YOUR AD HERE »

From brownies to cowboy hats, Loveland Ski Area opens with trademark locals’ vibe

News |

Cody Jones

Share this story
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Kokomo Joe, second from left, lets out a holler as he loads one of the first chairs of the season at Loveland Ski Area on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

There is something different about the atmosphere at Loveland Ski Area. While other ski areas often feature fancy lodges, steady lifts lines and people from across the country, Loveland Ski Area has a local feel to it.

This vibe was fully displayed at Loveland’s first day of the 2025-26 season on Saturday, Nov. 8. 

Not only were eager skiers and riders gifted with freshly made brownies from the ski area while they waited in line, but longtime guests came dressed in costumes and outfits to celebrate the monumental day.

Near the front of the line was none other than local legend Kokomo Joe. A frequent visitor of Loveland Ski Area, Kokomo Joe got his fellow skiers and riders excited by breaking out in song, strutting across the snow and showing off his cowboy getup.

“I am excited to be out here with all my friends,” Kokomo Joe said. “Being outdoors, doing what I love. Enjoying myself. This is what I live for.”

Kokomo Joe was not the only guest to don an elaborate outfit. Other skiers and riders came dressed in inflatable costumes, mohawks and sports jerseys for the first day on the mountain.

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Skiers and riders make their way up Chet’s Dream at Loveland Ski Area’s opening day on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
IMG_7740

Although Loveland is the fifth and final Summit County-area ski area to open for the winter season, many skiers and riders logged their first turns of the season at Loveland on Saturday. 

Keystone’s Lauren Rainen visited the beloved ski area looking to get her legs back under her in preparation for snowier days ahead.

“It is sweet,” Rainen said. “The season is starting and you know we are jumping into the snow season, which is exciting. I am excited for powder later in the season, but this is the start of that.”

Like many ski areas across the state of Colorado, Loveland Ski Area was challenged in terms of snowmaking this year. While the ski area saw a solid stretch of cold days, warm spells made it hard to blow snow on a consistent basis.

Loveland’s snowmaking team was eventually able to pile up enough snow to open on Saturday morning. Throughout the first day of the season, skiers and riders rode up Chet’s Dream and then enjoyed top-to-bottom and tree-to-tree skiing on Catwalk, Mambo and Home Run. 

“This was a challenging early season to get open,” marketing and communications director Loryn Roberson said. “Our teams were working super hard every single time we had the right weather window to make snow. On Wednesday we made the call that we could do it and we are really excited to finally be skiing and riding.”

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Kokomo Joe struts his stuff while enjoying a day of snowboarding at Loveland Ski Area on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

The opening day terrain package spanned nearly 1,000 vertical feet and 1.5-miles. Loveland also had an early-season terrain park available for skiers and orders to explore. 

Loveland will continue to blow snow whenever conditions allow in order to open up additional terrain. The ski area will now operate seven days a week through early May. Lifts will run from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays. 

The opening day celebrations marked the beginning of Loveland’s 88th season as a ski resort. To help celebrate the milestone, Loveland will be hosting a myriad of events.

Most notably, Loveland will be debuting several exciting upgrades including the all-new Lift 7. The new chair located in Loveland Valley will replace the previous double chair with a wider fixed-grip triple chair. Adjacent to Lift 7, Loveland has transformed the Zig-Zag trail into a beginner family zone. 

The ski area plans to unveil the new lift and beginner area when Loveland Valley opens up on Nov. 21.

Loveland Ski Area’s 88th season will also include the 35th annual Valentine’s Day Mountaintop Matrimony, the 25th annual Spring Corn Harvest and the seventh annual Neverland Banked Slalom. All three events have become traditions at the ski area over the last several decades.  

“It is like we are getting the gang back together,” Roberson said. “So many people you talk to have been skiing Loveland for so long, and we have seen some new faces, but it is kind of like a ‘Welcome Home’ for our opening day. It is exciting to be together again.”

For more information, visit SkiLoveland.com 

Show CaptionsHide Captions

Share this story
Local
See more

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.