Eldora Mountain

A bit biased, as I have been skiing here for decades (I miss the Rocky Mountain Super Pass), but Eldora Mountain is one of my favorite places to ski on the Front Range. A much smaller park than a lot of the more famous names (so way fewer gapers), but several lifts (IP is less crowded and my fav), plenty of varied runs, from a separated Green zone to some fun Blues to challenging Black and double Black runs, a full-service lodge, and an awesome locals vibe! Really convenient from Boulder, Denver, Estes Park, etc (no drive down the dreaded I-70), making out and back for day easy!

What a great first experience snowboarding here! My husband and I took a group lesson with Sav, and she was so awesome! I felt safe, looked after, and encouraged. Thank you so much to everyone at Eldora that made our day so wonderful. Will be back for more lessons and fun!

Went here with my family and they were wonderful. Good beginner areas. My son is more of an intermediate skier and he liked the terrain areas. Tina from ski school was so helpful with our questions. She even helped us carry some stuff to our car. My daughter got a minor injury on the mountain and the ski patrol brought her down and were attentive and communicated well with me. The staff here is so incredible. Also shout out to Richard in Ski school.

Excellent ski resort only 30-45 min away from Denver. Excellent snow cover whenever I go. If you don’t want to drive hours on end, this is the spot. Lines are short and move quickly as well. The only thing is I wish they flooded the entire mountain with park features like endless jumps, rails, jibs, boxes, pipes, etc. The mountains already good but that would be awesome if they did that. I see a lot of other complaints in the reviews, but I grew up going to California ski resorts which are god awful when it comes to operations compared to places like this. All Colorado resorts are a huge breath of fresh air for me.

My family has a private lesson with Amanda at Eldora today and it was amazing! Even though there might not be much snow, Amanda really made the day for us. As a first time snowboarder, I felt she gave me all the instruction needed to really feel confident getting started. She was so good at starting with the basics and helping us work up from there. She was patient, kind, clear, and confident. Can't speak highly enough of her and I can't wait to come back and board some more!

Nice resort, fun groomed slopes, friendly staff, plenty of parking, windy but plowed roads.

Eldora Mountain is a great little ski resort located in the quirky mountain town of Nederland, Colorado a place that’s actually famous for its “Frozen Dead Guy” festival! The resort is the closest ski option to Denver or Boulder, which makes it super convenient for a quick day trip or a weekend on the slopes. It’s not the biggest resort, but it has a solid mix of runs for all levels, from easy greens to some fun glades and steeper terrain. The lifts are easy to access, and you can be on the mountain in no time. Eldora is also part of the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus, which is a great deal it includes resorts like Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Snowshoe (in West Virginia), and several others. If you’re looking for a no-fuss, close-to-home mountain with good terrain and great value, Eldora’s a solid choice. This resort is not near as big as most of the ski resorts in Colorado. It’s a great place for weekend war living in Boulder.

Worst mountain in the rockies. Used to be better. One lift open almost a month after their opening date. Also by far the windiest and iciest mountain on the pass. The only redeeming quality is it cuts 30 minutes off your drive to a better mountain and when all the lifts are rolling it's not bad for a short day of laps. 10 dollars to park and you now get sent to the far lot as a solo. The attendant said this has been In effect for 4 years. I've never been charged 10 dollars to park my car as a solo at this mountain. We pay enough for our gear and passes that go up 9% year over year squeezing 10 bucks to park is ridiculous. Not to mention anything you spend at the resort. If you have ikon skip this mountain till January and just go to a bay or copper.

First-time Ikon pass user here whose trying to snowboard more often instead of once year. We visited this resort because it was a short drive not too far into the mountains. The were multiple staff members directly traffic upon entry and helping folks find parking. We arrived despite a severe weather warning and it was windy with white-out conditions among the trails. As a result of the weather, the beginner trails were shut down. The only trails available were Intermediate and Black Diamond. As a beginner-intermediate snowboarder I was a bit nervous. We decided to take a run. Lines moved quickly and the lift was speedy as well. They had maps clearly posted and large signs reading "easiest way down" to mark the path in the low visibility. The staff was frequently running through the trails to check on folks and make sure they were doing ok. I myself began to struggle and feel fatigued when a staff member by the name of Kathy stopped me. She helped me rest and make it down to the base with encouraging words. She helped me find my husband on the trail after we got separated in the white-out and stuck with us to make sure we were alright. By the end, my legs were fried by the challenge but with her help I made it to the bottom. I'll be visiting again when I'm more in shape and surefooted. Kathy's help was so appreciated. The facilities were clean and well stocked, but the big pull for me was the clearly marked information and wonderful staff. I even saw some folks get stuck in the snow and the staff was helping them fit their tires either snow chains. Above and beyond, they are amazing. See you soon, Eldora.

We drove up to sit in the sun and listen to live music, drunk beer and pet some Dogs. Yes, this is a ski resort, but its also a beautiful place to hang out for the day

It's definitely lost its charm. I don't think I'll ever bother ever trying on a weekend again. It was so overwhelmingly crowded and skied out (despite fresh snow) that I just left and went to winterpark where I never waited more than 5 minutes for a lift. It's a shame but it just doesn't seem capable of handling the crowds it gets. Even if 70 is rough you'll get more skiing elsewhere despite the extra traffic time Come on a random weekday and the lines are fine, but expect some east coast style ice because of how hammered it all gets every weekend. At least it doesn't have the crummy bougie-ness of other places

I have an Ikon pass. At Winter Park I can get a discount pass same day at the resort. Eldora-no way. This is the last time I will spend money here! Eldora business practices suck the bone.

I'll preface this updated review by acknowledging the positive infrastructure improvements that have been made since Powdr Corporation bought this mountain in 2016 - revamped septic and electricity, much improved bathrooms, a new high speed 6 pack lift on big mountain, and more... they've spent a lot and continue to do so and it shows. That's great. You can still ski here without struggling with I-70. That is still nice, but getting here has become it's own struggle due to multiple factors, probably including the mountain's "avoid I-70" ad campaign. In short, it has become a huge pain to get here due to the crowds and, in my opinion, the mountain is too small to handle it safely and the overcrowding greatly reduces the ski experience. You can still take the RTD bus here, but there are caveats. Bus service is greatly reduced and unreliable with many routes, including the NB route to the mountain, subject to frequent cancelation. Also, if you live in Nederland or Gilpin county and you want to catch the bus to avoid paying the single occupancy parking fee, you can't. It absolutely will be full when it reaches town. To the mountain's credit, they run shuttles to Boulder, but locals are ignored. If you drive, the lot fills quickly and road blocks go up, leaving a line of cars blocking the road through town. If you live in Nederland, it's hard to function. If you live in the town of Eldora and dare to leave home, good luck getting back. This is untenable. This mountain is on the Ikon pass in an unlimited capacity at the time of this review. That needs to change as the mountain is too small for this. There are plans to enlarge the parking lot, which sounds great on the surface, but the size of that lot limits the population on the mountain and that is necessary for safety. The big mountain is now overloaded with signage screaming at you about safely, but the underlying safety issue is overcrowding and that's a white elephant that isn't being considered likely for financial reasons. Even with the the additional terrain to be added with the proposed Jolly Jug lift, this is a small mountain and it isn't being treated as such. Honestly, at this point, I think it's just greed. I hope they prove me wrong. On the topic of safety, this mountain is subject to extreme winds. If there is no recent fresh snow, I personally will not ski Corona or Muleshoe as the wind from the divide whips over them and glosses them over wth ice in a dangerous way. Just a heads up. Also on the topic of safety and relating to user experience is the very extensive addition of terrain park features. First off, I support the addition of features. The "terrain park" that existed with the previous ownership was a joke and the addition was badly needed. However, the extent and location of these features has eaten up so much beginner terrain that it is difficult to transition to big mountain as a beginner. Not only are there so many features that you can no longer safely cut across the area, but the departments at this mountain do not appear to communicate with each other. Grooming of essential beginner terrain (e.g. skier right of Little Hawk lift, not groomed until late February of 2022) is being ignored for features like the Trick Ditch. It's not even possible to hit the connector from the bottom of Jolly Jug run (connecting big mountain to little mountain) without being tied up in terrain park. At a minimum, we need one real blue run (not Upper Bunnyfair - Corkscrew and the steep face of Sundance at a minimum) reserved without features for skiers just trying to learn basic shit. I think this mountain has forgotten it has a ski school, an adaptive program, and beginners. The short of it is that, unless you can go on a weekday and aren't a beginner, Eldora is no longer worth your time. It just takes up too much of it.

If you live in the Denver area... this is the perfect resort... It's not terribly busy... And it's reminiscent of old-school skiing and snowboarding... The lessons are reasonable the location and the amenities are fantastic... And we even enjoyed shepherds pie for lunch

Had an absolute blast this weekend going to eldora and snowboarding. The one hour drive from my house was easy and smooth. The only con to this resort is single drivers have to pay to park. If you have 2+ people in the car you do get to park free and closer to the main lift.

This review is for the Nordic center. It's a tough sand bagged course so it is not beginner friendly whatsoever. The greens are narrow, winding, steep-- more like blues at other resorts. Beware there are a lot of elite Nordic skiers there without much tolerance for beginners. There is not a dedicated Nordic parking lot so you have to fight all the downhill crowd for a space. $10 for singles. $40 now for day pass and the course wasn't even groomed the night before. The course wasn't fully open either. The Nordic is hut is small and many downhill skiers use the cubby holes for their stuff. Eldora used to be my Nordic center of choice. It will be a very long time before I go back.

Eldora has fallen into the corporate trap of GREED. We are locals and pre-booked tickets and rentals for $400 for a day of skiing. Two days ahead of our ski day, the weather forecast changed to include red flag warning winds and we were concerned about safety so we inquired about getting a refund. We were told "No refunds, No transfers!" which we found crazy cause big resorts like Winter Park allow 7-day advance cancellation no questions asked. After back and forth with Eldora's lame generic email customer service (don't try to call Eldora they won't help you!) they agreed to 'make an exception' and move our reservation to another day. We reluctantly agreed and picked the following Friday. To our shock, they slapped our credit card with a $160 fee. So it took them twenty seconds to rebook our reservation and they charged us $160 bucks. With their small footprint, Eldora has become the most expensive lift ticket per acre in the entire state of Colorado. Add to the expense the minimal snowfall, high winds, and RUDE customer service and just save yourself the money and hassle and go to a resort that cares about their customer experience and not being inflexible and greedy.

We arrived a bit late 11 am on a weekday with my 5 year old and had to park way way out. Shuttle bus drivers were on break for 30 minutes. How convenient! After a 20 minute walk, we finally got to the base area only to see that the beginner area was another 10 minute walk across the parking lot. This is the family friendly resort? Skiing was good on the bunny hill, operators were awesome. But no bathrooms, no lunch area, no food within a 10 minute walk. Not even any chairs or picnic table at the beginner base to take a break. I will never return to Eldora with small children. This resort has no clue.

Incredible runs! But pricey as all hell. Pretty much what I expected from a Colorado Ski Resort. The rental prices and pro shop will leave you reeling, but the service and friendliness on the mountain will be hard to beat. The trails were well groomed and even their easy trails were fun to hit multiple times. I would highly recommend visiting this place. One note, I had my snowboard actually STOLEN from me while I went to the restroom. Luckily it wasn't malicious as I found out. A new snowboarder had taken my board and I was able to catch up the them as they were walking up the slope to the lifts. I do believe it was general confusion(as their rental board had been right near mine) and I don't blame the person, but when I asked a few locals, they said that it happens often, so be aware and don't leave your gear unattended.

For a quick ski day away during a long biz trip, Eldora filled the bill nicely. Not too far (40 min from Boulder); not too big; not crowded (on a Sunday in December), and relatively inexpensive to boot. My friend K and I came up just before the lift opening. We got rock star parking (30 yards from the lodge) and skied 8 runs before lunchtime. (Lines were minimal). By 2:00 we were sated, and happy to head home before the parking lot began emptying down the single-lane mountain road. It's certainly not fancy, and it's a bit dated (60's-era Swiss chalet trimming can still be seen lining the lodge roof), but we were on the mountain, on a glorious sunny day, for only about $50 (early season price). Staff here were alarmingly nice and helpful. It felt like home.

If you have ever been to Breck, Winter Park, Aspen, etc then you might fall in to the category of being too jaded and/or spoiled for Eldora. But here is why I like it. It's a short and extremely picturesque drive to be on the slopes. And you don't have the I70 headaches of getting to those other fancy places. Being a ski/in ski/out snob myself, I still love Eldora for what it is, a great place to pound some powder and still get home in time to not miss my favorite episode of Hoarders. (yes I watch hoarders, I just outted myself on not being a snob, lookie there) The ski school system is slick and fast. My 10, 8, and 5 year olds had a great time and can't wait to go back. The only thing I'd suggest is to have a maximum number of 4 kids in the 5 year old ski school. It seemed a little unfair to that instructor to have to keep putting 6 five year olds gloves back on all day, and at that age they are wanders, so it looked like herding cats. But she was so kind and patient with my 5 year old, I was so impressed, and she was so scared at the beginning of the day crying and not wanting to try that I was uber impressed when I returned at 3 to a smiling girl who didn't want to leave!

As Matt W said, this place is a very nice ski resort and the negative reviers are just snobs or spoiled rich kids..... I have to say after chatting to some that most of the skiiers up here were folks that did not want to crawl along the I70 to the major popular ski resorts like Arapahoe, Keystone, Copper, Vail, etc.... on a weekend. So they made their way to Eldora. That was us - we saw the awful stop and go traffic on I70 between Idaho springs and the Eisenhower tunnel adding over 2 hours of drive time. So we decided to check out this "Boulder local" ski resort and voila - easy drive and quick to arrive ( less than a hour). Folks here at Eldora were very pleasant and courteous. The staff was great and treated us well - they actually cared about our experience. 2 mountain hosts came by to chat with us and make sure we knew our way around and to show their pride for their resort. Ticket pricing was a bit high but then it is the closest ski resort to Boulder and we were on vacation so that's a moot point. Food was decent, everyone was friendly, down to earth, and not snobby stuck up like people who go to Vail or Aspen. I have to say, this resort has it all - from beginners in their own area to the intermediate terrain in the mid mountain, and the expert skiing in the bowl on the far side. Snow was amazing! Coming from the Sierrra Nevada cement snow, Colorado snow has a light, champagne, teflon coated feel. Very nice ski experience! Interesting, this resort had more skiiers than snowboarders. I wished there were more snowboarders so that moguls would not keep forming making it tough on us skiiers.

Grandpa Rick, an employee at this mountain, is the cherry on top of the already underwhelming eldora mountain resort. Grandpa Rick treated everyone in my group with a deplorable attitude and made the mountain feel depressing. I will not be returning to eldora.

Got to the Nordic center at 2:45, hoping to rent equipment, buy two passes and ski for an hour before closing. They offer zero discount, even just before close. Greedy. Go to Granby instead.

Terrible service. Got skis never used them and when I returned them they claimed that they were broken beyond repair and are forcing me to pay $300 for them. They were in perfect condition when dropped off. Also every one there is on a power trip when they're getting payed minimum wage. If you want to get treated like shit by teenagers go to eldora. Their park is terrible too.

I checked out Eldora for the first time a couple of years back upon moving to Colorado, after hearing that it was really close to Denver and Boulder. Subsequent visits eventually led to a season pass purchase this year, and I'm giving it four stars, mainly for the convenience factor. If anything, it reminds me of the smaller resorts I grew up riding on the east coast, but on a slightly bigger level. The Pros: 1. For a smaller area, it's got some pretty varied terrain - everything from beginner groomers to double black glade runs. 2. It's really laid back - no snobbiness or pretentiousness here. You're more likely to bump into a group of college students on the sundeck sharing a PBR Tall Can and shouting a friendly "Wazzup!" to passersby before you'd pass by Itzy, Bitzy and Mitzy sipping champagne and swapping stories about Gucci handbags - although I did bump into someone last visit who supposedly lost her $9,800 diamond necklace on one of the main runs, but she dug her own grave on that one. A friendly reminder NOT to bring valuables to the hill! 3. The season passes are very cheap in comparison to some of the bigger resorts. 4. It's really close to town - just up the hill through Nederland from downtown Boulder. The RTD Route N goes up and down several times per day. The Cons: 1. There could be a bit more upper intermediate/lower advanced terrain, but no major complaints. 2. Although the season passes are very affordable (for season passes, anyway), it seems like the full price lift tickets are almost highway robbery at a whopping $89 per day this season. Still cheaper than some of the mega resorts, but the available terrain really doesn't justify the cost if you're going this route. 3. The place literally turns into a ghost town right after last chair, even during peak season, and that includes the lodges, bars and restaurants, so there's unfortunately no après anything here - it shuts down quick. All in all, recommended if you're looking for a decent ski/ride experience and don't want to venture on the I-70, or pay premium prices. TIP: The lookout area at the top of the mountain is an awesome place to chill, and the views are great. There's a restaurant and restrooms up there as well.

Not a substitute but compliments the big mountains Going to CU Boulder allowed for many great mornings or afternoons here considering it was about 30 minutes out of town. The park is ok depending on the year and is usually great to do light practicing of switch tricks and rail riding. Some of the best snowboarders in the country came out of this mountain(ex. JJ Thomas) and there is a reason. Its because we learned how to actually snowboard, going through the tightest trees around, making every last turn count because the lifts take forever, and really not caring about any "bro" scene. The perfect scenario: Front Range storm that dumps a few feet-go hit it up. Then when the wind starts blowing the day after-go hit it up again for some amazing backside stashes. Go to the tune shop and ask for Lucas or any of the boys(make sure to give them some good lovin!) and they will for sure take you out to the secret stashes. Many people dis this mountain but I have been to places all around the world and it is so unique and dear to my heart.

Despite the amount of bad reviews this place has I think those people are ski snobs. I will say that the rental prices I thought were a little high as were the lift tickets but it's vacation! We came from out of town to ski the slopes of Colorado. We were staying downtown Denver and didn't want to drive 2 hours or pay the prices of vail. It took us an hour to get to eldora mountain resort and we were pleasantly surprised. We were greeted with friendly, helpful people to get is sorted quickly for our rentals. We hit the slopes at 10:30am and didn't come off until 3pm. We had a brilliant day and the lines were nonexistent. We came down (with a few bumps and bruises) and went straight back up for more. I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for an easy drive, decent slopes and no lines. Enjoy!

We had a good time at the Nordic Center last weekend. My main complaint is the price. We were visiting from out of town. We wanted to ski wIth our 5 and 7 year old. That basically means being out on the trail for an hour. Max is an hour and a half. Total cost rentals and tickets for the 4 of us was $206. Gulp. How family unfriendly can you be? No half day tickets. No breaks anywhere in price. Our 5 year old paid full price for everything. Our local center at Snoqualmie does half days, serious price break on youth rentals, and free pass for our 5 year old. It's such a great sport and great for families. We were determined to do it and sucked it up to pay that full price but I think a lot of families would turn around and say no way. That's $206 for one hour out on the trail. The experience itself was great (other than a season pass holder almost getting in a fight with a newbie because the newbie was walking on the trails because he didn't have the skills to do that part of the trail). But that price. Wow. Felt completely gouged.

Keep calm and powder on! It's been close to 20 years since I've last been boarding, and I'm very happy that I did it here. I did the group lesson, which included rental and a lift ticket, and here's a tip...if you go on a week day, you'll probably be the only person in the group lesson____score! Here's my break down: Mountain: for those that don't know any better, it's great! I mean it's Colorado, how bad can it be? I rate the runs 4/5 stars Lessons: I took 2 lessons in a span of 3 days. The first day, they gave me an instructor that wasn't a snowboarder, which is weird since I didn't learn anything from him. BUT one of the badass snowboarding instructors, Ric came out on his break to help me tweak my runs, how generous is that? The second day, I did another lesson, and this time, I was paired with the Don Greg (no joke, he's a Renaissance performer), and he was absolutely amazing! The guys even gave me an additional hour free to make up for the other day. I feel very confident in my abilities because of RIC AND GREG, well done. Value: I did the group lesson for $129. That includes a 2 hour lesson, with rental equipment, and an all day pass. That's cheap! The all day pass alone is $79, so this is a great deal! I took away one star due to the fact that they gave me an inexperienced, uncertified instructor the first day, that would have sucked if I didn't go back, other than that, it's a great place.

Decided to try some cross country skiing after watching the Olympics. Left from Denver and drove in for an afternoon of X-Country Skiing. Eldora seemed to be the best option from doing some quick online research. Everything was even a little better than expected for us. The ski rentals and trails start a little past the mail lodge at the Nordic Center so drive over there-it's near the bunny hill. We had a lot of questions when we got there-and all of them were answered patiently and with a smile. Eldora is famous for its wind and we were wondering if it would be a frigid ski. The trails are through the woods-so much of the wind was blocked. The trails were gorgeous today-light snow fell as we were out. There is some incline and you will get some exercise. We actually brought our 8month Old son-and they have a little sled you can rent to carry behind you. It worked out great and he loved it. Everyone in the ski center asked us how are day was and was so pleasant! I hope you have the same experience we did!

***This is based off the experience I had with their employees*** Been here a few times and never had an issue. Great weather, awesome skiing/conditions that couldn't be beat the last 3 years coming here. Recommeded to go visit. However the one mishap I did have was with dealing with a missing person with no phone service on the mountain. I reported my issues to the lift attendees who, long story short didn't communicate anything back to other lift attendees or ski patrol to be on a lookout. I asked multiple employees about it when I found one present and nothing was communicated back to them on the radio or phone. Time to take your jobs more seriously or distribute the proper tools to your employees for situations like these. Very unacceptable to 'sleep' on a request given like this.

I wasn't too happy as the conditions were pretty windy. I came from Seattle, WA all the way to Colorado expecting the best conditions to shred in. My cousin told me it's where the local ski and it's the cheapest out of all the resorts. I kinda wanted to go to Telluride, Vail, or Breckenridge, but the lift tickets alone cost a lot. My first day up at Eldora was a mess. My first run was OK, but the second and third one, the winds picked up and my face started to hurt. On top of that, almost all the lifts were closed except for the two green runs. I stood in line for customer service, as like everyone else, and got a voucher. This was a plus because they didn't sell two day passes, and a one day pass cost $69 bucks. I wasn't looking forward to paying around $140 for two days of boarding, but luckily I was able to make it to $69 for both days. We went back the next day and that was much better. The winds weren't as bad, and I was able to ride the longer lifts up to a higher elevation... and there was FRESH POW!!!!!!!!! Man, all my runs that day were great! I even managed to follow my friend weaving in and out of trees. I will never forget that day... that day made my trip worth it. I would definitely go back to Eldora. Just make sure you check the mountain weather report before you go.

Considering how close Eldora is to Denver, it's very convenient to ski at but there are draw backs! It's slogan, "closer to you" is true but I fell like that's about all. On busy days, it is chaos with parking, lines for tickets, gear hire and the ski lift lines. The service isn't the best either, I've had great service from some people but most of the people seems like they can't be bothered. If you want decent parking get there early and if you need tickets then you'll probably be at the front of the queue. They have spent a lot of money on renovating the place but it still feels average. The runs are good when there has been a good amount of snow, if not they are icy and not that great to ski on. I'll ski here sometimes because it's close.

Shame on you Eldora Nordic Center for gouging XC skiers. Are you kidding me? $37 to ski for the 90 minutes I had available? You are gougers! Consider this: 1. No half-day ticket 2. "Peak" pricing is everyday into March. A January Tuesday costs as much as Christmas week. WTF? 3. Gouging us $5 to pay for a plastic card. Not even my Epic pass charged me for a piece of plastic. 4. Senior rates kick in at age 70, not age 65 as in the past. 5. Full-day ticket for 67 year old is $32. That's up from $16 last year. Gee thanks. I won't be back, but they're part of a huge company now, so sadly, I won't be missed.

I was on vacation to take my first ski-lesson at this resort. We made an online reservation for this resort for beginner level lessons. They asked us to reach early so that other all formalities and paper work can be done on time. Their receipt mentioned we have to reach at Indian peaks lodge and we searched for that on Google maps and it took us to completely different location with same name of the lodge. We tried to call them but no one received our call and it always went to voice mail which till date they have never replied to. We intended to reschedule the lessons for next day as we were still in Denver for next day but were not able to reach them. This was a complete ignorant and dissatisfying service from them as we were too excited to get our first ski lessons. We are trying to reach them if they issue a refund for our lessons. I would request other people to please look for other options while visiting Denver.

Keep a hold of your equipment! I am horrified at our experience before the season ended last year. I taking my time to write my review now with the new season is starting to warn you all. The reception by the staff was cold at the very least and didn't get better as the day progressed. Then my son's brand new board was stolen. The police told us that this has been an ongoing problem. No special warnings given. NO intervention by the owners or management. My son is a soldier who returned from an overseas mission and spent his hard earned money on that equipment and we didn't even get an apology or an offer to refund of our ski passes. We understand that thieves just drive up from town, steal equipment and take the bus right back down the hill. My son was so disappointed and our family will never go back there. I hope to find a way to replace his equipment so that he can go this year.

Let me preface by saying I have skied here for 4 seasons and it has gotten worse every year. This place has great potential but the management/ownership has completely dropped the ball. The ticket prices have grown every year despite the fact that no new services, lifts, etc have been added. You can ski way bigger resorts for less $. In fact they actually have less to offer this season than before. I purchased the weekday season pass for $379.00. A complete ripoff considering they don't even operate all the lifts during the week!(new for this season) I would never have purchased it if they would have told me that. Additionally, as mentioned before, the ski patrol here is the ABSOLUTE worst I have experienced in my many years on the slopes. Complete jerks for no reason other than they must be miserable working for a dying company. Also these idiots have 1 person selling lift tickets on their BUSIEST day of the year!!?? I hate to say it but I hope they go bankrupt so someone else can buy this place and turn it around. It is a total shame the way this place is operating, spend your money elsewhere where it will be appreciated!

Jake that was working at the store today was awesome, gave my fam a lot of tips for the warmers we bought, etc. above and beyond for customer service. Thanks, the Edels... PS, was still fun in 70 mph winds today!

boarding in CO for 6 winters now; Vail resorts CO pass every year. Went to Eldora 1st time by bus from Boulder RTD about 4 yrs ago after a storm. Thought it was OK, but took long time to buy a pass on a weekday (all their lines, except the kiddies ski school one, are SLOW), and cafeteria lousy & small. Was getting a bit tired of I70 traffic this year, so thought, why no give Eldora another chance cause I can get there in about 30 min from North Boulder? Went 3-4 times this year. Didn't go in the park, but went all over rest of the (inbounds) resort. Really wanted to give it a chance, being close and no I70, but I just couldn't have that much fun. I've been to small resorts, but a run feels like a quarter run - barely enough to get yo legs warmed up. The long drive and agony of I70 IS worth it to get to some real mountain, even small a-basin! Bottom line: - if strong intermediate or better Eldora will seem pretty easy and small - most runs overrated- blues like greens, blacks like blues, etc. but that's also common at other CO resorts; there are some real steeps over on corona and tight trees, if the wind hasn't blown off all the snow - SH*T! lifts are WAY slow & runs are quite short, with flat sections at top and in middle of runs (and I've been to small resorts on East Coast: Poconos PA, Mountain Crk NJ, Hunter, NY, etc.) - food BAAAAD, bring lunch from Boulder/Denver/Golden... - dated facilities (but new bldg for kids/ski school/rentals) - maybe ok, for 8"+ powder day, but again, SLOW lifts - expensive for what you get - not much savings over real mountains pass - basic snowboard rentals - no higher end demo models (yet) It is good for: - beginners - families (kinda) - out of town visitors getting ski/board legs back & acclimating to altitude. - maybe worth 99$ 4-pack available in fall locally

I'm giving Eldora one star because of their HORRIBLE customer service, but nonetheless, they deserve it. My friend and I went up on a Saturday and he was going to use one day off of his four-day pass. So it's around 9 a.m. and we're just about ready to get on the lift when they decide to close it due to high winds. Well that sucks, we thought, but they said they might open it in an hour. Fine. So we decide to go ski the bunny lifts because our only options at that point are to do that or sit in the lodge. But remember, we don't necessarily WANT to ride the bunny lifts. Keep this in mind. So we continue waiting, an hour passes, we get word they may open between 11:30 and noon. So, because we're bored of the kiddie lifts (and never really enjoyed riding them in the first place) we decide to take an early lunch and hope that by the time we're done eating, the lift will be open. Noon rolls around and it's not open. We wait until 1 p.m. and when they're still not open, we decide to leave. Now, I understand that there's nothing they can do about the high winds, and the fact that the lift was closed is NOT the reason I'm giving Eldora one star. The reason that they deserve one star is due to how they handled the situation when my friend felt ripped off because he used one of his day tickets and couldn't actually ski. They refused to refund him despite the fact that everything was closed except the kiddie lifts. I decided to follow up with Eldora messaging them on Facebook and their marketing director, Sam Bass, described their reasoning as to why they wouldn't refund my friend as the following: imagine you're getting ice cream. If you take one bite and decide you don't like the flavor, you'll probably be able to get a refund. However, if you eat a majority of the ice cream and then decide that you don't like it, you most likely won't be able to get a refund. Similarly, if you take one run skiing and decide you aren't satisfied, they'll refund you, but if you take more than one run, then they won't. Okay, make sense, but HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO RIDING THE KIDDIE LIFT ALL DAY WAITING FOR THEM TO OPEN, AND THEN THEY NEVER DO?? You think we were riding that lift because we wanted to? Hell no! If we had known they weren't going to open, we would have stayed home! I've experienced very similar lift closures at Vail Resorts, and they've never had a problem refunding you because they understand what the customer expects out of a day pass! After this experience at Eldora, I realized that other people have had the same problem with their customer service, so I now realize that they've been ripping people off this way for years! I've always bought a ski pass so I've never had to deal with this before, but it's very sad that I have to see this even happen. Please fix! Update: Just found out that their ski patrollers are evil! They found this guy the other day that was skiing without a pass and made him buy a ticket. That's fine, but what's really messed up is they kicked him out of the resort AFTER FORCING HIM TO BUY A TICKET. PATHETIC. It makes sense to do one or the other: kick him out or make him buy a ticket, but to force him to buy a ticket and then kick him out?! No one with a heart would do that to someone! SAD

Eldora is akin to a dive bar. As someone who grew up in Colorado and now lives elsewhere, I love, love, LOVE this place. It's a great way to be *in* Colorado and experience the mountains and snow without all the tourists and traffic. As a beginner, this was a great place. I've been to Loveland and Keystone and they were too much of a hassle and the instructors were just ok. Our snowboarding instructor Rob from Edwards, CO (in case you want to take snowboarding lessons from him) was absolutely great. As an adult trying to snowboard, he was perfectly nice and very patient. Although I am not yet awesome, I feel like I can go down the bunny slope by myself, and off the lift, not the little escalator. This is definitely a hole-in-the wall type resort and not Keystone, Vail or Breck. It is nothing fancy. If you are looking for fancy, go west on I-70. Big props to all the staff and ease in getting there, parking, tickets, etc. I am not a patient person so this is huge. The cafeteria could definitely have better selection but the outdoor angus cheseburger hit the spot and didn't break the bank. If you want to go skiing or snowboarding without all the hassle, this is the place.

This may be an excellent ski area but the food is CRAP and overpriced ($5.25 for a coke). I'll accept the prices but not the horrible food. Not relaxing! The big problem is you are trapped... there is no where else nearby!

I bought the Rocky Mountain Super Pass this year because my friends did, and since Eldora is the closest option for me, I've been 10 times so far this season. The terrain is decent and there are enough runs to keep me entertained...I enjoy the parks here as well. Now that I've been as much as I have, I'm starting to get a little bored as it's a fairly small mountain and I've seen almost all of the territory available here. Part of the problem is the lack of snow this season, which results in some bare spots and trail/lift closures, but I can't totally hold that against them. That said, I haven't seen any snow making equipment in use since early in the season, you'd think they would want to supplement the weak snowfall that mother nature has provided...perhaps they aren't allowed to or there may be water conservation issues? Not really sure, but that would be my number one suggestion to whoever runs this place. If anyone from management reads this review, the other suggestions I'd make would be to pave the god awful parking lot, add more small/medium features in the parks, get some coin-operated lockers for your customers, and speed up the lifts! I don't think I'd pay $90 for a single day lift ticket here more than a handful of times, if that, so I can see why others give a low rating for that reason. Yes, the lodge is old and the food is "meh", but I'm not trying to hang out in the lodge or get a 5-star dining experience here, my goal is to get as many runs into a day as possible. What elevated my review from a 3 to a 4 star was the attention my best friend received after he had a REALLY bad accident here (hit a patch of ice and lost control, slammed a tree) which resulted in multiple broken ribs, a punctured lung, fractured hip, internal bleeding, and other various injuries. The ski patrol and medical personnel did a great job helping him get down the mountain, and providing care until the ambulance arrived. I really appreciated that, they were very helpful and did the best they could with their limited resources and liability issues that I'm sure they deal with. I stopped by the medical area the next time I went to thank them, but I wanted to mention it as I saw a lot of negative reviews related to "customer service". Well, this isn't a service you ever want to need, but it's good to know that they aren't lacking in this department. If you're going to Eldora, the best advice I can give you is: 1.) Check the weather report the night before, their website gives info on how windy things will be along with the snow report, I usually opt to go elsewhere if winds will be any higher than 20mph, 2.) be aware of icy conditions if there hasn't been any recent snow, and 3.) bring a snack so you don't have to waste your money if you get hungry. If you're expecting something on par with Aspen or Vail, you're going to be disappointed...but as another reviewer mentioned, it's much better than most of the stuff I've experienced in the midwest (Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin).

I have read reviews on this ski resort and as for the wind or quality of snow, that is beyond what any resort has control over. However what the management and owners do have control over sucks! The food was a joke, what food was available. We visited Christmas week and the resort was not crowded. The volume of skiers was so low that 1/2 the lifts were not running and the lodge at the top of the hill was not open for food service. At the bottom of the hill the main lodge two days before Christmas was out of most food items at 1:00pm, including ranch dressing to go with the over cooked chicken strips. We were told by others, it is best to get to the lodge early for food.... The staff was less that friendly or knowledgeable. I looked up price packages on line before arriving and had an idea of what deals I would get for multi-day passes. I was told by the fellow working in the ski rental area that there were no deals, after a lengthy debate another employee came over and showed him what was up. He was surprised and said he had been working all season and did not know this. Good job! My son had an issue getting a boot on his rental skies adjusted. Well, he went up to two different employees who would not help him or point him in the right direction. I had to walk him over to get help. Of course this was no surprise when I spoke to the employees he asked for assistance. It was the first guy I met when trying to purchase the tickets and another staff member who both smelled like they just smoked a joint. Recreational marijuana use is legal in Colorado and to each his own, apparently the management does not have a problem with their employees getting stoned at work, as I noticed about half of the lift operators also smelled like they had just smoked out. I only hope the snowcat operators are not shotgunning beers while grooming the runs! Spend your money elsewhere if visiting the area. We will never go back!

Eldora is a great Small Mountain Resort. It is so close to Denver, Boulder or where I live, Erie. Less then an Hour and you are on the slops and missed all of that I-70 headache. If you have been to some of the fancy ski resorts like Aspen, Breck or Winter Park you might be too much of a snob for this place but if you like to day ski with the family and like well maintain routes, this is the place. This is a great place to learn the basics for a good price. Then you can head to one of the fancy resorts and really use what they have instead of staying on the bunny hills for what you pay for. You will get great instruction and in small groups. Eat a small meal at the lodge and stop in Nederland on your way home. I personally love Kathmandu Restaurant.

Okay--it was windy at the top today, and icy in spots, but I love this place and I'll tell you why. My husband rented a couple of weeks ago (from Crystal's in Boulder) and the tech didn't fit the bindings to his boots, so he went to step in and he couldn't. He went into the rental place at Eldora and the guy there gave him a pair of skis to use, no charge. Hats off to Crystal as well because they ended up not charging DH for the rental due to the hassle. Now, today, son (14 years young) forgot one glove, so we stopped by Lost and Found, and the girl found an awesome matching pair of gloves for my son to borrow today so we wouldn't have to spring for a new pair of ski gloves. Eldora Rocks!

Review of Eldora Nordic Center: They have never been the best in the Rockies, but were at least a decent, limited terrain xc area. Don't know if it's new operators of the nordic center, or just the main resort decided they would put the least effort possible into the area? Very shoddy grooming (when they occasionally groom); off camber and multiple rough sections of trails. They have limited kilometers to begin with, but have decided to only groom about a third of what they have, yet they are as pricey as any nordic area in the state, with far less to offer. Beyond disappointing. Would never recommend this area, unless they get their act together.

Eldora is a whore-a.. Okay, I can see, like, if there was a big storm and you have only 1/2 free to ride. So then, why not? ... The terrain, though beauteous, is laughable in size....haha so small! The terrain park? Okay Eldo, have you heard of a super dragon? So yes, I am bitter towards Eldo, that may have come across, but the reason, not important.

GOOD FOR BEGINNERS As a flatlander and someone who's just getting back into skiing, Eldora was perfect for me. A reasonable drive from Boulder, I found Eldora to be a great fit for me and my family, some of whom had never been on skis before. Lessons are an amazing deal at $119 which includes your lift ticket and your equipment rental. Purchased separately, the lift ticket and gear rental costs $114 which means you're paying $5 for a 2 hour group lesson. How can you beat that? Plus, the intermediate group I went out with had only six people in it and the instructor was excellent. The only negative is that the food is pretty awful. I'd suggest packing a lunch.

My wife's a former ski racer and I've been snowboarding 20 years. Our first trip to Eldora this week was SOLID! A few issues noted below...but all in all... nice place, close to hope, plenty of terrain, good for the family! -First stop was at the bathroom at the far left area next to the magic carpet and the ultra beginner lift. All the toilets were frozen and not maintained (I'll guess I'll wait till we get up to the main lodge) -Used the "drop off" parking area to unload the family & gear. Nice to have this! Wish there was dedicated family parking up close, had to re-park much farther away. Heck, I would have paid a few bucks for less family hassle. -Rental skis for the 4 year old, straight forward, easy...but... probably cheaper back in boulder. $27 for kids skis that will take just a couple runs...hmmm... and an $9 ticket. I can see why more families don't ski! I think the rental boots also needed to be replaced... excessive wear on the soles :( -Fun time with the little guy on the "bunny slope" his first time on a chair lift, so I was there behind the lense doing my job while mommy took him up. -Grandma then watched both kids while wifey and I did a few runs together...Impressed with the variety of terrain here immediately...some steep stuff, some trees, some places to go fast...and... like previous reviewers, it was mellow mid-week... kind of a throw back ski area. -Yes, the lift was slow...yes, it was a little windy... quit whining and just try out Eldora. Even with some plugged up toilets and pay-as-you-go wifi we'll be back...actually... my kid is up there right now having his first official ski lesson!

Don't let anyone fool you, Eldora is rad. Amazing pockets of powder and glades can be accessed from the Corona lift, hike out towards Lost Lake for dope sidecountry. Last season there was one main park and another mini park so regardless of your park rat/gaper-ness level you're right at home. Early season RTD runs one bus (the "N") to/from all day but later in the season they roll a "Special" to support the added bus ridership. It's Five bucks, stinky on the way down and usually filled with obnoxious kids, making headphones worth their weight in gold. It's not super cheap for a day lift ticket but it's 20 miles from Boulder, super low-key and never crowded. They also suffer (benefit) from up-slopes that kick up crazy winds but can dump crap tons of snow when other central Rockies resorts remain untouched.

This place is great! Such an awesome experience. Ok, so yes, there are other resorts that some may feel are nicer or more luxurious or something but I can't think of anything else I needed. I should preface this by saying I am a beginner and so I didn't see the point in spending a lot more money for routes I wasn't going to take anyway. Eldora has so much to offer. There are of course the slopes themselves which vary a lot in difficulty and scenery, which is great. They also have a restaurant on the property. Lots of parking which was easy to get in and out of and no charge for parking or anything. The rental process for our boards was simple and quick. There is plenty of staff around to help with everything from gearing up to helping you when you eat it out on the snow to little tips to avoid eating it out on the snow. They do offer lessons and I'm sure they're great but the help the staff provides just out and about is honestly enough if you just want to mess around out there for a weekend or something. Rental gear: we did snowboarding so for our rentals we got the boots and the board. Skiers got the skies, boots and poles. Nothing else is included so if you want helmet, gloves, goggles or sunglasses, bring them or they do have some for purchase. They do not require helmets on this resort. They have a store there with pants and tops and glasses and of course your souvenir type things. This place is so much fun and you cannot beat the view! Great staff and location.

Neal and Linda are great bartenders. They had a party of 100 and still managed to take great care of us. However, the ski services kind of sucked and the sent me out to the mountain without checking that the boots fit into my bindings. This was my sixth time at a resort, I'm by no means a complete rookie or expert. I was recommended this place by family friends in Florida and it's definitely more for locals with their own equipment.

I like this place. I've done the 5-mountain and the Copper/Winter Park thing in previous years but decided to try out Eldora this year. Its small compared to the other resorts, but its so close to Boulder that it becomes worth it. I usually have had enough of this place after about 3-4 hours, but I don't feel bad doing a half-day because I can be back at home and on the couch in just 40 minutes. My dog likes that part, too. There are a few pretty good runs through the trees, and during a nice up-slope storm they get blasted with powder. It can get windy, though.

I was disappointed with Eldora. I'm a beginner and came in from out of town. I bought a half day lift ticket for $80 and went out to the bunny slopes, which is my happy place. The main slope I intended to ride was closed. There was a conveyer-belt type lift I rode once and it was no fun at all. I'm not confident to ride anything larger and decided I'd be happier waiting out in the lack-luster lodge. I requested a refund since the lift was closed and they said it was my fault for not checking the website to make sure it was open. Apparently that's a regular thing to them and I don't know how I was supposed to know that. I've been to a handful others in my lifetime and they've always had a bunny lift open. They put little effort into providing customer service and didn't care that I was displeased or that I spent $80 for one conveyer lift. I feel scammed.

This resort is a close to Boulder and Denver. the rates were ok for the value you got. I would go again for a half-day. for a full day, I'd try to get somewhere with more runs. But, we did not do or over do all the runs in a half-day. there were some challenging runs, and some easy enough runs, and some in-between. There were some beginners, and I thought it might be particularly good the first day you try to go all over, and find out that blue is not a darker green, but sometimes you can do it. rentals were ok, and there was not a lot of hassle or confusion (for a counter example, see: winter park)