Living on the East Coast, planning for an extended family ski vacation usually means heading out west, where the trails are longer and less icy. Although we are a family of confident skiers, we are not adventure seekers or black diamond skiers, so finding the perfect ski vacation means finding a mountain with a balance of blue and green trails, great ski school programming and a ski in-ski out location.
Last year, we found this perfect family friendly ski destination in Durango, Colorado at Durango Mountain Resort.
Take a trip to the Old West in Silverton
Knowing that we would be adjusting to the higher elevation, our plan was to spend our first day in Durango getting acclimated and preparing for four days of skiing. We made our way towards the magical old-west mining town of Silverton Colorado, which sits at 9,318 feet along the Million Dollar Highway. Although our rental car was not an SUV, we carefully made our way up, over and around mountain passes that are home to backcountry skiers enjoying the tranquility and majesty of these snowcapped peaks.
Once in Silverton, the small town is best explored on foot exploring store fronts that will remind you of old Western movies. Although not open during our visit, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad takes you back in time to the height of mining (the train is open Thursday through Sunday). We happened to be in Silverton on a Sunday morning in the winter, which made this already small town appear like a ghost town, except for one open coffee shop- Cafe’ Mobius where we stepped in from the cold for coffee and hot chocolate.
Where to eat in Durango?
Our two-bedroom condo at Purgatory Lodge slopeside from Durango Mountain was equipped with a full kitchen that we used for breakfast, lunch and dinner during our ski week. The ski village itself does not have a huge selection of eateries, which means that going out to dinner involves a drive on mountain roads, that especially in the evening after a long day of skiing was not that appealing.
After our morning in Silverton, we ate lunch at Steamworks Brewing in downtown Durango, which despite a small population of 20,000 has a main street that is lined with restaurants, gift shops and hipster cafes. Though we had not skied yet, had Steamworks been slopeside, this would have been the perfect menu for a hungry skier- with beers like Prescribed Burn which features habanero, poblano and hatch green chiles and Nacho appetizers that are a meal by themselves or a Six Cheese Mac (with Fontina, Gruyere, Cheddar, Asiago, Monterey Jack and Bleu Cheese).
The one night that we ventured out on the mountain roads, we found ourselves at the Sow’s Ear, located in the Silverpick Lodge about one mile from Durango Mountain Resort. There are many reasons that this restaurant is hard to book during the high ski seasons- including a speciality in steaks and creative seasonal menus. As cold as it was outside, inside we were warm and our tummies were happy sitting under a mobile made of old skis and ski poles eating an incredibly tender Filet Au Poivre.
Snow Sports at Durango Mountain Resort
Of course, we went to Durango to ski- and despite the abnormally cold days, the skiing was phenomenal. Since we were there mid-week and before the height of the season, there were no lines at the lifts and my daughter’s ski school turned into two days of private lessons. 85 runs and ten ski lifts offer a huge selection of trails ranging from wide expanses to more narrow trails lined with trees. We are mainly green and blue run skiers and had ample choices to ski for four days all across the mountain.
The backside of the mountain takes a bit of work to get there, but is worth it – with one of my favorite trails, “legends” which is long and varied all the way down to the base. The backside of the mountain is also where Backside Bistro and Dante’s Deck is located- where we ate a fabulous bowl of chili and baked potato for an on-mountain lunch. My daughter loved skiing through Animas City Adventure Park, a park with old storefronts from a Western town (truth be told, I think my husband loved skiing through the jail in Animas City too).
Of course, after skiing, the outdoor heated pool with slides was a huge hit that it was hard to peel away from each evening, despite the icicles forming on strands of long hair.