I really liked Winter Park, and I recommend it to all riders, especially those from the beginner and intermediate range. It is a friendly mountain with a good view, a lot of option and we had a lot of fun there.

As very accurately quoted in one of the Winter Park brochures, Winter Park is "genuine . . . honest [and it is a resort in which you will find] life stripped clean of all the extraneous fluff so you can focus on the essentials that matter." Spread over five mountains, Winter Park has a small, local feel while containing the terrain and opportunity of a large resort. Everyone from all levels will find a place to ride. And, the view is gorgeous as you look over the mountains and the Continental Divide.

Parsenn Bowl and the famous Mary Jane provide awesome terrain for most all riders, except beginners. There are good opportunities to pick your path with the bowl runs and the tree runs, as well as some challenging blue-black runs. Winter Park, in relation to the Forest Service, has a policy in which they let nature take its course. Where tree branches fall and where rocks lie, they are not removed or moved. Therefore, the terrain, especially in the trees, is always different and that much more challenging. As a second year rider I found a lot of terrain on Mary Jane and in Parsenn's to "master." Access to Mary Jane and Parsenn's Bowl may be attained through the Winter Park Village or the Mary Jane Base Area.

I highly recommend Winter Park for the beginning to intermediate rider. There is a nice set of green runs that are spacious and long. Discovery Park is a set of green runs that is fenced off from the other runs and the result is a very comfortable beginner/slow zone that is bigger than most I have seen. As scary as it is to learn, it is even more scary to be terrified for your life as people rush by. Discovery Park eliminates some of the cause of this fear and is a secure place to take kids, the whole family or to go learn yourself. Once you become good enough to leave Discovery Park there are many other good runs like March Hare, Allan Phipps, Switchyard and Whistlestop that you can take as the next step in becoming a good rider. I would like to mention, however, that many of the lifts (outside of Discovery Park) are high speed and do not slow down. Getting off is a challenge until you are really comfortable with lifts.

The lodges on the mountain are there for rider convenience, be it a good lunch (the soup is fantastic), a warm up or a bathroom break. The friendly local atmosphere is really relaxed and comfortable. Lots of local businessmen do their business on the mountain.