Keystone, USA

Keystone ski holidays

Established in 1970 the American ski resort Keystone lies at ? metres altitude in the Colorado region of the American Rockies189 snow cannons ensure artificial snow making covers ?km of trails, which equates to around 30 of the slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Keystone is Denver International at a distance of 145km or approximately 90 minutes driving time. Their season runs from November to April.

SNO-man says

Under same ownership as Breckenridge and aquired in 1997 by Vail Resorts INC., Keystone has the largest night-skiing operation in Colorado and North America's biggest ice rink (five acres).

Alpine Downhill Runs

Beginner Trails  ? runs ?km	?%	Intermediate Trails  ? runs ?km	?%
Advanced Trails  ? runs ?km	?%	Expert Trails  ? runs ?km	?%

135 pistes and trails means approximately ?km of runs. 20 Keystone lifts have capacity to transport 35000 per hour. The longest run in the American ski resort is over 4.9km.

Of the 20 ski lifts, 7 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives an indication of how modern the lift system is and how good Keystone is for snowboarding - especially for beginners learning to board. Facilities include 2 terrain parks and 2 half pipe (longest half pipe length is ? metres), 0 quarter pipe and 0 boardercross courses.

12 apres ski bars 34 restaurants 0 bowling 1 night club 0 cinema 0 billiards / pool 0 games room 0 concert 0 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 0 saunas 0 hot tubs 0 solariums 0 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 0 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 1 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 0 prepare winter walks 0 climbing 1 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 0 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Ice Hockey.

Keystone is a good place to go if you like snow and ice. The resort opened an exciting adventure area called Adventure Point for the '98-'99 season following the successful model of sister-resort Vail. The tubing hill has a steep initial vertical to get speed up from the start. Guided snowmobiling is another option with helmets, suits and boots provided. For a more relaxing time it's possible to go snowshoeing or cross-country skiing or take a sleigh ride either on a scenic forest tour or with dinner to follow. There are 18km (12miles) of groomed and a further 57km (35 miles) of ungroomed trails for cross country skiers and snowshoers. Ice skating is offered on Keystone Lake, the largest maintained outdoor ice skating lake in North America. Keystone's Fitness Centre features exercise room, weights room and a heated outdoor pool with two whirlpools, steam room and sauna. Massage and sun beds are available. The resort also has two indoor and twelve outdoor tennis courts.

Childcare in Keystone, USA

Keystone day and evening care plus snow ski schools and babysitting.

As you would expect, Keystone has children's fun and facilities well planned. Daycare is available for children aged 2 months and up between 8am and 5pm with the added bonus of additional evening care available by the hour from 5pm to 8pm. From age 3 a snowplay scheme is available where outside fun includes sledding, building snowmen and snow forts, gondola rides and a visit to the stables as well as indoor games, play and lunch cover. Ski school starts at age 3 with the Mini Mice scheme, then Mogul Mice from age 4 and Superstars up to school age. Before and after classes children have an indoor entertainment program including games, puppet shows and play in a special playroom. There are magic carpet lifts on the mountain to ease the early lift riding experience. School age children up to age 14 are graded according to ability, with beginners in Discoverer, intermediates in Mountain Explorer, and the Mountain Diamond Club for the most advanced who can choose between rotating classes with themes such as moguls and racing. Snowboarding is available for children aged 8 and up with 4 or 5 hours on-board tuition plus indoor supervision. In common with other Vail resorts children's ski and snowboard school incorporates their specially developed 'Ski-cology' environmental education program designed to teach children about the resort's ecology as they learn to ski and 'board. Other schemes help children to learn how to use a trail map properly and give the opportunity to try out new sliding devices. Special areas themed for children to slide through and play in are located off the Spring Dipper, Upper Paymaster and Silver Spoon trails. Older children tend to enjoy the scene around the Area 51 snowboard park which incorporates a Shack where they can hang out, take a break, watch tv and get a non-alcoholic drink; it's open until 9pm daily. Children of all ages enjoy the Adventure Point tubing park and there are plenty of family-friendly eateries with dozens more choices for leisure and eating in the greater Summit County.

4 stars out of 5 overall    

Keystone Shopping

Keystone shopping - fashion boutiques, outdoor gear and food shops

Keystone's shopping opportunities provide another area subject to constant expansion and improvement. There are currently two main shopping areas, at River Run and Keystone Village. There are more than two dozen shops and galleries selling jewellery, clothing and sportswear, speciality foods and merchandise. The nearby Silverthorne Factory Outlets mall and the Dillon Factory Stores offer more than 100 brand-name stores including Gap and Nike.

Keystone value for money gets 4 stars out of 5 overall    

Ski Equipment Rental Shops in Keystone

Keystone hire shops - overview of all shopping in Keystone

Keystone's shopping opportunities provide another area subject to constant expansion and improvement. There are currently two main shopping areas, at River Run and Keystone Village. There are more than two dozen shops and galleries selling jewellery, clothing and sportswear, speciality foods and merchandise. The nearby Silverthorne Factory Outlets mall and the Dillon Factory Stores offer more than 100 brand-name stores including Gap and Nike.

Keystone ski rental shops value rating gets 3 stars out of 5 overall    

Main Ski School in Keystone

Keystone ski school - snowboarding course & skiing lessons

The official ski/board school is called Keystone Ski School and has 450 teachers teaching in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Bulgarian, Swedish, Sign Language, Chinese, Dutch, Norwegian, Afrikaan,s Turkish, Latvian, Danish, Croatian, Finnish, Polish, Yiddish, Czech, Slovak, Lappish, Greek, Yugosla and taking students from a minimum age of 3.? www.snow.com 4964170

Keystone for beginners         gets 3 stars out of 5 overall    

Keystone for intermediates  gets 5 stars out of 5 overall    

Keystone for expert skiers   gets 4 stars out of 5 overall    

Keystone for snowboarding  gets 4 stars out of 5 overall    

Mountain & Snow Sports in Keystone

Keystone snow sports - off slope winter mountain sports

Cross Country Skiing (langlaufen) in Keystone: 57km X C ski trails, Lessons available? Y

Easy XC Ski Trails: 57km     Intermediate XC Trails: 0km   Difficult XC Trails: 0km

Telemark Tuittion: Y     Telemark Rental 1      Paragliding schools: 0

Snow mobile Rental: 0     Toboggan Run Length: 0km

Non Skiing Winter & Snow Activities in Keystone

Keystone snow fun - off slope winter activities

Outdoor Ice Rink: 1 Indoor Ice Rink: 0 Balloon Flights: 0

Prepared Winter Walks: 0 Snowshoeing: 1 Hang Gliding : 0

Snow mobile Rental: 0 Toboggan Run Length: 0km Paragliding schools: 0

Keystone non skiing facilities also include Ice Hockey.