abram

After we retire (still a couple years away), we'd like to spend the whole winter (Dec 15- April 15 or Dec 1- Mar 31) in a ski town. We're considering Park City or Summit County beacuase there are multipe ski areas close by. Does anyone have an idea how much that might cost? We wouldn't expect to be at the hill; we'd prefer to live in a residential area and drive (or take the bus) to ski. Thanks.

Gretchen

I can remember when our kids had to do that in order to work at the ski area and it required a LOT of them to afford it. But that was a little while ago, and there are certainly more places available. It would be interesting to know, and may depend on the economy at that time. right now, I have read that real estate is pretty depressed. Would be fun.

starrs

I took a look at VRBO and found a condo in Frisco that showed weekly rentals...but when I looked at their calendar they were pretty much full for the peak skiing weeks at peak nightly rates. ($600/wk and $145 night).

I think the best option would be to check with real estate companies that manage rentals if you are considering a 3 to 4 month rental.

In a depressed market, I would think that a homeowner would prefer a guaranteed rental for a block of time vs dealing with in and out renters...but based on the calendar it doesn't look very depressed.

Be sure to get a big place so we can all come out to visit

abram

I looked at vrbo, too--but only briefly, and couldn't find any monthly rentals. We will, eventually, contact a realtor, but thought I'd just throw it out on Fodors now. We know a couple who has rented the same house in Breck for 10 winters, and I'll call them when we're a little closer to retirement.

Michael

North of Lake Tahoe (I know, different geography) we used to rent a house either in Tahoe-Donner or in Martis Flats above Truckee. The resorts that are easily accessible by car are Northstar, Squaw, Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl, Donner Ski Ranch and Boreal for downhill skiing. Tahoe-Donner and Royal Gorge are the main cross-country ski areas.

christy1

Craig's List is where most people find these rentals. I've known a number of people that have done it, but I don't know what they pay. You might get better replies over at epicski.com.

abram

I'll definitely check out Craigslist & epicski.

My husband had a reason (which I don't recall right now, but which made sense at the time) for eliminating Tahoe.

babsNYC

i had a friend who rented a condo for a season in Dillon. it was a convenient summit county location and nicely situation on Lake Dillon. it was very affordable because it's not at one of the resorts.

irishswampyankee

Don't know where you live but altitude in Summit Cnty (9,000 ft+)is definitely problematic for people who live at sea level/lower altitudes. Dh & I are renting a 2/3 condo in Park City (alt about 6500') for 6 weeks through vrbo for about $700/wk. Long term rentals have no tax. You can do better than that for a seasonal rental. Rates listed on the websites are for shorter term rentals. You can get MUCH better deals long term and you can negotiate with owners. Some will deal - some won't, but I've found that in this economy in places that have too many condos, some owners are happy to make a secure long term deal with one renter, esp with seniors who won't be jamming many partying people into the place.

Throw out your parameters to several owners, no matter what their listed prices are and see what happens. IMO, sites like vrbo and similar, are more reliable than Craig's List.

abram

We've done ski weeks at 9,500' with only minor altitude issues (insomnia, mainly), so think we'd be OK for a season.

irishswampyankee

OK. If altitude isn't an issue, check out the Colorado Pass. It's a season pass good at Breck, Keystone, A-Basin, plus 10 days at Vail/Beaver Creek. Haven't checked price in a while but it used to cost about $425. Only caveat is, it's only sold until end of Oct or so and you have to buy it in person. When we spent 6 weeks in Dillon, we flew out just to buy it. Even with that extra airfare, it was much cheaper than daily or other types of lift ticket purchases at all those areas. Once you have it, you can renew online for subsequent yrs. We also found Dillon-Silverthorne condo prices cheaper than closer to the ski areas. The first 3 areas are only about 20 min each from Dillon with Vail/ Beaver Creek 50 min+.

williamscb13

Most ski resorts have discounted passes starting after the previous ski season. But a ski pass that will accommodate you at various resorts is definitely a good thing to look into.

Make sure you also check out the local papers. Some ski resorts/areas may post more in the actual local newspaper than Craigslist. I know it's a throwback, but ski towns can be quirky. Isn't that why we love them?

Tomsd

As suggested - just google away - and just outside of Park City is Hemet, which might have some good rentals. Or staying out by the hiway - about six miles from Park City/Deer Valley.

Dayle

Hi Abram,

I live in Park City and I think Tomsd means Heber, in the Heber Valley. Personally, I wouldn't choose it and there is currently no bus service from Heber to Park City.

You should start with subscribing to our little local newspaper, The Park Record. It lists lots of long term rentals as well as real estate agents and property management companies that handle long term/seasonal rentals.

As you probably know there are many , many condos here in all different locations, also large range of pricing. Some you would not want to rent regardless of price, others can be a low price, but good value.

Like most ski towns, the recession did hit the condos market hardest, but our skier days were way up last year so I'm not sure how pricing is right now. Normally it's about $1,200/mo. for a 2br NOT near the lifts.

There are some small homes (2br/2ba) just a few minutes from the resorts that can rent for around $1,300. Rates I'm quoting are just from what I know and don't include utilities.

Can't say what the rental market will be like 2 years from now! Who knows what will happen with the economy....

tomfuller

If you find that your first choices are too expensive, check for available condo/apt/house in Sunriver or Bend Oregon.
Mt. Bachelor has great lifts and skiing. There is a good bus service from Bend to the mountain if you don't want to risk driving your own vehicle.

abram

Dayle, thanks--that's just the kind of specific info from someone who knows the area that I was looking for in order to start figuring out what something like this might cost us.

First we have to determine when we can retire, then decide where we want to be, and we will definitely explore the various discounted season's pass options,