lina_185

Hi, my husband and I want to go skiing first week of March. We'd love to try Breckenridge and Vail. Since it's so expensive to stay inside either one of the ski resorts, can you recommend a town nearby that's a bit cheaper? I was thinking of Frisco, but is there anything else? Thanks!

Bitter

Technically you can stay in the town of Breck, which is not itself the ski resort. Similarly, there are condos across the highway (walkway available) and not in Vail. Frisco or Dillon are options, but do some comparisons. I've obtained decent condo rentals in Breck (albeit most recently in the summer). By staying outside of the ski areas, you'll give up convenience and IMHO the enjoyment of the towns/resorts themselves.

abram

We stay in Frisco, right near the intersection of I -70 and Hwy 9.
We find it very convenient for getting to Breck, Keystone, A Basin, Copper, Vail, and Beaver Creek.

Gretchen

You can stay in Frisco as said. You can ski many of the areas in summit. don't overlook Copper Mountain. There is a bus service among them. March should be great skiing--and it is also the possibility of spring break, but maybe not that early in the month.
Breck, Keystone and Copper (others too) are on the east side of Vail Pass and close together.
How many days? Level of skiing?

lina_185

Great, thanks so much! It would just be 3 days of skiing but 5 days in the mountains. I stick to the green and my husband goes for green/blue levels. We're going to have a car so commuting is not a problem. I guess we just wanted to be sort of in the middle. I'll look at all the options! Thank you

abram

If you want to ski Copper, check out the 2 for 1 lift tickets when buying gas at a local Shell station.
On Vail's website, you can find information re: free parking; we like the golf course lot.
At Keystone, free parking is closest to the lifts at Mountain House.
Copper has free parking and shuttle buses to all bases.
Breck has free parking in the Airport Rd lot and a bus to the gondola or Peak 9 base.

fmpden

The closest you will come to the center between Vail and Breckenridge would be Copper Mt. From Copper it is 25 miles over Vail pass to Vail. And about 20 to Breckenridge. However if looking for less expensive lodging, then I would pick Frisco. Frisco has a lot of nice condo properties and several good restaurants in Frisco itself.

You might consider going the other direction and staying in Avon west of Vail and at the base of Beaver Creek. Condo rentals should be about the same as Frisco. You could ski the Beaver Creek complex or Vail. The issue with skiing Vail from Frisco is that the Vail pass can be risky. As I type Vail pass is closed west bound because of heavy snow and accidents. And once you pass the Copper Mt exit on the way to Vail, the next exit is east Vail, 22 miles later. No getting off if closed. Another reason for Avon is that Vail and especially BC is at the boundaries of day skiers from Denver so the crowds will be more reasonable in March. There is bus service from Avon to BC.

I think you should either ski the Summitt County area - Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper or Vail Beaver Creek.

A comment about free parking. Not all free parking is created equal and often the reason for free is that no one would pay to park there. Probably the best free parking step up is Copper Mt. The shuttle bus system is frequent and a short ride. But try to go early, late arrivals can be in the far back side with a couple blocks walk to the shuttle. Breckenridge is probably the worst since the old airport is some distance from town. Long shuttle ride. The big lots in the center of town are serviced by a gondola. The fee was $10 last year, probably higher this year but worth for the conveniences. The Vail parking garages are huge but well located at the main Vail or Loinhead. At least $20.