Sidewinder Saloon - Salida

It's not as cheap as it used to be, but Monarch is still a great deal. The lifts had short lines (midweek) during Spring Break 2024. The runs were well groomed. I took my daughters on the bunny run a couple of times, and staff was so polite and helpful. This is all natural snow? Great conditions even in March. Parking is free, and the drive up from Salida takes half an hour. Lovely place, and every staff person was super cool and polite.

Monarch Mountain, thank you for supporting electric vehicles and accelerating the transition to clean energy. I'll be snowboarding here next year thanks to the EV charger and the chill vibe here.

Skiing conditions and staff were great but I'm dinging them because their wifi was basically nonexistent. I think any ski resort needs to have decent wifi, at least around the day lodge area. To pay over $1,000 for two people (pass, equipment, and group lessons for two: yes peak prices because it's Christmas week) and not be able to do basic internet is a little ridiculous.

The trip up the mountain is treacherous if there is ANY snowfall. We scheduled a short ski trip, but there is no way to get up the mountain from Salida to the ski resort when a snow storm comes through. Even taxi services cannot make the trip up the mountain. There is a snow tire mandate on US HWY 50. The resort itself was average for the short time we made it the first day. If there were consistent transport from Salida to the mountain, it would have a better rating. Don't waste your time. Go to a larger resort with better resources.

Not Covid Safe. After driving from out of state to take our kids snow tubing (because the website requires masks and distancing we found this was not a safe space to be in. In the Tubing line there were so many people not wearing masks and allowed on the tubing lifts without masks as well. Unfortunately we didn 't stay and lost our money because this was too much of a risk. There was even a lady on the bench coughing and maskless! Holy Moly. I 100% understand if you don 't want to wear masks, however it is a Colorado Law that these resorts take certain precautions to protect guests. We did not feel protected or cared for at all unfortunately. There were a good 15 people in line with no mask on at all and a few with them below their chins. Very disappointed.