In The News: Ski Train Denver To Winter Park

Amtrak has debuted a ski train between Denver and Winter Park. Skiing and snowboarding are a lot of fun. Getting to the resorts isn't.

Unless you're staying in slopeside lodgings, driving to the action often involves dicey two-lane roads. And at the end of the day, you're back behind the wheel -- fuming, stuck on gridlocked access roads. Now Amtrak is improving the lot of Colorado skiers as it debuts the Winter Park Express seasonal route on January 7. Linking Denver's recently renovated Union Station to the Winter Park Resort, this is ride-in/ride-out skiing. A handful of small American resorts, like Massachusetts' Wachusett, have rail access but they also involve shuttles. The Winter Park Express is different. 

"It's the only rail connection that takes you to the ski lifts themselves," says Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

After a two-hour ride, passengers disembark just yards from the resort's Gemini Express quad. "There's no other mode of transportation needed: You can just grab your skis, hop on the lift and you're skiing within minutes," says Steve Hurlbert, Winter Park's director of communications. "You're also steps from the rental shop if needed."

The Winter Park Express is the successor to the Ski Train, which was not affiliated with Amtrak and ran the same route from 1940 to 2009, when losses proved too big even for billionaire owner Philip Anschutz. For its first season, the Express will operate a round trip every Saturday and Sunday and on holiday Mondays until March 26. One-way tickets cost $39-$59. 

Reviving the route actually was a grassroots initiative from train employees in the Denver area. Brad Swartzwelter, the president of the conductors' union, worked for the Ski Train when he was in college and thought it'd be great to bring it back. He and other conductors presented the plan to Amtrak and Winter Park management, who got on board. In March 2015, Amtrak ran a couple of test trips that sold out in hours.

Call Rawhide Travel and Tours and start planning that special Ski vacation or event today. 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com

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