Mountain Review: Keystone
MOUNTAIN SCORE
CATEGORY BREAKDOWN
See our criteria
8
Snow:
8
Resiliency:
8
Size:
8
Terrain Diversity:
6
Challenge:
5
Lifts:
7
Crowd Flow:
6
Facilities:
6
Navigation:
8
Mountain Aesthetic:
GOOD TO KNOW
On-site Lodging: Yes
Apres-ski: Moderate
Pass Affiliation: Epic Pass
Recommended Ability Level:
+ Pros
Solid mix of groomed, mogul, and tree terrain
Top-tier bowl isolation
Diverse freestyle terrain
Night skiing
Available snowcat experiences
– Cons
Lack of direct lift access to more than half the resort, including all bowl terrain
Long travel time to and from furthest mountain areas
Less demanding terrain than some competing mountains
MOUNTAIN STATS
Lifts: 20
Trails: 128
Beginner: 12%
Intermediate: 39%
Advanced/Expert: 49%
Mountain Review
With more than 3,000 acres of terrain off the continental divide, Keystone competes with the largest resorts in Colorado. The resort offers easy access to plenty of wide groomers, steep mogul terrain, and glades. However, the area’s practical size is hampered by the lack of direct lift access to much of its acreage, including all of its true bowl terrain.
Keystone sees slightly less accumulation than the best Colorado resorts each year, but the mountain holds its snow well thanks to mostly unexposed terrain. The resort employs snowmaking to ensure resiliency and open terrain early compared to other resorts. Keystone made significant investments in its snowmaking infrastructure for the 2019-20 season, allowing the mountain to produce a base layer faster than in previous years and open in October for the first time in almost two decades.
When you first get to Keystone, it looks pretty unimposing for a Rocky Mountain ski resort. You enter from the front side of Dercum Mountain, mostly composed of gentler slopes with below-treeline terrain. Most runs here are groomed cruisers, but there are a few steep, mogully blacks. This is where you’ll find the resort’s best beginner and intermediate runs. The front side is also home to Keystone’s world-class A51 terrain park, which is designed with progression in mind and offers a range of features for all abilities. The biggest jumps here afford generous distance and are well suited for spin tricks.
But when you get to the top of the front side, you’ll not only see the start of the slopes down the back side of Dercum, but also not one, but two additional peaks of trails up ahead. It’s almost surreal seeing the ski resort continue on as extensively as it does. Most runs beyond this point are blacks, but some of these are suitable for advanced intermediates.
On the back side of Dercum and North Peak, you’ll mainly find long, trying mogul runs that tend to really put a strain on your endurance. A handful of these are blue, but sometimes these aren’t even groomed. These areas also offer access to the demanding Windows glades and lots of other unmarked woods, which we’d call the most difficult terrain at the resort.
Outback, the farthest area from the front side, specializes in powdery glades and moguls. You’ll find the best lift-serviced conditions at the resort here, with lower crowds, higher elevation, and better snow than in other areas.
A large portion of Keystone’s acreage—including most of its bowl terrain—is not accessible by lift at all and must be hiked or cat skied. But some of the hikes aren’t too bad, and you can get to some amazing powder troves by just walking 5-10 minutes up. The cat skiing experience, probably the most unique feature of the resort, takes you places that no sane person paying for a lift ticket would hike to. With a $10 snowcat ride at the top of North Peak or Outback, you can get to nearly untracked, consistently powdery terrain. You’ll find unparalleled views of the resort and neighboring mountains here. This terrain is as isolated as you’ll get within the bounds of an actual ski resort.
If you’re up for it, you can schedule a full-day snowcat tour. This tour, which costs $225 but doesn’t require a lift ticket, takes you around all the bowls and gives you access to untouched snow all day. It’s well worth it for experts, but will get tiring for most others.
Keystone boasts a number of convenient lodges across the Dercum and North Peak areas (but not Outback—more on this later). Most feel commercialized but offer generous outdoor seating that allows for sunbathing on nice days. The high-quality food options here are reasonably priced compared to other Colorado resorts.
Despite its magnitude, getting around lift-serviced areas at Keystone isn’t horrible thanks to clear signage and well-placed lifts. It does take a long time and multiple lifts to travel to the furthest mountain areas, but you won’t have to catwalk to get between most places. It’s worth noting that cell service in the Outback area is pretty much nonexistent—be careful not to lose people in your group here.
For the areas it serves, the lift setup at Keystone mostly impresses. From the bases, you can get to any lift-accessible mountain area via detachable lifts. There are multiple lift options at most major junctions, leading to very few resort chokepoints. Visitors of all levels can take the Outpost Gondola to get directly between Dercum Mountain and North Peak, but if you can, it’s usually faster to just ski down one of the blacks and take one of the express lifts back up.
But there’s one exception to Keystone’s modern lift infrastructure. The only way back from the Outback area is through the Wayback fixed-grip quad, an unbelievably slow lift that somehow hasn’t been upgraded over the years. There are no lodges or facilities at Outback, so anyone trying to escape an influx of bad weather or just needing a break will have to bear through this lift. Riding this thing feels especially punishing after a day of exclusively detachable lifts. Rumors of an upgrade have been swirling for years, but nothing has materialized.
It’s worth noting that Keystone offers night skiing, a rarity among major Rocky Mountain resorts. Typically open Wednesday through Sunday, the experience offers only limited terrain but covers the entire vertical of Dercum Mountain and the whole A51 terrain park.
Lodging
Keystone offers multiple slopeside lodging options. Many are reasonably priced and have hot tubs or pools. There are some pleasant lodges and townhomes within a short driving distance of the resort, but don’t expect a walkable town outside the base village like you’ll find at Breckenridge. It’s worth noting that parking is free here.
Apres-ski
Keystone offers a reasonably satisfying apres-ski scene, but some other resorts do it better. There are multiple happy-hour bars in the base villages. On weekend nights, you’ll find a few bars with live music or DJs.
Verdict
Ultimately, Keystone offers strong below-treeline terrain diversity, an excellent freestyle setup, and a one-of-a-kind snowcat skiing experience that delivers top-tier bowl isolation. The long season and available night skiing are pluses as well. But those expecting a well-rounded Colorado ski trip may be turned off by the lack of lift-accessible bowl terrain. Some people won’t be able to get enough of the terrain here, while others may find this resort better as a day trip from another Epic resort rather than a weeklong vacation.
