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Winter Park questions

Karenfrances

Certified Ski Diva
Hi there -- We (me, my teenager, and her classmate) are heading out to CO on Thursday night, skiing at Winter Park F/S/S/M and returning to the Denver airport for a 6 pm flight. I have a couple of logistics questions that maybe some Denver divas might know the answers to ....

On Monday, we will need to park at Winter Park (rather than taking the local bus shuttle) and then leave in time to make our flight. On a Monday morning, would we have better luck looking for parking at Mary Jane or the Village? And how long a walk should we anticipate? (I am also open to paid parking to maximize our skiing time on Monday -- is there a paid lot/garage you would recommend?)

And then, what time should we be in the car and hitting the road to make our flight? We will need to return the rental car and check our skis; ideally, we would be in line to check our luggage by 4:30.

Lastly, I am traveling with two teenagers so if you have a favorite pizza place to recommend, that would also be helpful.

All advice appreciated!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
The advice I got from @Nedgirl was to park at the Utah Junction lot (free) on the Mary Jane side. My ski buddy and I arrived around lunch time during a trip in December. At the corner of the lot there is a building with a large restroom for booting up and changing after skiing. It's a relatively small lot and a short walk. From what I could tell, any lot at the main Village is a longer walk.

Do need to figure out beforehand how to get back to the Utah lot. Especially if you want to ski on the WP side at all.

As for the drive time to the airport, can't help there.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Had heard that it pays to be careful about sticking to the speed limit in Empire, the small town the road goes through right after getting off I-70. We missed the entrance to Mary Jane on the way to WP. There is a big sign but the curve of the road hides it in one direction.

If you happen to be interested in a lesson, I learned that group lessons at Winter Park are for all ability levels. Even up to double-black. PM me if you want the name of a Level 3 instructor who mostly teaches black and double-black group lessons if there are students interested. We had a chance to free ski with him a bit after he finished a beginner group lesson.
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
On a Monday afternoon, before rush hour, with no weather, I think 2 hours from getting in your car in Winter Park to arriving at the airport is a safe estimate that gives you some breathing room. If we're talking about this Monday Jan 30th, it looks like there may be a little bit of afternoon snow, so add some time depending on whether that materializes or not and how comfortable you are driving your rental car over Berthoud pass (which is a very nice road, but still a mountain pass, so depends what you're used to / comfortable with) in snow packed conditions.

Really, I'd just pull up the drive time estimate in Google maps on your phone a few times over the course of the morning. With I-70 you really just never know. Any slowdowns for weather etc will be obvious in the estimates you get there.
 

Bookworm

Angel Diva
We always park at the Mary Jane lot, but you have to get there around 8ish. It's a super short walk to the lodge where you can get a delicious breakfast burrito before the lifts open.
As for pizza, Hernando's is a good place in town. You'd have to drive there so it's not a lunch stop. There's a pizza place (I think it's called Pepperonis) at Mary Jane, sort of in the basement. It's cheap and the pizza is so so, but it'd be a great place to take some teenagers for lunch.
 

Karenfrances

Certified Ski Diva
Thanks all! We are mid-way through the trip and enjoying all the snow that fell over the last two days. (And had pizza from Hernando's last night!) The crowd today (Saturday) was unbelievable --- everyone we rode up with on the lifts expressed amazement at how many people showed up today. Will post a more complete trip report once we're home ....
 

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