Aspen Ski Resort

Aspen is one of the world's best known resorts, boasting four ski areas, three separate resort developments and a glitzy reputation.

The famous ski town was once a busy 19th-century silver mining district 130 years ago, and today you can stay in the original town of Aspen, or at the ever-expanding Snowmass resort 20km (12 miles) away, which recently completed a multi-billion dollar redevelopment. Alternatively, there’s the third and smallest resort, Aspen Highlands.

The main resort of Aspen town itself has several faces. In one it has become synonymous with excess, being home to some of the world's most opulent and expensive properties, as well as a local airport full of private jets. In another it has a reputation for liberal policies which seems at odds with the first - the resort famously banned fur coats at one time, and currently the Aspen Skiing Company is a leading campaigner against climate change (while simultaneously encouraging increased use of the local airport).

Snowmass, on the other hand, is very much like a ‘normal’ ski resort, and a very good one following the huge investment in improvements in recent years. It also has by far the largest of Aspen’s four ski areas.

Most visitors have little interest in these issues however, and just enjoy the superb skiing, which includes the biggest lift-served vertical in the USA, and a buzzing nightlife.