Winter Park Beginner Skiing
Winter Park has two designated learning areas on the trail map: Discovery Park and Sorensen Park. Sorensen Park is only open to ski school participants. There are a fair number of beginner ski trails higher up on the mountain compared to other ski resorts in CO. The Village Way trail will take you from the top of Mary Jane all of the way to the bottom of the resort.
The Galloping Goose lift might be the best place for some kids to learn, because THIS CHAIRLIFT IS FREE!
Discovery Park
This wide-open space is serviced by its own double chairlift. This is a great mid-mountain spot for beginning skiers and snowboarders. Bill Wilson’s Way is the main ski trail here, and you can expect it to be groomed with no moguls.
Discovery Park is a beginner learning area, but it is not fenced off, and it does not have any surface lifts like Sorensen Park. It does have a double chairlift that is relatively easy to get onto because it is very slow.
The way down from here...
Village Way and Turnpike are the two ski trails that descend to the bottom of the resort from Discovery Park. Turnpike can be seen in the photos below.
Endeavor Lift, Porcupine and Bobcat Ski Trails
The Endeavor lift runs for only a short distance, and it is located right next to Discovery Park. The photo immediately below shows the Discovery Park lift and beginner area on the left, and the top of the Gemini Express and Endeavor chairlifts on the right.
Above and below: Looking upwards with the Gemini Express chairlift running up the left side, and the Porcupine ski trail on the right.
More beginner ski and snowboard terrain around the Endeavor lift can be seen in these photos. The photo above looks across the slope to include Discovery Park on the other side of the chairlift.
The bottom of the Endeavor lift is seen above. The Village Way and Lower Parkway ski trails meet up below this area to take skiers and snowboarders to the bottom of the hill.
The Galloping Goose Lift & Shoo Fly
This is a short double chairlift at the bottom of Mary Jane. It require no lift ticket, and you can easily walk here from the Mary Jane base area. This chairlift gets its name from a set of railroad locomotives that were created from truck parts during the 1800s near Telluride. One of these locomotives still runs, and you can see photos of it on the Lizard Head Pass page.
The photo below was taken while standing near the base area, and this shows the short walk uphill to the lift. That’s the Super Gauge Express chairlift cutting in front.
The next image was captured while riding up the Super Gauge Express, and this shows the upper portion of Shoo Fly. Tie Siding is another short beginner ski trail that can be accessed from the top of the Galloping Goose lift.
Sorensen Park - Ski School Only
Sorensen Park is Winter Park’s flagship beginner ski school area at the base of the mountain. There are 2 carpet lifts and a surface lift here. No parents allowed beyond the gate. This used to be open to the public, but is now designated for the ski school only.
The western portal of the Moffat Tunnel emerges right by Winter Park, and the train tracks run right alongside Sorensen Park. Those old ski jumps seen on the hillside above the ski slope are no longer used for skiing… only for dreaming.
The Comet and Meteor carpet lifts are the first stop for first timers. Once kids graduate from the carpet lifts, it is time to move over to the Spirit lift. This is a surface lift with a small disk that goes between the legs. The slope for the surface lift ascends a bit higher than the 2 carpet lifts.
Above and below: Looking upwards next to the Spirit surface lift. This is super easy to ride for most children on skis, not easy to ride for even the adult snowboarders. These types of lifts were not designed with snowboarders in mind.
The image below, captured from high above, shows the carpet lifts and the surface lift in Sorensen Park. That 4th surface lift on the right is no longer there.
