Posted on 2/21/2015 by Alyssa Hubbard

Planning Your Ski Trip on a Budget: Part 1 - Timing

When it comes to timing your next ski trip, the more flexible you can be, the more money you can save.  Weekends tend to be busy in Summit County and a lot of folks from Denver come up to enjoy the weekend on the slopes.  If you can avoid the weekends, you can save yourself money and the hassle of long lift lines. In addition to the advantages you get on the slopes by coming mid-week, flights and transportation have a tendency to be less expensive due to less demand. While lodging rates do not tend to fluctuate too much from mid-week to weekend, as many times prices are set for a number of weeks, you are much more likely to find specials happening during the middle of the week. For example, at SummitCove Lodging, we currently have a weeknight deal, which will give you 20% off the nightly rate when booking 2 or more nights (Sunday through Thursday nights).  For more information on this Weekday promotion, click here. Just think, cutting your lodging and flight prices considerably, that accounts for a large chunk of the costs you will incur on your trip.  

Many people neglect the spring season. As for rates on lodging in April, you're looking at saving up to 60% on the nightly rate, in comparison to peak season. Keystone Resort is only open a couple of weeks into April (closing day 2015 is Sunday April, 12), but Arapahoe Basin, a mere 5 mile drive (about 10 minutes), typically stays open the longest of any resort in Colorado.  Arapahoe Basin has its famous ski beach, where people grill out, enjoy the sun and camaraderie during on a spring ski day.  There are some fun Spring events planned as well, including their annual 'Festival of the Brewpubs' on May 24 and 'Shakin on the Basin' concert series happening Saturdays in May. 

When it comes to April,  it can be a bit of a risk due to warming temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns, but often times it can bring quite a bit of snow. Do keep in mind, if worse comes to worse, it will likely be sunny and beautiful outside if it's not snowing heavily.  Several concerts and events also take place as the ski season is winding down.  Coming up in April there will be the Red Bull Schlittentag which is always very fun to watch and experience. On closing day Keystone also holds the Slush Cup pond skimming contest, followed by a live band at the base, just to name a few of the fun Spring events.

Another perk of traveling mid-weeks is less traffic on the road! Anyone who has traveled to and from Denver on a weekend will tell you, the I-70 traffic can be horrendous. The drive can take twice as long if the weather is not cooperative and you have to drive along side the front-rangers. Not many people think about the fact that this is how you begin and end your trip in the mountains, so the less you have to stress about on the road, the better your trip is going to start and end.

If you can, take an extra day off of work, avoid those crowds, save money, and come visit us this spring in Keystone!

Written By: Elizabeth Constantine

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