Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in nearby Bachelor Gulch. Beaver Creek is a mellower, more conservative place than Vail
and typically an older scene. It's the kind of destination where grandparents bring the
whole family to enjoy a slew of all-natural adventures.
Activities
SNOW SPORTS
Beaver Creek Mountain
( 800-226-0355;
www.beavercreek.com
; Village Rd; adult/child $129/89; 9am-4:30pm)
Beaver Creek
isn't exactly a ghost town in the summer, but it's no secret that the winter rules. The
mountain boasts a 4040ft vertical rise serviced by 16 lifts, including 10 high-speed quad
chairs. There are 149 trails and a wide variety of ski terrain for all abilities.
Beginners like it in Beaver Creek because the mountain is literally turned upside down,
with beginner runs at the top so they can enjoy the same spectacular mountain views. In-
termediate skiers have fewer options, but the Coyote Glades and blue-cruiser Arrowhead
Mountain are both good choices, as are Redtail and Harrier on the main mountain.
Experts will head to the double black diamonds at Royal Elk Glades and Bald Eagle off
the Grouse Mountain Express lift - the runs are every bit as challenging as anything at
Vail. Golden Eagle, the site of the Birds of Prey Men's World Cup Downhill course, gives
you the chance to try out a competition-class downhill run, while the Stone Creek Chutes
spike the adrenaline.
The three terrain parks - 101 (beginners), Zoom Room (intermediate) and the Rodeo
(prograde with massive jumps and a half-pipe) - keep extremists happy.
Red Sky Golf Club
( 866-873-3759;
www.redskyranch.com
;
376 Red Sky Rd; 18 holes $250; 6:45am-7:30pm Wed-Mon,
noon-7:30pm Tue Jun-mid-Sep, shorter hours May)
Thirty-six holes of award-winning Tom Fazio and
Greg Norman-designed fairway nirvana is available to guests of all Beaver Creek resorts
and a handful of Vail lodges too. The courses are separated by a massive ridge, which, ac-
cording to the Red Sky folks, serves as a wildlife corridor for deer and elk.
Golf typically being an eco-unfriendly pursuit, it's nice to know that the club trans-
planted or revegetated more than 25,000 native plants during the construction of the Tom
Fazio golf course alone. It also applied more than the usual amount of sod to reduce, but
not eliminate, fertilizers. Golf doesn't get much greener and the views are seldom finer
from the tee.
GOLF
