Wolf Creek Ski Area Review

Wolf Creek Ski Area Review

Wolf Creek Ski Area Website: https://wolfcreekski.com/

Wolf Creek Ski Area Trail Map

Wolf Creek Ski Area Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Summary: Wolf Creek Ski Area is one of only a handful of ski areas in southern Colorado. Its slogan is “most natural snowfall in Colorado” with an average annual total of over 400 inches. Wolf Creek is a moderately difficult mountain with lots of extreme terrain that requires “hike to” access. Wolf Creek has an old school feel to it and offers one of the most reasonably priced lift tickets in Colorado (under $100 bucks as of 2020). Wolf Creek is currently in the process of expanding its terrain and lift access across the mountain. To me, I like to describe snowboarding or skiing at Wolf Creek as similar to riding on a mountain with no trails at all. You truly feel like you are in nature instead of a ski area when visiting Wolf Creek Ski Area.

Parking: Wolf Creek has a few lots at the base of the ski area that are free. If those fill up, they also have an overflow lots down the road with free shuttles. Expect the top level lots to fill up on a typical weekend.

Season Pass: As of the 2020-2021 Season, Wolf Creek is independent of any season pass besides it’s own.

Strengths:

• The lift ticket at Wolf Creek Ski Area is, in my opinion, the best value in the state of Colorado. For nearly half the amount you would pay at the majority of Colorado ski resorts, Wolf Creek offers some of the most expansive and varied terrain in the state.
• Although Wolf Creek Ski Area can see crowds, they are nothing like you would experience at the resorts in Central and Northern Colorado. In general, waiting in a lift line at Wolf Creek Ski Area is not a common occurrence.
• This can be a positive or negative depending on the season – but Wolf Creek’s motto of “Most Snow in Colorado” is a real thing. In seasons past, Wolf Creek experienced winters where storms of 3-4 feet where a normal occurrence. It’s common knowledge in Colorado that Wolf Creek and Steamboat seem to trade off the highest snow totals each year. However, in recent years southern Colorado has gone through some dry and warm winters. If the season is wet, Wolf Creek is amazing, but if its not, well…you know.
• If you like to ride trees – Wolf Creek Ski Area will be your heaven. There are a ton of them that are well spaced out and free of low hanging branches.
• For me this is a positive but for some it may not be. Wolf Creek Ski Area has an old school, neighborhood like feel to it. It reminds me of the days before fancy restaurants/bars and condos surrounded every ski hill in the west. They have a few simple food courts that are cash only, some hole in the wall bars and none of the perks you would expect at a Vail or Aspen, but I love that.
  
• Once 100% open, Wolf Creek has very few “closed areas” on the mountain. At times, you forget you are riding in a ski area and not just on a mountain. It’s very hard to put this in words, but if you’ve been to other ski resorts you will understand. You truly can find new areas, lines and powder stashes on every visit.

Weaknesses:  

• Wolf Creek is a great mountain but there are certainly areas that are not snowboard friendly IE lots of long flat connecting trails. In general the mountain is great to ride, but working from side to side can sometimes be tricky, especially in deep snow or if you are not familiar with the trails.
• Although Wolf Creek has a ton of awesome hike-to terrain, a lot of it dumps out into a long trails that are flat in areas that may require short walks to get back to rideable terrain. The Knife Ridge Chutes, Dog Chutes and Horseshoe Bowl offer steep, backcountry like terrain but “lapping” this area would take the better part of your day due to the lift then hike then snowcat then another hike to drop in (usually worth it). There are plans to add new lifts (some as soon as 2020-2021 season), but for now – the long hikes and catwalks remain. Wolf Creek does offer a free snowcat to bring you back to the Horseshoe Bowl, but it does run on a somewhat sporadic schedule.
• Wolf Creek is not an easy mountain – they offer very limited green terrain and only a handful of blue’s. If you are learning, there is not a ton of terrain for you but the great part about that is they offer a Nova lift only ticket for $29.
• Since Wolf Creek does not see the revenue like its multi-billion dollar corporate profits, some of the lifts (looking at you Alberta) are very slow. They have updated some of their lifts throughout the years, but some painfully slow ones remain.
  
• On a busy day, leaving the parking lot can be a nightmare due to the large amount of parking that all filters out of one exit.
  
• The runs at Wolf Creek are not super long in terms of mileage or vertical drop. If you are looking for a record breaking day in terms of your personal stats, this probably isn’t the place for you.

Mick’s Tip: When visiting Wolf Creek it’s always a good idea to have some cash on you. Their gift shops have a minimum of $5 before using a card and the food court minimum is $10. They do have an ATM on-site, but we all know how ATM fees go.

In terms of terrain with fresh powder, start on the right side of the mountain since Raven opens early and then head left (skiers right) once you have lapped the right side a few times. The far left side of the mountain (Alberta Lift) will typically hold fresh tracks and untouched terrain throughout the day if you know where to look. Of course this may change in the future when more lifts are added, but for the time being – there is some really great terrain on the far left side of the mountain that has very few people on it.

Best Views: The best views at Wolf Creek are to the south and west in my opinion. If you get high enough on the mountain (say Treasure Stoke Chair) there are some great views of the San Juans. The Knife Ridge Stairs also offer sweet views of the surrounding mountains and Wolf Creek Ski Area itself. If you are looking to hike Albert Peak, its worth the 15-20 minute hike up for the views and chances at fresh powder but can get very windy.

Wolf Creek Pass, like many in Colorado, have unique weather patterns so even if the sun is shining in Pagosa Springs or South Fork, don’t expect Wolf Creek Ski Area to have that same weather. In fact, the last time I was at Wolf Creek it was almost sunny in South Fork and dumping snow at the mountain itself.

Pictures From Wolf Creek