Mountain Review: Sunlight
MOUNTAIN SCORE
CATEGORY BREAKDOWN
See our criteria
7
Snow:
5
Resiliency:
4
Size:
6
Terrain Diversity:
7
Challenge:
3
Lifts:
7
Crowd Flow:
4
Facilities:
7
Navigation:
6
Mountain Aesthetic:
GOOD TO KNOW
1-Day Ticket: $70-$104
Pass Affiliation: Indy Pass, Freedom Pass
On-site Lodging: Limited
Après-ski: Limited
Nearest Cities: Grand Junction (2hrs), Denver (3 hrs)
Recommended Ability Level:
+ Pros
Low crowds
Strong glades for footprint size
Mostly simple to navigate footprint
– Cons
Slow lifts
Barebones on-mountain facilities
Limited snowmaking
MOUNTAIN STATS
Skiable Footprint: 730 acres
Total Footprint: 740 acres
Lift-Serviced Terrain: 100%
Top Elevation: 9,895 ft
Vertical Drop: 2,010 ft
Lifts: 3
Trails: 77
Beginner: 20%
Intermediate: 55%
Advanced/Expert: 25%
Mountain Review
If shoving elbows in lift lines for the chance at some expert terrain sounds like too much of a headache, visitors looking to venture beyond Colorado’s usual I-70 suspects have an option that flies under the radar: Sunlight Mountain near Glenwood Springs. Located 3 hours west of Denver, Sunlight is usually overshadowed by the four mountains at Aspen/Snowmass, its ritzy neighbor located just an hour south on Highway 82. Eye-watering ticket and lodging prices keep Aspen out of reach for many, and even those accessing it with the Ikon pass often choose to stay around Glenwood and commute up the valley, making a day trip to Sunlight increasingly worth a shot. So can the mountain stand on its own two feet?
Sunlight’s perennially uncrowded slopes may be enough on their own to convince some that it’s worth the trip.
Snow & Terrain
While it also has a similar base elevation to Aspen/Snowmass at 7,885 feet, the top of the resort at Compass Peak caps out at 9,895 feet, meaning that Sunlight doesn’t get the same level of snow totals as its neighbors to the south. Combined with limited snowmaking capabilities mainly around the learner Tercero lift, the resort is left more vulnerable to dry spells, with steep expert terrain often opening later in the season. Still, Sunlight catches the same storm systems of high-quality, light Western Slope snow, and can reliably open in December with a solid base developing by January. Due to the low crowd totals and a protective north-facing aspect, large swaths of gladed terrain will remain untouched for days after a snowfall, abundant with pockets of powder. This is good news for visitors who can’t ski at the drop of a hat when a new storm rolls through town.
At 730 acres and 2010 feet of vertical drop, Sunlight is a decently sized offering with varied terrain. Where nearby Ajax and Highlands maintain more verticality, Sunlight is shorter and wider, fanning out from Compass Peak at the top of the resort. It’s by and large pretty easy to get around the mountain, with most runs easily funneling back down to the base area. Runs don’t last as long as offerings from fly-to destinations, requiring more laps on the same slow fixed-grip lifts. It can feel like there’s less mountain available than there actually is, but Sunlight has a few cards up its sleeve to keep visitors engaged.
Beginner Terrain
Beginner terrain exists at Sunlight, but it is limited. The Grizzly Road and Ute runs wrap nicely around both sides of the mountain and are a good level of difficulty for beginners with a couple days already under their belt. The upper-mountain portions of these runs offer the best views on the mountain, with a panorama of the lower Roaring Fork Valley and the 14’er Mount Sopris off to the east.
The Tercero lift serves the learner area at the base of the mountain, but is a little steeper than a typical bunny hill, while traffic from the rest of the mountain funnels through to the base. I’d recommend that true first-timers look for a mountain with a gentler learning curve and more terrain options. To the western edge of this learner area lies a small terrain park that’s good for beginners who are just getting the hang of park features. It’s best lapped using the slower but shorter Tercero lift.
TRAIL MAP
Intermediate Terrain
There’s enough mountain here to satisfy intermediate and advanced skiers for a solid day. Gentler groomers can be found splintering off to the left and right from the top of the Primo Chair, with the western flank of the mountain abundant in these runs and a handful of easier paths cut through the trees. Steeper blues can be found coming down the main trunk of the mountain beneath Primo and Segundo lifts.
Advanced Terrain
Advanced terrain is somewhat scant, and mostly spread throughout the mountain as standalone mogul runs cut in thin lines from patches of trees. The largest pod of these runs are located toward the lower western portion of the mountain with wide enough tree spacing to get a solid flow going.
Sunlight’s terrain highlight is probably the aspen glades of varying abilities found across the footprint.
Expert Terrain
Sunlight’s expert glades allow the resort to punch above its weight class. There’s plenty of gladed tree terrain to be found, but be wary of those patches unmarked on the map, as some of them are so dense with uncleared saplings and fallen logs that it’s difficult to get any consistent forward momentum (particularly in the trees underneath the midsection of Segundo). At the very least, I’d suggest waiting until later in the season before attempting these forests so that as many obstacles are covered up as possible. The patches of glades marked on the map are more consistently enjoyable, though don’t always have official signage at their entrances. Visitors are never more than a minute or two away from these pockets scattered throughout the mountain.
If expert visitors want some longer distance challenges, they’ll find themselves lapping the East Ridge with some leg burners like Deception and Que Pasa. Sunlight advertises a section of the East Ridge with some of the steepest (albeit, short in length) lift-served runs in Colorado, with The Heathen capping out at a 52 degree pitch. The big downside is that if you want to continue on any runs below the Midland Traverse, you’re signing up for a hike-out to the base that can last 15-20 minutes from its furthest point, with an elevation gain of roughly 50-100 feet. Of course, that could be seen as a selling point that keeps the snow untracked for those willing to put in the work.
Uphilling & Backcountry
Sunlight has become a popular destination with uphill skiers as the popularity of the sport has grown in recent years. The resort provides an easier route following the Ute run and a shorter, steeper route running straight up the main trunk of the mountain. From there, visitors can ski down the face or continue on to the handful of backcountry trails to the west around Williams Peak. An uphill day ticket or season pass is available for an extra cost, though it’s included with a full season pass.
RECOMMENDED SKIS FOR SUNLIGHT
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Recommended all-mountain ski
Recommended carving ski
Recommended glade ski
Recommended expert/touring ski
Lift Infrastructure
Where Sunlight has recently improved the most is in its lifts. While the setup is admittedly still limited, with no high-speed lifts anywhere on the mountain, the main two lifts Primo and Segundo were upgraded for the 2025-2026 season. The outgoing lifts of the same names were double chairs that were both over 60 years old. Primo is now a quad, and Segundo is now a triple, ensuring reliability and ease of maintenance for years to come. The new lifts are also significantly more comfortable, though you will still have to endure a fixed-grip ride time.
Frustratingly, the lift layout makes it a slog to get from the base area to the peak. Primo is the only lift that takes you to the top of the mountain, and by extension, two-thirds of the entire resort. The Primo loading zone is located just above the learner area, requiring that you first take one of the other lifts in order to get access to a lift within spitting distance of the base. This significantly cuts down on the lap-ability of the best terrain on the mountain in the East Ridge. Even if you wanted to skip the hike-out and make your way to the base earlier via the Midland Traverse, you’re spat out far below the bottom of Primo, making it a lengthy process to try out multiple runs.
Segundo acts as the main gateway to the resort, serving the western groomers and glades while providing access to Primo Chair and laps on the Terrain Park. As such, there can be some smaller lift lines here, especially in the morning as people make their way up the mountain. But even these short lines have been mitigated by the upgrade to a triple.
Sunlight’s Segundo triple is new for 2025-2026.
On-Mountain Facilities
As a no-frills mountain built mainly for day-trippers, Sunlight runs lean with its facilities. On-mountain, there really only exists a spartan warming hut and pit toilet at the top of Primo, while visitors will need to head to the base for any food. In fact, there’s only a single restaurant and bar at the base, Grizz Grill and Todd’s Tavern, with the former serving typical ski mountain offerings like sandwiches, burgers, fries, and soup. There are plenty of other food and drink options in the town of Glenwood Springs itself, located about 10 miles down the road. Glenwood is well known for its mineral hot springs, which can do wonders on sore legs after a hard day of skiing.
Lodging
The only on-site lodging is the slopeside Brettelberg Condominiums and the Gnarley-Inn, located just steps from the base. Otherwise, there’s a handful of more modern and affordable options in Glenwood Springs.
Parking & Getting There
Parking is free at Sunlight and fills up on a first-come-first-serve basis, with several spots for EV charging and disability access. A shuttle connecting a handful of locations in Glenwood Springs to Sunlight leaves once in the morning and afternoon Monday through Thursday, and twice in the morning and afternoon Friday through Sunday.
RECOMMENDED SNOWBOARDS FOR SUNLIGHT
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Recommended intermediate board
Recommended advanced board
Recommended expert board
Recommended touring board
Future Improvements
In Sunlight’s 2023 Master Plan that was submitted to the US Forest Service, some of the resort’s shortfalls would be addressed. They want to build two new lifts: a previously approved East Ridge fixed grip quad that would eliminate the hike-out and provide direct lift access from the lower parking lots to the upper mountain, and a shorter fixed grip quad “Grizzly” lift located on the groomers above the East Ridge. When paired with a minor terrain expansion, it would increase the amount of lower-intermediate terrain. To address the beginner terrain shortfall, they want to regrade the base area to create a gentler slope with 2 new magic carpets, allowing for a smoother progression curve on the mountain.
Facilities and mountain resilience would improve, with increased capacity at the base restaurant, parking, and a new tubing park at the base. On-mountain would see a new dining experience and bathroom as well as extending snowmaking capabilities all the way to the peak. While there’s no timeline for the implementation of these improvements, it seems like they’d increase quality of life around the mountain without sacrificing much of the low-key charm.
Both recent upgrades and future plans suggest Sunlight will continue to deliver a solid experience for its visitors.
Verdict
Visiting Sunlight feels like a blast to the past, for better or worse. Other than the recent lift upgrades, little else has changed at the resort in the last 50 years, from the thin crowds and local feel to its simple facilities. It harkens back to a time before billion-dollar megaresorts and multi-mountain passes, almost like the resort defines itself as being not Aspen. Is that overly sentimental? Perhaps. Its distance from major metros, smaller footprint, and lack of resort staples make it difficult to recommend for a dedicated trip. But if you’re local to the region, on your way to a larger destination, or just don’t need all the bells and whistles, Sunlight has carved out a space for itself as a funky alternative with solid intermediate and expert terrain for a good value.
