Keystone vs. Beaver Creek vs. Breck
 

My husband and I are planning a snowboarding trip over the Christmas holiday to Colorado. We are debating between Keystone, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge. We are both almost 30, no children, looking for a nice town, with great snowboarding. Any advice? Thank you!!

I found the runs at Keystone to be very narrow. Much preferred Breckenridge.

Breck is a snowboarder's paradise. Have fun!

I wouldn't consider either Keystone or Beaver Creek to be towns. Breck is a cute little town. Beaver Creak is a more upscale newer resort and is way expensive to stay in compared to the other two. I agree that Breck has wider runs than Keystone. We ski instead of board but my teens hate Keystone's runs.

Beaver Creek will be more costly and upscale than Keystone or Breckenridge. Keystone is mostly a collection of condos with some restaurants and shops. Breckenridge was first a mining town and then a ski area, so it has character with a good assortment of shops and a night life.

Can I ask how you narrowed it down to those three? The reason I ask is that you've included Breck and Keystone, but not Copper. And Beaver Creek, but not Vail. Out of the 5, Vail is my favorite with tons of terrain... and close to Beaver Creek if you want to do both. If I had the choice, I'd go there for sure. Breckenridge is a great town though and would be my second choice, but not for the skiing (it can get really windy/cold there)... it's within close driving distance to both Keystone and Copper. You could easily ride all three if you have a car... of the three though, Copper is my favorite. I'm a snowboarder too if that helps. Have fun!

Given your choices, I'd definitely go to Breck if I were you. Keystone is pretty dull off the slopes. BC is not really a town but a planned resort. You'll find many more families there.

What level of snowboarder are you? It makes a difference. I do not snowboard but ski about 50 days a year in Colorado. What I hear from my border friends is that unless your a better snowborder be prepared for lots of flat run outs at Breck. If you are an advanced border that will not be so much of a problem. Know that I am not a big fan of Breck, nicknamed Breckenfridge and Breckenwind. It can be terribly windy there more so than other Summit Resorts. I do however like the town so it depends on what your looking for. Keystone has one of the best terrain parks in Summit County if your into that sort of thing. I ski Keystone allot and have to disagree with the runs being narrow. The front side of the mountain has great wide runs with little flat spots.

One other thing, in Colorado if you ask 5 people where to ski, you are likely to get 5 different responses. Thankfully all the resorts provide a great vacation opportunity.

Coskier is right about the flats at Breck. Another reason I'm not a fan of Breck. Great for learning to ski, but not boarding. If you can keep your speed up well, though, you should be ok in those areas. But there are a lot of them.

Thanks for all the responses! We are mid-level snowboarders. I hate flat areas - unless there is a good hill you're coming down, I have a hard time keeping any speed. In your opinion, where is the best place for boarding? We aren't set in stone on these three cities, so if there are others, please let me know.

Have you looked at Crested Butte? I'd choose it for the "nice town". Don't know about snowboarding.

I'll stick with Vail and Copper. If you want to head to the Aspen area... Snowmass is great for boarding! We also like Crested Butte, but there's not as much terrain as other places.

Side note... if you choose to board in Copper, don't stay there. I'd recommend staying in Frisco or Breckenridge and driving there.

Catlamb, I do not know about Crested Butte, never been there. I love Vail, but again lots of flats getting around the mountain. If you only board the front you should be OK. Beaver Creek is fun. Should not be so crowded over the holidays as they block out those dates for season pass holders. Don't know enough about Copper. For some reason I have a hard time there, though I think it is me. I'd say between the 2 Keystone or Beaver Creek. One thing is your budget? BC will be much higher for lifts and lodging than Keystone.

That is funny Yale, I was going to suggest Snowmass but I have not been there is a long time. Again budget will play a role.

Sorry I keep thinking of things. Yale offers a good idea of staying in Frisco. It is just a few minutes from both Keystone and Copper, not far to Breck or Vail. I forget that people may not realize how close the resorts are. Something to think about if you do not want to stay slopeside. Frisco is a cute little town as well.