Sunlight Mountain Resort

This ski resort is a Hidden Gem. Not only does it have second steepest Peak in Colorado: THE HEATHEN, it also has a wide variety of intermediate and beginner level runs. The staff is super friendly and they have a lot of trainers for ski school. This is excellent for families with kids because the trainers take groups of three and four kids up the mountain and have them up and skiing in one day. It is amazing to see kids who have never seen before within an hour are heading down the slopes with the instructors. I highly recommend this Ski Resort it is a double A+ those who love to ski and have a variety of courses available to them. This location is great for groups who are at all different levels of skiing skills. They have everything from double black diamonds down to beginner green and blue intermediate runs.

Great place to ski with a family. Very affordable and close to Glenwood. We had a group of 6 kids and 4 adults and everyone enjoyed the snow. Snack bar had very good food and was cheap!!! I highly recommend the Chicago hot dog. Delicious. All the staff were so friendly and accommodating.

Locals ski mountain with ample tree terrain for those who want to adventure. Great for families. Lodge has food and beverage, feels a bit nostalgic in ways.

I love this place. We come back almost every year. It’s far enough away from the really big resorts that it feels like you get. Local vibe, and usually the mountain is not too crowded. Great spot for beginners or advanced, as the lifts are super easy and the mountain has lots of great trails. Absolutely recommend taking a day or two here!

Best run of the season for us, myself with beginner 5 and 13 year old. This place was perfect. Long nice slopes. There weren't many people in the slopes. Beautiful views.

Had the pleasure of working with Desiree for the group rates. The customer service was AMAZING. She was able to meet all of the needs of our group including switching ski days for some of us who became sick, sign some of us up last minute for ski schools, and refund lift tickets and rentals for some of us that got injured. Ski conditions were awesome! No lines for the lifts, rentals were very nice, trails had fluffy fresh powder. This place is a real hidden gem!

I can't say enough great things about this resort. It has everything a skiing-loving person could want, but in a low key, laid back, family friendly way. And perhaps more important, it's as opposite from the big corporate Colorado resorts as possible. It's exactly perfect the way it is. No lines, no selling your kidney for a lift ticket... just skiing on a beautiful mountain. The varied terrain is amazing and has as many challenges as one could want while skiing in the most beautiful of mountain scenery. Along with challenging terrain it has equally relaxing, pure fun, long green runs that take you though the easy route of those incredible mountains. Most importantly, did I mention there were no lift lines?

Sunlight is a beautiful gem! Has all the views and great CO snow but isn't crowded. The lifts are definitely a little ancient but our family had a blast at this resort. Everyone is so nice! Has runs for everyone! We stayed at the Gnarly Inn at the bottom which is an experience in itself. About 20 min from Glenwood Springs.

As good as it gets! Pro tip 1: Come here in the morning to get the best parking and if you are taking the lesson you would have the half of the day to practice on your own. Pro tip 2: Come here with your own ski boots (even as a beginner, hopefully committed to become a pro). That would make the whole world of a difference. Promise. Pro tip 3: Get the lesson if you are a beginner. Really worth it and the price (at the moment of writing) is reasonable. Pro tip 4: Get your own skis if you can. Not nearly as important as getting your own ski boots but I figured my skis were not locking in place as effortlessly as I would have wanted them to. Pro tip 5: Bring your gear: ski pants, waterproof winter gloves, winter jacket (layer down depending on the weather and you), goggles and a winter face mask. Pro tip 6: Bring your own hot beverage of choice in a thermos. Or water. And fruits and snacks for some quick calories because the cafe gets REALLY crowded and they actually ran out of the food today before 3 because of the snow storm. You can store it in a locker. I was new to mountain skiing but did some cross country skiing waaaay back, can't say I had good memories or much success. So I came here to learn how to mountain ski and rewrite my negative childhood experiences and it did it! First of all, the $145 price (Dec 2021) that included the rental skis/snowboard, the 2hr group lesson and all day lift ticket (9am to 4pm) was more than reasonable. If you did the all day lift ticket and the rentals you would end up paying $115 ($75 lift + $40 rentals). And the lesson alone would have cost you $90. So it was a PRETTY sweet deal! The instructors were very helpful. They walked us through the basic elements like putting the skis on at the slope, walking up the slope, breaking and turning and they spoke loud and were very articulate. They were very strict and told people to pay attention and not play with the skis and do anything they were not instructed to do. At first I thought it was too much but then I realized they did everything to make sure the new students don't crash into other people when they were on the slope. My friend was new to snowboarding, he took the class too and was very happy as well. Now the lift closes at 4 so we had half of the day to practice on our own. After that we hung out at the bar which closes at 6 and it was nice to have a place to relax in the conventional way after the day of skiing. The negatives.. yes there were a couple. The rental shop at 9 was a freaking chaos. Again.. come early. The instructors didn't teach us the best way to recover from the falling down and it is a big one because in my experience recovery takes up a lot of time/energy. I will be back here soon with all the lessons learned.

Visited with family who are late beginner to early intermediate skiers. First, a description of the resort. This is a small resort only 3 lifts. We arrived on a big snow day, and there were lines at the lifts. However, I have been to more crowded resorts in California where I live, so I thought the lines were ok. They moved fast but the lifts stopped often because of people falling off at the start or end. And about the lift, they move fast at the start and end. So be ready. They can be challenging for beginners. Hold on tight because they do swing you around quite violently at the start and I almost slipped off because there was a sheet of ice on the first lift we took and the swinging was quite vigorous. I disliked them a lot. The snow was great. There aren't that many green runs but the greens were fun with varied terrain, which were a good challenge. We did one of the blue runs which was pretty challenging for my party. The green runs had really great views especially those from the top of the mountain. We didn't have lessons but we saw many people lined up for lessons. We stayed for 2 days. But if we had stayed for 3 we might have gotten bored due to the limited number of green runs. Only one restaurant, so bring your own food if you don't want to wait to order, then wait for your food. There are lockers available which you rent via a kiosk. There's a QR code but it doesn't work. They are quite expensive: $10 for a small one that fits one backpack and $15 for a large on that fits 2 backpacks. We fit 5 winter/hiking boots in them, with space to spare for water bottles, sweaters, beanies etc. We saw lots of folks leave their stuff under benches, along the walls too. I think the restroom situation was fine as well. Didn't have to wait that long for restrooms. In fact, most of the time I didn't have to wait. There is a restroom right at the top of the mountain too. If you want skis, you can rent them at the resort, or at their shop in downtown Glenwood Springs. We opted to rent from the shop in downtown. There will be a separate review on the ski rental from their shop. Second, about getting there. You can drive. Or, you can take the shuttle which leaves from selected hotels in the area. As well as from the downtown Sunlight Ski and Bike Shop location at 8:30 and they will do more runs if there are more people needing it. Pick up is at 2:30 and 4:30 but they will add another one at 3:30 if it is a busy day. There's space for your skis and boots and poles etc. The shuttle drivers are amazing. They dropped us off at our hotel even though it's not "on the scheduled list". But they can pretty much pick you up and drop you off anywhere in and around Glenwood Springs. For this season they are free but they are working to get a system which you use your ski tickets to tap in from. Forget about Uber/Lyft. They don't exist here. And the only other taxi operator is apparently very expensive. Much better way to get up the mountain than driving after a snowstorm. We saw a car flipped over on the way up... If you do drive, there is a shuttle that takes people to the lower parking lot so you don't have to trek down. We had a great time at Sunlight Mountain. It may not have the most modern amenities nor the best runs, but the people were really friendly and helpful and it's not a complicated resort. The other plus is the ski shuttle which really made it much more convenient to get around with our skis. While I note that skiing is an expensive activity, Sunlight Mountain has really good pricing. Even better than my local California resorts and the snow is better. But due to the limited number of green runs and older ski lifts, I took one star off.

Amazing views from the summit. Long steep runs, not crowded lifts. Awesome snowmobile tour. New lifts are coming for 2025/2026 season. Really crowded base area. All of the long lines and group classes converge into 2 lifts Segundo and Tercero. You have to take Tercero in order to get to the Primo lift that takes you to the top. The lines to those lifts is downhill which makes standing in it an exercise in propping yourself. All 3 lifts are really, really, really slow. No safety bars, nothing but the Pole to hold on to. That said the staff did manage to organize the actual lift line to prevent chaos. Ticket windows are the slowest by far anywhere. We were in line with about 20 people for about an hour on Dec 27 and the line with 10 people took 45 minutes on Dec 28. And we came at opening time. Finally the trails, while long and flows the grooming was spotty to say the least. Even groomed trails would have sections completely ungroomed and some open areas had easily 1-2 feet of deep snow. The trail rating is arbitrary at best. Beaujolaise trail was rated a blue but was completely vertical and ungroomed at all. We ended up going down defiance which black diamond, ungroomed and far less steep. If you are used to skiing in deep snow, than this is for you, if you are a beginner stay to mid mountain lifts or go elsewhere.

I took beginner group- lessons at Sunlight today. Rick is the most amazing ski instructor among everyone, I'm giving 5 stars bc of him. I thought I would never ski but he made me do it just in 2-3hrs. I saw that some instructors were giving up on me when I was there, but Rick was very patient with me and eventually we did it!! I feel a real sense of achievement! So, if you're here as a first time skier. go for Rick.

Shout out to Jimmy our instructor for our beginner ski lessons. Great big thank you to Joe for taking time to patiently help me learn the art of skiing. Lathem too, for his kindness to us in the restaurant. We had a great pleasant experience. We will definitely visit Sunlight Mountain Resort in the future.

Beyond horrible customer service all the way around. They will also just route you to a voicemail account that is never checked and never answer emails. It is the only negative ski experience I have had so far. Definitely will not go back! All employees I came into contact with were rude and unhelpful.

Lifts were very hard. Employees working them would not slow them down for the kids. They were going extremely fast. Two of the kiddos lost there ski's on the lift, and the pole on the chair was very awkward and hard to get around. The actual runs were just about as exposed as a girl in a mini skirt. Rocks and plants popping out everywhere. Fake snow, not groomed. Half of the runs were closed, and the other half was very rough. Overall skiing was not a great experience, but the lodge was nice and had good food. The lifts were not very safe, nor the runs. If you have kids who enjoy easy-to-use runs and lifts, I do not recommend.

Nice little resort near to Glenwood Springs. Just 12 miles. Excellent place for beginners as less crowded and staff is super helpful. They have classes as well for $90 including lift tickets. It was really fun trying ski for first time. We were unlucky not to get Snowmobile reservations. But if you could get then it's cheapest option here.

Can you get any more charming that Sunlight?!?!? Staff is great and the views are amazing. Hidden gem of a ski lift.

Had fun here. Made more fun by the super helpful staff. Hence the review. Wasn't too crowded the day we visited. (Surprising though since it was Christmas week) But good for us since we had more room everywhere. Me & my wife were given a good intro on where to ski for beginners and things like that since we're still new to skiing by a staff in guest services (he did try to sell us ski lessons in the end lol but that's ok, I'd say he's good at his business) I used the lift for the first time & was apprehensive, since it didn't even have a protective bar in the front. I told the lift staff its my first time and they held me and guided me to the lift & showed me hows its done (I got so confident I used the lift about 3 more times) At the end of the lift where you get off, I fell my first time. I struggled to get up and a lady came by my side to lift me up & told me I did good for the first time & gave me some tips too (turned out she was the lift operator lady at this end) I fell the next few times too. For the last one as I approached the lift jump off point, she told me to learn forward & that I could do it. Guess what, I did do it. I kinda shouted with joy. She opened her door & told me that was awesome. Gestures like this make your experience much better at any place in general. Kudos to the staff on that day (Decc 22, 2021) I'd recommend this place.

What a charming mountain! This is easily becoming one of our favorite mountain to ski and board. Why you ask?! Well, your right, it's not considered one of the top world class ski mountains in Colorado like Vail or Aspen, but it is charming and quaint in so many ways! Located in Glenwood Springs, it's a small mountain that's almost never crowded. There is plenty of room to ski and board without feeling like your on top of someone else. The staff is super friendly, and the other skiers are really respectful! This past weekend, my hubs and I decided to stay in a cabin 4 minutes down the road from the resort, and loved the easy access to the mountain. Plus, the mountain is only about 20 minutes from downtown. It's easy to know all the runs, and doesn't feel overwhelming like some of the bigger resorts. It's safe to say, I know we will be back next year!

The Snowmobiling experience at Sunlight Mountain is top notch. You get an amazing view of the backcountry while zipping through snow around 20-30mph. It was my first time experiencing this winter activity and it won't be the last! We tried the shorter tour (the family adventure) for 1 hour (16 miles) but there's also another one that's 2.5 hours and 30 miles (more for the pros). Reservations have to be made by calling their phone number. They don't do online reservations for snowmobiling (just a heads up)! We are coming back and bringing our out of town family members next time they visit. It's so freaking fun!

I wanted a ski resort that was family friendly, affordable and not too busy. The found it here at Sunlight Mountain Resort. The staff was friendly and made me feel like family. We rented our skis on scene and the employees were amazing! The employees at Guest Services and the lift operations were not offended by my Raiders ski gear. This trip was my kids' Christmas present this year and you made it perfect!

First time snowboarding, had an amazing time at this resort. Great resort to learn snowboarding/skiing. overall, amazing experience!!!!!

We had a great 3 days in Sunlight. I can't tell you how impressed I am with their Covid measures, we felt completely safe and comfortable with everything they are doing to keep people safe from Covid but having a great ski experience. This is a great mountain with a wide variety of runs to suit every level of skier. We had lessons with Scott "pro" and if you are lucky enough to have him for a ski instructor, I guarantee you will walk(ski)away with new skills and more confidence. We loved Scott and hope we can have another scott instructor experience this season. Prices, mountain, people, employees, parking...all so much better than these big name expensive resort mountains. We will come back to sunlight

Honestly, I could talk for hours about how great Sunlight is (and I have on multiple occasions), but I will try to keep this one short and sweet. I've been coming here for eighteen years and pretty much learned how to ski on this mountain, so I may be a little biased, but who better than a regular to give you the best info, right? Sunlight is a smaller mountain and that's definitely part of its appeal. It's not too crowded, not too mainstream, and it's easy to get to know the runs. I find that sometimes big ski resorts are difficult to navigate because they have so much going on, but Sunlight is nice and manageable - it's easy to feel right at home on this mountain. The runs are a little on the easier side. They definitely have some challenging blacks and moguls, but most of the runs are solidly blue and definitely doable for average skiers and boarders. In my experience, the runs are always well-groomed and well-maintained. Because of the size of the mountain and the difficulty of runs, Sunlight is a pretty good place for families. The people who work here are great - from the lift attendants to the people working in the rental shop, everyone is super friendly and pretty laid back. They treat everyone like a friend, which I think is another appeal of a smaller mountain. I am definitely a little bit biased (if there was a Sunlight Mountain fan club, I would totally be in it), but I would recommend this place in a heartbeat! It's a fun little mountain with great runs and great people - everything you need for a perfect day on the slopes!

We made a reservation a month prior to go on a 1.5-hour snowmobile tour on Christmas Eve. The parking was easy and we got chauffeured over to the entertainment building and on the 1st floor was the snowmobile office. This was an inexpensive trip. I really appreciate them having the snowmobile gear: helmet, winter coverall, and boots; all in which you needed to have for a safe snowmobile trip. Plus we had to fill out paperwork (which didn't take long). Bob and Steve were our tour guides. Bob and Steve gave a really great presentation on what to do on the trial and on how to use the equipment. They provided a lot of information and it was easy to understand and apply. It was an amazing tour. A beautiful place, and they were nice enough for us to stop and take pictures for the Gram! I was afraid of driving so my partner drove.

Great staff, very accommodating! I appreciate the prices. This place has gained traction over the years. The ski lodge is always so hard to find a spot for your group. Hoping for an expansion lodge someday.

Perfect day and reasonably priced for our first time snowboarding! grace was a wonderful instructor! Definitely would come back again!

Our family had a great experience at Sunlight Mountain. Prices were great. Instructors were beyond friendly and so very helpful- especially to our boys. No wait for lifts. Plenty of seating at lunch. Perfect place if you want to avoid the massive crowds and insane costs of the larger resorts. We would go back again for sure and definitely recommend to others.

We came to this mountain during their busy time on a Friday and a Monday between Dec 27- Dec 30 in 2019. The food service was terrible as the lodge was not setup to handle the traffic on both days. There were long wait times to get food, we ordered a grilled cheese sandwich that wasn't cooked all the way leaving us will grilled bread and cheese slices. They were so disorganized that they served many tickets ahead of us with the same food to people that ordered after us. Several people asked about their orders and the very stressed out staff was quite rude trying to deal with many more people than this mountain can handle. I did like the runs we did, but all up a bad experience the first time we came and a slightly better one when we came better prepared the next day. Giving it two stars as the runs were nice.

We have been coming to Sunlight Mountain to ski for many years and this year we decided to do an Adventure Snowmobile tour - it was fantastic!! Ty, Steve and Bob did a great job of getting us up to Baylor meadow safely to let us enjoy riding our snowmobiles at high speed! It was a beautiful afternoon- thanks guys! We appreciate you- Tom, Jenise, Scott and Debbie

This mountain is truly a hidden GEM! I actually never knew it existed until I bought a "GEMS card" which gives access to 11 Colorado quaint ski resorts at BOGO Prices. We paid $70 for 2 full day lift tickets... that's a major deal! It's less than 30mins drive from Glenwood springs and the road dead ends at the resort so it's relatively easy to find. The snow was great, the staff was friendly and inviting. The price was well below the big ski resort prices. We got a ski lesson for my friend at a super great rate. The mountain isn't huge but we had plenty of various terrain and various ski levels and left the day with more areas to explore for our next visit. We visited for my bday weekend and it did not disappoint! It was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to return every year!!! So glad I found this place and even better that it happens to be super close to my fave hot springs city :)

Great family montain. We went with another family and our three year old twins & their three year old. We could spend all day doing loops on the main lift. Parking lot isn't big so I'd definitely try to get there earlier on the busier days. Reason for only 4 stars is the sketchiness of the older lifts, a bit scary!

2017: just finished day one. No powder this year. Some minor slush. Guys and gals at the ski rental place were cool. But last year I rated them as a four star location and this year I am dropping the rating to three stars. Why Brian, you ask. Well let me tell you. Riding a lift with an autistic kid and helping him out on lift. Then we got stopped two lifts out from drop off. Well my legs were cramping and I started swinging them a little and the lift started jumping and that obviously pissed the dude running the little shack off as he opened his window and yelled at me to stop. Well then the kid I'm with starts really talking about that and the lift started moving and I didn't get ready to get off. Yep. I caught a ski on the front of the off load and ate it. The guy stops the lift and says "GD it" out the door and proceeds to light in to me for screwing around. I have riding half the lifts in Colorado and New Mexico and never been treated like that. Didn't even try and help us out. Just keep yelling at us. Old fart. Go smoke some more weed. Last Year: Sunshine is a fun ski resort. We happened upon a week of fresh powder and groomed blues and greens. So from an experience of the actual runs it was awesome. The lifts, they are about a three star rating. The two main lifts are a three seater and a two seater. They are slower than any resort I have been too, and the two seater has the pole in between the seats and not behind them. Oh, and none of the lifts have drop bars. I don't care about the bar in front as much as I wish they had the foot rests. My legs got more tired going up than down. The third lift is only open 10-2 M-F, and it goes to a fun area. So the 2pm close was irritating. The employees, as a group, look like most ski resort workers - earthy, skunky smelling pot heads. Good natured folks, but a little goofy. The ski shop comments are on the ski shop, but it was ok. The restaurant was very good.

My husband and I recently went skiing at Sunlight over the holiday weekend, and it was a blast! All of the employees were incredibly friendly and helpful. It had been a while since the last time we went skiing and I was struggling to clip in my boots, and multiple people graciously offered to help. Even though they were sold out that day, it didn't feel overly crowded and everyone was following covid protocol. For such a great price, we were pleasantly surprised!

This place is NOT Vail. Or Aspen. Or any other 'destination' resort. It's a locals resort. Heck before 2011 you could NOT get a cell signal here! It is small and self contained. It has a variety of runs (except bowls). The double diamond area is steep steep STEEP. The lodge is small, the people are friendly, and the Ski/Stay/Swim packages are awesome. Only minor nit is that on January Saturdays a lot of locals have their kids in some ski school program. So the lodge is full of bags and it is difficult to find a table. If you can, get your rentals at their shop in Glenwood. It's $5 cheaper per rental. And the staff's dog will come sit by you. :)

Would be 5 stars if it wasn't for the brat doing snowboard rentals. Sometimes you don't need to hear their tight 5 min stand up routine.

We did the adventure tour on snowmobiles with Ty and Steve. Excellent guides! They definitely made our trip worth it with beautiful sights and even digging us out of the snow a couple times!! Also, it is super impressive when a guide remembers everyone's name when you have a big group! Very knowledgeable, and I liked that Ty would stop us every so often and tell us what is coming up in the trail and what to expect. Great experience, highly recommend and we'd do it again!!

I had alot of fun at this resort! Maybe coming from So cal where the snow is most of the time little more then powder over ice this was a great change. Powder covering my board at the end of a run is a great sight. As for the actual resort. I thought it was really nice considering its size. I went on a Saturday which you would think would make it busier but it was still pretty empty. I went to the very top and coming down those runs I would see maybe one or 2 people the whole time i was going. That i thought was awesome. Once you got down to where the beginner lift was it was a little more crowded but still not bad at all. The lifts are older but not like older looking just that they seem slower then they should be. The lift to the top of the mountain is half way up the hill so you need to take another lift to get to it. That's not to much of a big deal since its very close but it does mean its twice as much time riding a lift when you want to be riding your board. Overall i really enjoyed my time here and cant wait to go back. The Ute run from the top is awesome!! So much fun.

Good except the ski lifts closed at 4PM when sunset was around 5:40. I can understand there may be reasons for this but their rental office also closed exactly at 4PM, meaning you would have to stop skiing at 3:30 in order to get all your gear back to their office in time. We didn't know this so went at 4:05 to return everything and found them closed. Luckily we found them all in the bar upstairs and they opened the office back up so we could return our rentals. Other than this I would say Sunlight is a great place to go skiing.

Having an awesome day there when we had an incident getting on a lift ( old lifts) and neither of the lift operators at the top or bottom slowed down when my son's skis came off getting in the lift, resulting in my daughter getting run over by the lift and me and my son falling at the top of the lift. Guys at bottom also yelled at my 9yearold daughter after they let her get run over by the chair. We reported it to the base manager..probably did not do any good. It could have been so much worse, thankful we had our helmets on, both me and my daughter would have easily had concussions at least. Incident was at 11am on 3/14/18 on segundo lift. Now I know why no one was on that lift...unsafe in all ways. Runs are great there! People and lifts need some work.

This is a perfect family friendly resort! And enough terrain for everyone that doesn't want to turn pro. Tuesday is beer and burger for $10. And a pint of good micro, draft beer. With the burger holding its own!!! Great value for the day. Snow still excellent from last weeks dump! Thank you sunlight!!!!

This is a great, funky little resort. It's locally owned, and really hasn't changed much in the last 40 years. (This may have changed, as I've heard that they're planning a major renovation of the base area soon.) The pros: - There's almost no one up there. While the locals may complain about the crowds on the weekends, it's nothing like the throngs that you get in Tahoe, let alone the pandemonium present in Southern California. Even on the busiest of busy weekends, you won't wait in a lift line for more then a few minutes at the upper lift or Segundo lift, and maybe 4 or 5 minutes on the Tercero lift. - When it snows, the quality of the snow lasts a long, long time. It doesn't get tracked out as fast as many other resorts. I remember skiing here on a Monday a few years back and having a great powder day and thinking "this week is going to be great." The snow really can last that long. - Awesome tree skiing. The glades abound and really make up for the small size of the resort. - Easy to navigate, and find your friends up there. - Relatively cheap all around. The ticket prices are reasonable, and you can eat lunch for under $5. - Excellent backcountry access The cons: - No steep terrain. They have one area in the Extremes which claims to have the steepest named run in Colorado. However, it's so short that I've seen people jump over the steep section. - Small enough to get bored there after several days of skiing, especially if you're not into tree skiing.

I agree with the previous review, that Sunlight is funky & it is cool to see a place that hasn't changed much in 40 years. However, though I wanted to like Sunlight, and give a small resort a chance, having learned to ski at Winter Park, and having grown up skiing & riding at Copper with "Copper Choppers," I just can't give props to Sunlight. It's super small, the lifts are extraordinarily slow (there's only three - one 3-seater & two 2-seaters) and they're WAY outdated as far as lifts go (of course the lifts are safe, they're just slow). And I'm sorry, but when it takes me 15-20 mins to ride the lift for every 2-5 mins I spend riding down a run, I just get impatient. Also, the lodge (for lunch) wasn't warm / heated that much. I was so cold from riding after this day (from the luke-warm lodge & the slow lifts), that even after 20 mins in the hot tub before dinner, I was still cold. Finally, there were a LOT of beginners, families, and kids - and I'm not into that (b/c it means the lifts stop a lot). That said, I didn't really explore the "extreme terrain," b/c I was riding alone (my dad was taking a day off, kicking it in the lodge), and I didn't see anyone else on it ("extreme terrain" = blacks, double blacks, or "extreme" parts). I couldn't really find black runs, in general (maybe they were hidden in the "extreme" areas), and definitely I would've been the only one looking for them, b/c everyone seemed to go the same route off the lifts (to the "blues" and greens). Also, the "blues" and greens were way easy, and narrow. I'm not used to super narrow runs, unless they're either super steep, in a glade of trees, or catwalks. But a lot of the "runs" here seemed more like vertical catwalks to me, than runs. Anyhow, I didn't want to get stuck in some unknown part of the resort, especially since there is no cell phone coverage at the base (in the lodge), or on the lifts, until you reach the top of the mountain. (And who knows what the signal is like mid-mountain, across the mountain.) Also, I didn't have a beacon, so I just didn't want to get stuck in the trees, in an avalanche, or anywhere away from other human beings. All things considered, the snow was great the day I went , Christmas Eve, and luckily beginners like to avoid deep powder, so I made a lot of fresh tracks! ;)

I had a great time here. We've had quite a few dry winters, and I wanted good riding while escaping the crowds and ridiculous prices at other resorts. The price is right, you have to drive farther out (if coming from COS or DEN), there are no lines, and the snow remains on the surface until the end of the day. I actually made the trip out here to ride sunlight and stay in town to soak in the springs. Great decision. pros: - not crowded. snow says groomed, for the most part. few sketchy patches. low price. wide main runs. easy parking. you can't get lost here. family friendly. cons: - lifts are slow. only a few runs. at this point in the season, sun isn't exposed much on this side of the mtn, so the lifts get extremely cold starting around 2pm.

Great place for beginners and families! Laid back atmosphere and the staff is beyond helpful! I hadn't skied in 10 years-so assumed I was back with the beginners. My 7 year old and hubby had never skied. We didn't want to go to Vail, Creste Butte etc because we were honestly intimidated. Sunlight was the perfect place for us. We all did a group lesson which actually includes lift ticket and rentals in price. Getting boots and skies was pretty easy. The staff isn't in a huge rush so they answered our many questions-but they got it all done and us out on the slopes quickly. I had Jack as a instructor who taught me to improve my turns, balance on skis, foot position etc. He was really good at working with me and another student on two different levels-which is impressive. Hubby and kiddo had a malfunction with the instructor. I mention only so I can gush about the customer service we received to remedy the misunderstanding. I popped into Customer Service to let them know about our problem and they immediately had the Ski School Director there to meet with me. Joe Sims was happy to offer a replacement class at no cost. Beauty of a small mountain, word travels fast. When we returned for lesson everyone asked to make sure it was a success and Joe assigned us the best instructor on the mountain...David. David is a father and grandfather with amazing patience. 2 hours and he had my 7 year old skiing down the mountain! (Slowly-but hey-a whole afternoon of kid having fun without electronic in his hand=priceless!). Would I come back-YA! I plan to come back every year if I can get to Colorado. I like the small town laid back vibe. Oh- and the lift tickets are roughly $50. I've heard they are MUCH more expensive at other resorts.

As a local who was also trying out snowboarding for the first time, I had a great experience at Sunlight Mountain Resort. I decided to take a 2 hour private lesson, which had a hefty $170 price tag, but I believe was really worth it. I had great service from my instructor Jenna, and she got me down 2 runs, and was super patient. All of the staff here were really approachable, super friendly, and I felt like this was a "chill" atmosphere to learn in. I stuck to the bunny hill to practice, and had plenty of space and never felt like I was really in people's way. This was on a Saturday, too, and it wasn't all that crowded. I like that. If you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the bigger resorts, and save some money, Sunlight is a great option for you. The lodge/bar atmosphere is equally chill, a little divey, and a whole lot of fun. $3 drafts on the mountain, how can you beat that?!

Jack was an amazing ski instructor and helped our daughter develop a love of skiing. The instruction was an incredible value. Make sure you tip generously. Sunlight is less crowded, less expensive, and friendlier than Vail or Aspen. It's a fabulous resort. Go discover this gem of the Rockies.

The skiing was superb on Monday, Dec 22. It was snowing, so the snow was perfect. It was the best snow we've had in two years. It wasn't crowded, so we didn t have to wait in lift lines. The only flaw was that the food didn't have much variety, and some things on the menu were not available.

Our big family plus grandparents stayed there this weekend, and it worked out great! We stayed in the connecting rooms (Sunking and Grizzly Rd) and there was plenty of room for our total of 9 people. Granted, the place is in need of some TLC, but the hosts were incredibly sweet and engaging, and for the price it was a great deal! The area is absolutely beautiful, and nice and quiet during the summer. Looking forward to coming back again :)

Sunlight Mountain is a nice, quiet, inexpensive CO mountain -- perfect for families or green skiers. I grew up on the east coast, so consider this review a bit biased: even on the worst day on the smallest mountain in CO, the snow is infinitely better than man-made 'ice bits' on the east coast. My boyfriend and I decided to do a bit of skiing on Xmas eve while we were in Glenwood Springs. We were lucky that the mountains got about 9 inches of fresh snow a few days before we arrived, so there was a good amount of powder. The mountain was pretty easy to find, even with GPS coming and going, and parking was a breeze. We were warmly greeted in the rental shop, and I really have to laud the resort for their knowledgeable, friendly staff and VERY REASONABLE rental fees ($50 for complete rentals for *2* people - AMAZING). The lift tickets were priced great too - $55 for the day/adult. My boyfriend grew up in CO, and is a very experienced snowboarder. I ski, but not nearly as well. He definitely got a bit bored on the mountain because he was trying to keep pace with me on the easy/intermediate slopes (I'm a grand-daddy carver... slow and controlled). There appeared to be a few expert-type trails with ramps and jumps, but he didn't take any of them. I did notice that the runs got ridiculously NARROW with quite a few trees going from easy to intermediate, which was something I wasn't used to. A TON of lessons were going on on the face of the mountain, which was nice to see, despite having to dodge a bunch of kids -- one of the guys that I saw giving snowboarding lessons was *really* good, and the kid loved him. I wasn't really a fan of the slope leading into the lowest chair lift because it was MUCH steeper than I expected (especially coming into a chair lift!). There were only 3 chair lifts, and the largest chair lift was really slow. Super slow. Thankfully, the longest run is more worth it, but it ended up being our last of the day. The food is eh. I think it's on par with any ski resort - terrible for you, and 2x more expensive because you're a captive audience. The only reprieve was that the Broncos game was on (although they lost... BOO). Overall, if we're ever in Glenwood Springs again, we'll definitely come back!

We booked this snowmobile experience because I had read all the positive reviews. We were not disappointed. Your guide can make or break your experience. The team here seems to have what it takes to make your experience top notch. Edwin was our guide and he provided infinite knowledge of the trails and was great at stopping to give us pointers on navigating what was ahead. Not too much information at any given time. He was personable and kept us entertained. Our friends got stuck in deep snow and he very capably dug them out to safety completely on his own. The views are incredible and to experience parts of the country you would not see unless on the trail is an experience I will never forget! They do provide all necessary gear if there is something you don't have. Thank you Edwin and the team at Sunlight Mountain Snowmobile tours for an unforgettable day!

Snowmobiling great family fun. Visited Sunlight Mountain Snowmobile tours for the third year. Ty and his crew make this a great trip for novice thru expert. We did the adventure tour again. 2 1/2 plus hours of fun way out in the mountains. Everyone starts together and then they break the groups down by levels and/or desired speed. They trained us and made everyone comfortable with the machines. After a long trail (many miles) you arrive at a huge open tree lined field (maybe the size of 8-10 football fields). They let you know what areas are safe and let you drive to your hearts content. Every year we have had such a great time and think it can't get any better, but Ty does not disappoint. Last year we learned to drive in three feet of powder. This year we had 6 inches to a foot and a ton of time in the the open area to have fun at our own speed. My wife and two boys also had their own sleds. On the way back our awesome guide Edwin took us thru some virgin trails (our group showed we could handle it) on the 30 min ride back. I hear they may start a full day trip! Can't wait. They run a super friendly and keep everyone safe operation. We definitely will be back.

I went to Sunlight mountain a few weeks ago for a solo snowboarding trip and I couldn't be happier with my choice in destination. The resort was nice and quiet and the entire staff was super friendly! It seemed like every staff member I interacted with had been a long time employee that genuinely loved their job. Charlie in guest services gave me directions from town and my instructor Tater was a great teacher, easy to work with, and fun to be around. All the lift operators were dope too! I had a great time learning to snowboard at Sunlight and I'm sure I'll be back for the beautiful tucked away resort and great people!

My friends and I went on a snowmobiling trip with A.J. He was great! We wanted an adventurous ride, and he didn't let us down. Conditions were epic. A.J. knows how to let folks have fun without compromising their safety!! He let us tear it up all over the place, but when the visibility started to get worse, he reigned us is for safety. They also have good equipment that is property cared for. I would STRONGLY recommend these guys!!!

Have always loved this place!! Great family mountain that gets great snow and rarely are there any lines. The only downside is the cafe. It's always packed, over priced and the food quality is subpar.

A Wedding and Reception Review: If you are looking for a place to have your wedding I highly recommend Sunlight Mountain. They were accommodating, affordable and perfect for a small destination wedding. We spent around $5500.00 which included the venue cost, meals for the entire wedding and a bunch of drink tickets. Every other option in the Glenwood Springs area wanted at least twice that amount (one even put a price on each individual piece of silverware, not kidding). Sunlight was super easy to deal with and we couldn't have asked for a better experience!

Went on a 10+ inch powder day, on xgames weekend, on a Sunday, and didn't wait in a single lift line the whole time. Found tons of sweet lines through the trees, and a lot of little side hits, pillows and rock drops. Paid $40 for a lift ticket with their "40's" special. It was an awesome experience all around and light years ahead of the experiences at places like vail or breck. Definitely recommend.