Last weekend, I had the opportunity to get out of town for a long weekend with a group of old guy friends and ski at Monarch Mountain outside of Salida, Colorado. I had skied Monarch before, but it had been a few years. Monarch offers a homey, local-style skiing experience that’s more budget-friendly than almost anywhere in the Rockies. Read on for my full Monarch Mountain review!
About the Mountain
Monarch, now in its 82nd season, is located on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains, around 100 miles West of the city of Pueblo in Southern Colorado. Its location is further South than many of the more popular (and more expensive) ski areas in Colorado, but that doesn’t mean that it’s hard to access. Located right on US-50, it is one of the easiest ski areas in Colorado to get to!
So far as terrain goes, Monarch offers 67 ski trails, of which 59 are served by the seven lifts (five chairlifts, a magic carpet, and a tubing lift). The other eight trails are advanced- and expert-level trails which can be accessed by hiking from the tops of the chairlifts. The base of the mountain is at 10,790 feet above sea level, and there is a total of 1,162 feet of vertical drop from the highest skiable point.
If you are familiar with skiing terminology, these statistics (other than the altitude) may sound more like a ski area on the East coast than in the Colorado Rockies. But one of the things I appreciate about Monarch is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t. This isn’t a luxury destination with a hundred trails, multiple lodges, and ski-in/ski-out condos filling every open space. It’s a place where the locals ski, and they’re really just there to ski.
Skiing Monarch
A daily lift ticket on an off-peak day (pretty much any time but the weeks of Christmas, Presidents’ Day, and Spring Break) at Monarch retails for $99 at the ticket window. If you purchase your lift tickets online in advance at SkiMonarch.com, you can get them for as low as $64, depending on the date. Through a friend, I was able to get coupons for $59 lift tickets, which I’m convinced has got to the lowest single-day lift ticket price anywhere in the Rockies. (If not, let me know — I want to go!)
Monarch doesn’t issue paper lift tickets anymore. In addition to the lift ticket cost is a $5 fee for Monarch’s new RFID lift ticket card. This RFID card is reloadable each day you ski, so you only need to pay the fee once.
I’ve been an avid skier since I was a kid, but it had been a few years since I had gone (partially because of COVID, and partially because of getting married and having a baby). Monarch proved to be a great place to get my “ski legs” back. For being a smaller resort with shorter trails than at other resorts in Colorado, there is a surprisingly good amount of variety in the trails. Whether you’ve never been on skis before or you love crushing the trees and double-black moguls, you’ll find something you’ll enjoy skiing.
My On-Mountain Experience
At the base of the mountain was my first experience with RFID lift tickets. There is a gate with a scanner at the base of each lift which opens only when it senses a valid lift ticket in your left chest pocket. I never had any issues with the scanners, but I ran into a few people who did. One of my friends had no left chest pocket, but had a lower pocket which he held up to the scanner, and that seemed to work once he found a technique. I’m sure they’ll use the metrics that they gather from the scanners to help plan future developments and projects, but unfortunately the data isn’t available to skiers. It would be neat to know where and when I spent most of my time on the mountain and which lifts I skied off of most.
You won’t find any high-speed quads here. All but one of the chairlifts at Monarch are older two-seat lifts. That’s not to say they aren’t fast, though — they’re actually pretty efficient at getting skiers to the top of the mountain. Again, Monarch doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not — they don’t have fancy lifts because they don’t need fancy lifts. The mountain has all the uphill capacity it needs. Even mid-morning on a Saturday in February, the lift lines were never long.
There was an inch of new snow the day before we arrived, so everything was well covered. Although the snow wasn’t fresh, and consequently a bit crunchy in spots, the slopes were overall in very good condition. The skies were a deep blue the whole time we were there, which made for a lovely skiing experience. We didn’t have the luxury of skiing any glorious fresh Rocky Mountain powder, but hopefully we will next time.
The most challenging but rewarding experience of the whole weekend was getting off the Breezeway chairlift and hiking through the gate of the Mirkwood special access area. Up a quarter-mile trail along the ridge of the Continental Divide to the top of the mountain, 11,952 feet above sea level, is where the most challenging, and rewarding, skiing at Monarch is. Not being used to the altitude, I could only make it around 75 feet at a time before needing to stop and catch my breath, but both the view and the skiing at the top of the aptly named run Elation, combined with the feeling of accomplishment after the hike made it all worth it. I definitely wish I were in better shape, though, so I could do it multiple times.
The Lodge
It’s hard to get lost on the mountain at Monarch — you can get to the one base lodge from pretty much anywhere. Where you might get lost, though, is in the lodge itself. Depending on which one of the ski-side entrances I used, I found myself at one of multiple split-level areas, downstairs near their coffee shop, somewhere in the middle near their cafeteria and bar, or down a hallway past some offices to try and find the bathroom. The signage isn’t great, and the layout is confusing, likely due to building multiple additions over the course of time.
Once you find the cafeteria, don’t forget you’re up a mountain pass, 25 minutes from the closest big-box grocery store. You’re going to pay mountain prices — $7 for a cup of chili, $8 for a slice of pepperoni pizza, $10 for a hamburger (fries not included). The chili was good for ski lodge food, but not $7 a cup good. Shame on me for not making a PB&J, I guess.
If you want to get more bang for your buck, I suggest going up to the upper deck of the lodge to the Flyby Burritos food truck. Here, you can get a burrito or burrito bowl for not much more than you’d pay at Chipotle ($10 for chicken or pork, $11 for steak, and there are vegetarian options too). I had a chicken burrito my second day and wasn’t disappointed with the quality nor quantity of food (again, considering I was on top of a mountain).
Accommodations And Après-Ski
Our group stayed in a VRBO in Poncha Springs, CO, only about 20 minutes’ drive (in good weather) to the slopes. The particular place we stayed was new construction, large, and impeccably clean, but as always, your mileage may vary with vacation rental services. That said, there are plenty to choose from — a quick search revealed 200+ properties in the Salida/Poncha Springs area alone. And most of them are very reasonably priced, especially if you’re splitting costs between individuals or families. Staying in a VRBO also helped us save significantly on food — we brought ingredients with us and cooked every meal other than lunches, so we wouldn’t need to eat out as much.
I was lucky enough to meet Ken from Living a Stout Life on a chairlift ride. Upon his recommendation, my friends and I visited Elevation Beer Company after one of our ski days. We were all impressed with both the variety and quality of their offerings, particularly their Monarch Mountain Throwback Red Ale. They have a friendly and cozy indoor tasting room with 12 beers on tap, and their outdoor beer tent provided a friendly atmosphere for all of us to gather around a table and share about life. Side note: if you love adventure, travel, or great beer, go check out Ken and his wife April’s website and social media at LivinaAStoutLife.com!
If alcohol isn’t your thing, the town of Salida has plenty of additional offerings. There are multiple coffee shops, a variety of local restaurants, and hot spring pools. But perhaps more impressive is the art scene. Salida boasts a designated Creative District, one of only seven in the state of Colorado, including 30 art galleries and over 200 locally-owned businesses. The area surrounding Salida is also known for its summertime outdoor sports, including hiking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and fly fishing. This town can be a great place to visit any time of the year.
Bottom Line
To wrap up my Monarch Mountain review, a great word I’d use to describe Monarch is authentic. It’s good, no-frills skiing for everyone at an affordable price. It’s easy to get to, and the facilities and food are on par with what you may expect. The nearby town of Salida provides an ideal place to stay and recover from the ski day. Overall, Monarch is a great place to go if you’re looking for an affordable Colorado ski trip. I look forward to bringing my kid here to learn to ski someday.