52. ^ Happy 40th, Beaver Creek: 40 things to know about Vail's sister resortVail Daily · 2020-12 · read 6 September 2026
  53. 53. ^ Beaver Creek ResortWikipedia · read 6 September 2026
  54. 54. ^ Getting Here & ParkingBeaver Creek Resort (Vail Resorts) · read 6 September 2026

Page last updated 6 September 2026.

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