Arapahoe Basin
Overview
Arapahoe Basin is one of Colorado’s oldest ski areas, founded in 1945 by Larry and Marnie Jump along with Max Dercum and Sandy Shaufler, and open for skiing the following winter. Eight decades later it’s changed hands several times — sold to Joe Jankovsky in 1972, then Ralston Purina in 1978, briefly to Vail Resorts in 1996 before an antitrust-driven divestiture in 1997, then Dundee Resort Development, and most recently to Alterra Mountain Company in a deal that closed in November 2024 — but the terrain itself has kept the reputation that made it a destination in the first place.
That reputation is built on steepness and elevation. Arapahoe Basin’s summit reaches into territory Wikipedia describes as among the highest in-bounds skiable terrain in North America, and the trail statistics back up its expert-skewed character: of 53.56 kilometers spread across 107 runs, 24.03 km is rated advanced and another 5.51 km expert, versus just 2.83 km of easy terrain. The East Wall pushes that further — double black diamond lines reachable only by a roughly 30-minute hike from the top of the lift network, terrain that stays largely natural rather than groomed. The resort’s elevation and north-facing exposure also give it one of the longest seasons in the state; it has opened as early as October 9, 2009, and routinely runs well into June.
With more than half its terrain rated advanced or expert and only a small beginner area served by a rope tow and two magic carpets, Arapahoe Basin reads less as a general-purpose family resort and more as a specialist destination for skiers who’ve already outgrown groomed intermediate runs elsewhere — a positioning that’s stayed consistent through every change in ownership over the past eight decades.
Arapahoe Basin dropped its Epic Pass affiliation in 2019 in favor of the Ikon Pass, and both the full Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass now grant access here. Getting there means the same Summit County corridor as Loveland and most other Front Range resorts: Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Denver sits about 72 kilometers away, with Boulder and the western Denver suburbs all within roughly 67-70 kilometers, keeping the resort comfortably within day-trip range despite its high-alpine feel.
At 512.7 meters, Arapahoe Basin’s vertical drop converts to roughly 1,682 feet, a figure that understates the mountain’s reputation considerably once its terrain mix and elevation are factored in. Compared with nearby Loveland — a similar-elevation, similarly Denver-adjacent resort covered elsewhere in this guide — Arapahoe Basin carries far more advanced and expert terrain relative to its total trail length, while Loveland leans much more intermediate. For skiers deciding between the two on a single Front Range trip, that difference in terrain character, not the near-identical drive times or comparable vertical figures, is really what should drive the choice.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| rope tow | 1 |
| chair lift | 6 |
| magic carpet | 2 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 2.83 km |
| expert | 5.51 km |
| novice | 0.14 km |
| advanced | 24.03 km |
| intermediate | 21.05 km |
Maps
View official Arapahoe Basin trail map (PDF) →
Run & lift overview
Arapahoe Basin: 107 runs, 9 lifts. Reflects OpenStreetMap's run and lift mapping for Arapahoe Basin, not the resort's own trail map graphic. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Arapahoe Basin is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Ikon Pass — Unlimited, no blackout
- Ikon Base Pass — Unlimited, no additional blackout (new for 26/27: upgraded to unlimited on Base)
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC) — 71.9 km straight-line
- Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) — 89.1 km straight-line
- Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (Sardy Field) (ASE) — 96.6 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Boulder, Colorado — 67 km straight-line
- Lakewood, Colorado — 68.6 km straight-line
- Arvada, Colorado — 70.1 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Arapahoe Basin is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Loveland Basin Ski Area — 6 km straight-line, 548 m vertical
- Keystone — 7 km straight-line, 912.9 m vertical
- Breckenridge — 23 km straight-line, 992.7 m vertical
- Winter Park Resort — 27 km straight-line, 789.6 m vertical
- Copper Mountain — 29 km straight-line, 796.9 m vertical
FAQ
- Is Arapahoe Basin good for expert skiers?
- Very much so. Of its 53.56 km of terrain, 24.03 km is advanced and 5.51 km expert — around 55% of the mountain — against just 2.83 km rated easy, making it one of the more advanced-skewed resorts in Colorado.
- How big is Arapahoe Basin?
- It has 107 runs over 53.56 km, with a 512.7 m vertical drop between a 3,802.5 m summit and a 3,289.8 m base, run off 9 lifts including a rope tow and two magic carpets for the small beginner area.
- When did Arapahoe Basin open?
- It was established in 1945 by Larry and Marnie Jump, Max Dercum, and Sandy Shaufler, with the first skiable season in 1946, making it one of Colorado's oldest ski areas still operating under a similar footprint today.
- Why does Arapahoe Basin have such a long season?
- Its high elevation and largely north-facing slopes let it hold snow into early summer; Wikipedia notes the earliest opening on record was October 9, 2009, and the resort has run as late as June in strong snow years.
- Which pass covers Arapahoe Basin?
- The Ikon Pass, both the full Ikon Pass and Ikon Base Pass, after the resort switched from Epic to Ikon in 2019, a move that reshaped which multi-mountain travelers pass through the area.
- Who owns Arapahoe Basin?
- Alterra Mountain Company, after acquiring it in a deal that closed November 19, 2024; before that it was independently held by Dundee Resort Development, and before that by Vail Resorts briefly in 1996-97.
- What's the nearest airport to Arapahoe Basin?
- Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Denver, about 72 km away, with Eagle County Regional Airport around 89 km out as an alternative for visitors coming from the western side of the state.
- What's notable about Arapahoe Basin's East Wall?
- It's hike-to double black diamond terrain reached by roughly a 30-minute climb, giving experienced skiers access to some of the steepest, least-groomed lines on the mountain — terrain that stays closer to natural, ungroomed condition than the resort's lift-served runs.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.