- Snowmass is a Colorado ski town that’s undergone major development in the past decade.
- For years, Snowmass was often compared to its neighbor, Aspen.
- Now, it’s creating its own reputation with fine dining, luxury real estate, and a family-friendly mountain.
If you spend enough time in Snowmass Village, Colorado, a family metaphor is bound to come up.
“Snowmass was just a sleepy second cousin to Aspen,” Bo Bedford, a former Snowmass ski patroller, told Business Insider.
“Snowmass was Aspen’s little sister, and now we’re becoming our own,” Sara Stookey Sanchez, the public relations manager for Snowmass Tourism, said.
For decades, the town of Snowmass was rarely mentioned without reference to its glitzy neighbor, Aspen. Now, with the help of a $1 billion development and new luxury experiences, Snowmass is ready to ditch its younger sibling title and take center stage.
A shiny new development
Tucked in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive west of Denver, is a ski town with a familiar name. Aspen has long drawn a wealthy set of visitors, with a neighborhood nicknamed Billionaire Mountain and waitresses eager to share the latest celebrity spotting.
Fifteen minutes away is Snowmass Village, which, for years, was a quiet town with two main areas. The Snowmass Mall was the heart of the ski destination, with a two-story complex home to cafés, restaurants, and a pathway to the slopes. Nearby, a center with a grocery store, post office, and business offices catered to residents.
There were few shops, fewer luxury hotels, and even fewer fine-dining options. Since there wasn’t much of a resort, skiers didn’t dine, sleep, or stay in town. Instead, Snowmass was mostly unknown.
“I remember going to Snowmass and thinking, ‘What’s that?'” Aspen Skiing Company CEO Geoff Buchheister, who grew up in Colorado, told BI.
That started to change in 1999 when the Aspen Skiing Company bought about 11 acres in Snowmass and proposed plans for Snowmass Base Village, a tourist-focused area of town with lodging, residences, and commercial space.
The project has been an uphill battle. While some locals supported the development, others opposed it and worried about its scale. Between 2004 — when the plans were approved — and 2016, the development changed hands, and construction stalled through a recession.
In December 2016, East West Partners, KSL Capital Partners, and Aspen Skiing Company set out to finally complete the $1 billion development.
Nearly a decade later, the end is in sight.
The Base Village has nine completed residential complexes, a Limelight Hotel, shops, restaurants, a community center, and a public plaza. The final piece is Stratos, a two-building, 89-unit residential complex set to finish in 2027.
The area feels modern, especially compared to Aspen’s historic Victorian homes and mountain chalets.
“I’ve seen it go from a ski area to a resort,” Susan Cross, who has lived in the area for three decades and manages Snowmass Mountain, told BI.
The development has completely transformed Snowmass, and with that growth, Snowmass has targeted a new visitor: wealthy travelers on the hunt for a luxury vacation.
Competing with Aspen’s luxury reputation
Snowmass has long been positioned to welcome Aspen’s overflow.
But now, Snowmass has the upper hand in real estate. Its developments are newer and have fresher amenities. And while they come at a high price point, they’re still more affordable than Aspen. The average square foot in Snowmass costs $2,000 compared to Aspen’s at $2,300.
Andy Gunion, a managing partner at East West Partners, said the demand is there.
When the Cirque Residences opened in Base Village in 2024, 91% of the residences sold out in the first two weeks at an average of $2,700 a square foot, with most buyers being second-home owners and investors, Gunion said.
Stratos, Snowmass Base’s final condo complex, listed two-bedroom condos starting at $2.85 million. Its nicest offering, the sky chalet, costs $30 million and spans an entire floor. As of mid-March, about 75% of the property had sold out.
Beyond real estate, the development of Base Village has also included newer and nicer retail shopping and restaurants.
Kenichi, a longtime sushi staple in Aspen, opened a Snowmass location in 2021. At the Viceroy Hotel, Toro, a Latin-inspired restaurant, sits in the lobby. A dinner at Aurum Food and Wine features steak, lamb, fish, and a wine list with bottles reaching $1,800.
While Snowmass has upped its dining game, it’s still not on par with Aspen, which has the Michelin-starred Bosq and about 130 other bars and restaurants.
“Snowmass always was the sleepy town,” Cross said. “There’s just not the number of restaurants Aspen has.”
The same applies to shopping. Aspen has Prada, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and Valentino, while Snowmass has Gorsuch, which carries high-end ski gear.
But Gunion and others argue that the goal isn’t to be Aspen.
“We don’t have the scale. We’ll never be able to compete with that, and we’re not trying to,” Gunion said. “We’re trying to create this fun, family-friendly village that’s more connected to the mountain.”
Is the growth welcomed?
Bedford, who moved to Snowmass in 1968 at the age of 21, said it was all about “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” in the area.
In 1971, the Eagles were performing in small Aspen clubs. The singer John Denver had moved to Aspen and became a family friend. Winters were filled with skiing powder days, and summers were spent playing softball.
Aspen was known, but that wasn’t the case for Snowmass.
“God, Snowmass was so small,” Bedford said. “Everyone was so tight.”
For many locals, that unfamiliarity was a plus. It meant cheaper lift tickets, little traffic, and lower real-estate prices.
When Mel Blumenthal first visited Snowmass about 35 years ago, the area had “small-town charm.” Now, he fears that charm is fading.
Blumenthal, who splits his time between Snowmass and Santa Monica, California, initially supported the plans for Base Village.
“At the beginning, I was convinced it was necessary in order to economically compete as a resort,” he said, adding that he started to lose faith in the project as it changed developers.
Despite living across the street, he rarely visits the area and said that seems to be a trend among residents. He’s also concerned about how Snowmass will balance serving visitors and its community as the development attracts more people from out of town.
Julia Theisen, Snowmass’ tourism director, told BI that’s her main focus. She’s not just looking at growth — but sustainable growth.
“Where is there room to grow? And in what ways do we want to grow? Not just more for the sake of more,” she said, noting that offseason tourism, sustainability, and diversity are all priorities.
Today, Snowmass is home to about 3,000 year-round residents. That number balloons each winter, and attracting more tourists and part-time residents presents challenges.
“Traffic, congestion and parking, housing, and childcare are all things that follow ski towns around,” Buchheister said.
Standing alone as Snowmass
Beyond luring in wealthy travelers with fine dining and luxury hotels, Snowmass targets a set of travelers that Aspen can’t: families.
Of the the nearby ski mountains, Snowmass is the largest, with an abundance of ski-in, ski-out accommodations. The resort has 20 lifts, 98 trails, and 3,342 acres of skiing. Aspen Mountain, in comparison, has 8 lifts, 104 trails, and 828 acres for intermediate and expert skiers.
Snowmass caters to beginners with green runs and bunny hills. It has a tubing area and an alpine coaster. In town, there’s an ice skating rink and childcare facility.
This, plus lodges that cater to families — the Viceroy, for instance, is ski-in, ski-out with condo amenities like kitchens, multiple bedrooms, and living rooms — has earned Snowmass recognition as a family-friendly ski resort.
Stookey Sanchez said the town also has a relaxed atmosphere with high-end amenities.
Aprés might feature sipping margaritas at Venga Venga or drinking a beer at Elk Camp versus Champagne showers at Aspen’s
Eleven212 or Cloud Nine. Dinner might involve fur coats and designer dresses, but visitors won’t be turned away if they arrive at Kenichi in sweatpants and Crocs.
“I think that’s what brings our high-net-worth clientele because they want to be part of that,” Stookey Sanchez said. “They want to be with the locals and do what they do. They want a $12 sandwich, and it doesn’t have to be high-class, fancy meals all the time.”
While Snowmass has amped up its luxury offerings, most people agreed Aspen will remain a household name. They just hope Snowmass becomes one, too.
“The two places need each other,” Gunion said. “I don’t think Aspen would be as successful in the winter without Snowmass. You need a mountain like this.”
“It’s been a long trajectory, but it’s definitely happening where Snowmass is standing on its own,” Theisen said.
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