Keystone: Three Peaks, Cross-Country Skiing and Mountain Summer

Keystone combines a ski area spanning three peaks with cross-country skiing, guided winter activities and a diverse mountain summer. The Keystone Resort ski area extends across Dercum Mountain, North Peak and the Outback. Dercum Mountain features long, groomed beginner runs, including Family Ski Trail and Schoolmarm. When choosing your destination, Keystone therefore offers clear distinctions between alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and off-piste activities.

Ski area spanning three peaks

The three peaks belong to Keystone Resort, but they do not automatically offer the same conditions or the same uses. Dercum Mountain in particular features long, groomed beginner runs. Family Ski Trail and Schoolmarm are specifically named. If you are traveling with different ability levels, you can consider this area as a clearly designated part of the offering.

Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing

The Keystone Nordic Center complements the alpine offering with more than 17 kilometers of groomed trails. They are intended for classic cross-country skiing and skating. The center also provides access to 40 kilometers of nearby backcountry trails in the White River National Forest. Here, the term refers to a separate trail offering away from the groomed trail network and therefore should not be equated with the 17 kilometers of groomed trails.

Keystone Resort is located in the White River National Forest. Guided snowshoe tours are offered at the Keystone Nordic Center throughout the winter season. This creates an alternative to alpine skiing for groups with different interests, without confusing the activities: groomed trails, backcountry trails and guided snowshoe tours are separate activities.

Further winter experiences

There are two Snow Forts at the summit of Dercum Mountain. A scenic sleigh ride travels through Soda Creek Valley and stops at an original Keystone homestead. Keystone Stables also offers wagon rides and campfire stories. These offerings expand the winter stay with explicitly named experiences away from the ski area.

The location offerings mentioned do not indicate whether a particular ski hotel is located on a slope, near the ski area or by the Keystone Nordic Center.

Keystone in summer

Several mountain offerings remain relevant outside the winter season as well. In summer, Keystone's ski slopes become hiking trails. The chairlift also operates in summer and takes hikers to hiking trails at the mountain summit. Keystone Bike Park has more than 100 trail miles across 55 trails, all accessible by lift.

Further summer offerings include snow tubing on real snow, Mountain Top Yoga and miniature golf at Dercum Square. Keystone Resort also has two golf courses with a total of 36 holes. Keystone Lake is a 5-acre reservoir, with the Village located along its shore. At the Adventure Center, you can rent paddleboards by the half-hour or hour, including life jackets and leashes.

Getting there and comparing accommodation locations

Keystone has a free regional bus service operated by Summit Stage. However, specific information about a stop, route or travel time is not available. When looking for accommodation for a ski vacation, you should therefore consider the address of each property and your preferred activity focus separately. This keeps the decision between alpine skiing, the Nordic Center, summer activities at the lake or offerings in the Village oriented toward the respective location characteristics.

If you would also like to compare Keystone with other destinations, you can visit Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne.

For the overarching travel overview: Summit.