Winter Park to Implement 2020-21 Reservation System After Extraordinary Early Season Lines
The line for Winter Park’s Olympia chair on December 13, 2020. Crowds extended all the way back to Tower 14.
Following two weeks of substantial resort demand, Winter Park announced a new lift-access reservation policy for all Ikon and season passholders. Starting December 19, passholders will need reservations to ski at this Colorado resort. The resort expects to maintain this policy for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, and language on the site says the decision came “to prioritize the health, well-being, and enjoyment of our guests, employees, and community so we can all Shred Another Day this season.”
Reservations go live through Ikon’s reservation system on December 17 at 9am MT, including for Winter Park season passholders. Each passholder will be able to reserve up to 10 advance days at a time. The resort says it will work with guests who have booked lodging but are unable to secure their desired reservation dates.
Winter Park already employs a set of altered operational policies due to COVID this season. More information on these can be found here.
Our Take
Well, that didn’t take long. Winter Park was the only major Colorado Front Range resort without any sort of capacity restriction before now, and crowds have been out of control these past few weeks. Last weekend, one line was so long that guests had to hike from the bottom of the lift to get to the start of the queue.
We expect some disappointment among those who purchased passes expecting reservation-free skiing and riding this season. However, we anticipate that this policy’s capacity-mitigation benefits will considerably outweigh the drawbacks. We’re looking forward to the much-needed relief here.
Considering a trip to Winter Park this season? Check out our comprehensive mountain review.
