Colorado's most luxurious resort continues growing around its new village center. Luxurious lodgings in an elegant and monumental mountain style, fine dining (Wolfgang Puck’s eatery is a staple), and subdued nightlife are the resort's hallmarks, but Vail-based skiers commute to ski the Beav's wide, handsome runs or gawk at the spectacular views. Beaver Creek proper has enough variety of terrain, optimal conditions, and serious vertical to justify a trip, but add Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead mountains and the stats are downright monumental: 3,340 feet of vertical, over 1,800 skiable acres, 149 trails, and three terrain parks. All mountains are linked via lifts, creating a European "village-to-village" ski experience. Lift passes are also valid at Vail.

Beaver Creek also boasts The Ranch, a state-of-the-art children’s ski and snowboard school, a 4,000-square-foot, on-mountain center located at the top of the Buckaroo Express gondola, surrounded by premier beginner learning terrain. The center’s picture windows will allow parents to discreetly view their kids learning to ski and ride on customized slopes designed to facilitate the correct body movements. The Ranch is a key part of Beaver Creek’s commitment to offer a top family vacation experience.

Where: 120 miles west of Denver, 25 miles east of Eagle County Airport, off I-70 (Avon exit).