Where to Ski And Snowboard - Ski Train links Denver to Winter Park

Ski Train links Denver to Winter Park

10th January 2017, by Abi Butcher

The Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park in Colorado started up on 7 January and will run until late March

A new seasonal train service running from Denver to the ski resort of Winter Park in Colorado started up last Saturday (7 January) and will run until late March.

The Winter Park Express – dubbed “The Ski Train” carried skiers from Union Station in Denver to the base of the slopes in Winter Park between 1940 until it was discontinued in 2009. The Ski Train ran again as a one-off for a weekend in March 2015 in celebration of the resort’s 75th birthday, and was such a sell-out success that train company Amtrak has been resurrected this season. The first service ran on 7 January, and the last will run 26 March 2017, running a round trip every Saturday and Sunday, with one-way tickets costs $39.

The journey from Union Station in Denver takes just two hours, depositing skiers just a few metres from Winter Park’s Gemini Express chairlift. It is the only service to take skiers directly to the lifts.

“It’s the only rail connection [in North America] that takes you to the ski lifts themselves,” says Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

“There’s no other mode of transportation needed: You can just grab your skis, hop on the lift and you’re skiing within minutes,” says Steve Hurlbert, Winter Park’s director of communications. “You’re also steps from the rental shop if needed.”

The train leaves Denver at 7am, arriving in Winter Park after 56 miles at 9am, allowing skiers a full day on the slopes. It leaves to return to the centre of Denver at 4:30pm — no doubt easing the congestion on US Highway 40, and the I-70 along which many ski resorts are scattered and traffic can build at peak times.

Winter Park provides lockers at the resort, or passengers can leave their shoes and bags onboard the train — which waits in nearby Fraser for the return leg. The Ski Train is also family friendly, with no booze allowed.

For more information, and to book tickets, visit amtrak.com/winterparkexpress

Read Where to Ski and Snowboard‘s review of Winter Park here.