The Epic Resorts in Colorado are part of the Vail Resorts, and include Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and for now Arapahoe Basin (ending after the 2018-2019 season). An Epic Pass is a season pass that can be used at all the Vail Resorts, and provides a cost effective way to ski if you’re planning on more than 6 days of skiing. A week after Christmas and a week for Spring Break easily make the pass work.
We like to stay in condos and cook most of our dinners in on our family ski trips. But lunch is a different story. We prefer an on-mountain restaurant that serves food quickly so we can get back out on the mountain, so there may be cheaper options by going into town, but we don’t want to take that time. Also, we try to separate ourselves from the non-skiers at the base restaurants. But that convenience comes at a price. A cafeteria style lunch at one of the big Epic resorts runs about $130 for a family of 6. An “Epic Burger” at one of the Vail-owned properties costs about $16 in 2018-2019. The actual price varies a bit from mountain to mountain. And bottled drinks are $5-$6 each! However, water is free and there are always water cups provided. You can carry a “Mio” water flavor enhancer in your pocket if you don’t like plain water, and don’t want to pay for Gatorade on the mountain. We also have a couple of small Dakine ski backpacks, so we can carry snacks and some water. Everyone carries small snacks in their pockets too – either M&M’s and nuts, or Starburst, or a granola bar. An even better option is to pack lunch in those backpacks.
Vail has 2 outdoor grills open to the public at the top of Blue Sky Basin! There are plenty of outdoor picnic tables, and a small cabin with limited indoor seating. This is by far the best food option on a sunny day. We carry gourmet cooked sausages and hotdog buns (in an empty granola bar box to prevent crushing). We’ve also carried Pringles, since they don’t crush. Hot sausages off the grill are the best ski lunch ever, and with a cost of only about $15. Of course, Vail is also home to Two Elk Lodge, which is easily my favorite on-mountain restaurant. The place is HUGE, and its location at the entrance to the legendary Vail back bowls means you’ll be surrounded by happy skiers in awe of the amazing terrain.
A-Basin has a culture of packed lunches, so don’t worry about anyone criticizing you for eating your own food in the mid-mountain restaurant. But they also have some of the best on-mountain food in Colorado at the Black Mountain Restaurant. There’s also a Taco Truck parked in the base area, which sounds like fun on a warm sunny day.
The newly renovated Labonte’s Smokehouse at Keystone has plenty of people eating packed lunches both inside and at the outside sun deck chairs. While the food is quite good at the main Summit House restaurant, it tends to be very crowded and the building is well used, if you get what I mean.
Eating at Breckenridge isn’t great, unless the weather is warm and you can eat outside. We like the sun deck at Ten Mile Station. We haven’t seen many people with packed lunches. The restaurant at the base of Peak 8, Ski Hill Grill, is large and new and moderately crowded. It also requires a chairlift ride from the base area after lunch, and those 3 main chairs can have really long lines. It’s not a bad choice on weekdays with lower crowds, or for an afternoon hot chocolate break.
But to be fair, the Vail resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, A-Basin, Beaver Creek) all have great tasting lunch options in their restaurants. Travel to non-Vail owned mountains in Utah, and you’ll really taste the difference. We’re always looking for open grills like at Vail, but so far those are the only ones we’ve ever found. Who would have guessed that Vail – with its reputation for fur coats and sky high prices – would offer such a frugal lunch option? I guess they make enough profit by charging $30 per day to park. FYI, for the 2018-1019 ski season parking is free at A-Basin and Keystone, and $12 per day at Breckenridge.
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