Skiing with Kids - Monarch Mountain and Loveland Ski Area

If you're from Arizona and haven't experienced Colorado skiing or snowboarding, yet - you need to put it on your list! If kids are part of the picture, skiing is a great activity for kids of all ages and an excellent way to make memories! Colorado's ski resorts offer excellent ski schools and flexible options to make it a worthwhile experience for all!

Being a desert girl, my limited skiing experience as a kid was a time or two on family Colorado trips. When I started college at NAU in Flagstaff, AZ, Arizona Snowbowl was just a few minutes away and I took advantage of the half-day student rate ($35 back then) and learned to snowboard, with the help of my boyfriend (now husband!). Once we had our first daughter and visited Colorado a few times, her first lesson at 4 years old was at Winter Park. She had a great experience there and didn't want to leave the mountain at the end of the day!

Tips for Kids Skiing in Colorado:

• Children under 6 ski free!
• 5th graders can ski 3 days at 22 participating resorts for FREE!
• Epic SchoolKids Pass - kids K - 5th grade can ski 4 days FREE!
• If you would like your kids to learn to snowboard, they typically must be at least 6 years old to take a board lesson.
• Epic Mountain Gear Junior Trade Program - Kids grow so fast, but this program is an affordable way to keep your kids ski gear fitting right every season! Highly recommend! My kids got two seasons out of their gear, so we did pretty well.

👉 Shop Colorado Decals for Skis, Snowboards & helmets

Loveland Ski Area 3-Class Pass

A year or two later, she had another ski lesson at Arizona Snowbowl, which was also good. Before we'd even secured the moving truck to move to Colorado, we had purchased our season ski passes at Loveland Ski Area and were excited for a season of skiing! Our oldest daughter was 9 and our youngest was 4. Loveland's 3-class pass was excellent for our kids' first season. And if you've not seen a 3 or 4 year old kid's first ski lesson - you're in for a real treat! The cuteness is worth every cent! 🤣

And all you Colorado natives - I know, I know - the snow in winter 2017 wasn't good enough for you. But for our little family from the desert, we didn't care and appreciated the reduced crowds and skied 11 times that season! Both girls took 3 ski lessons each at Loveland Ski Area and they were nearly independent! Our 4 year old needed some more practice on turns and controlled speed (who am I kidding?! She still does!), which her dad was able to help with using 2 straps on a harness while he snowboarded behind her. By the end of that first season though, she was skiing on her own with only help to get on and off the chair lift.

Monarch Mountain Skiing from Colorado Springs

Fast forward a couple years and a few too many I-70 traffic jams, and we're now on our second season passes at Monarch Mountain. From Colorado Springs, Monarch Mountain is about 2.5 hours away, but with much less traffic and beautiful views! 

Both Loveland and Monarch lack the on-site resorts that you find at the larger ski resorts. We find this creates a more local-feel, smaller crowds and friendlier patrons. Where's your favorite place to ski or snowboard?

 👉 Shop Colorado Beanies!