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Colorado ski areas come alive after dark. Here’s how to keep the fun going.

Mountain towns offer night activities like ice skating, cozy dining, and even more skiing

Sarah Kuta
The Denver Post
Copper Mountain Resort’s Snowsation featured concerts by Daniel Rodriguez and Leftover Salmon as well as fireworks and a snowcat parade in November.
Curtis DeVore/Copper Mountain Resort

With so few hours of daylight, winter ski vacations often feel like a race against time. How can you pack in as much skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, hot tubbing and ice skating as possible before the sun goes down?

The answer? You don’t have to. At many Colorado ski areas, you can keep the fun going even after it gets dark. Here are some of our favorite nighttime activities to help you make the most of your getaways this winter.

Copper Mountain

Any day spent exploring Copper’s 2,500 skiable acres is a good day. But the fun doesn’t have to stop just because the sun sinks behind the mountains. Copper offers ice skating on West Lake, located in the ski area’s Center Village, typically starting in late December or early January and ending in late March or early April, depending on weather conditions.



Though the resort’s team is still finalizing hours for this year, the skating rink has typically stayed open until 9 p.m., which means there’s plenty of time for a romantic date night or an evening out with family and friends. You can rent skates at nearby City Pop, then twirl around on the ice, try to score a hockey goal and test your broomball skills. Afterward, grab a bite to eat at nearby Ten Mile Tavern or Sawmill Pizza and Taphouse.

Keystone Ski Resort

Make the most out of your trip into the high country by sticking around for night skiing at Keystone. Offered from 4 to 8 p.m. most Fridays, Saturdays and holidays, night skiing is the perfect way to extend your visit or grab a few bonus laps after other activities in Summit County. And you’ll feel like you have the mountain to yourself as you race down crowd-free slopes with the crisp evening air on your cheeks. The views of the base village’s twinkling lights are pretty spectacular, too.



Read the full story on DenverPost.com.


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