Family Score
Weighted, not paid · 25/20/15/15/10/10/5
Last updated: 2026-08-20 · Data verified: Partially unverified
- School 25% · 6/10
- Beginner 20% · 7/10
- Care 15% · 3/10
- Cost 15% · 10/10
- On-mountain 10% · 6/10
- Non-ski 10% · 7/10
- Travel 5% · 6/10
- Ski school 25%6/10
Published: ages 4–6, full day 9:30–3, lunch in, lift ticket extra, $209–$249. No published ratios and nothing structured for 7–12 — that's why this stays 6/10.
- Beginner terrain 20%7/10
Uncrowded teaching terrain. Enough greens for a first week. Not Vail.
- Childcare & kids programs 15%3/10
No formal visitor daycare we could verify. Kids who ski, or a non-skiing adult, only.
- Affordability 15%10/10
Kids 12 and under always ski FREE — the resort's words, a free Power Kids Pass, no blackouts. Roughly $350–$580 a day in our research when kids ride free.
- On-mountain 10%6/10
Modest on purpose. Durango is dinner.
- Non-ski 10%7/10
A real town 25 minutes down. Railroad in season. Hot springs in the region.
- Travel 5%6/10
DRO about 40 minutes, or six hours from DEN. This is Southwest Colorado, not an I-70 add-on.
Our take
This is the affordability anchor the first 14 resorts did not have. I would rather send a family of four here for a week than watch them buy window tickets at Beaver Creek and be angry by lunch. The score is 6.5. The recommendation is louder than the score. Southwest Colorado, on purpose.
Perfect if
- Kids 12 and under — the lift ticket stops being the trip.
- A family that can get to Durango and stay a week.
- Anyone who does not need infant care.
Skip if
- Treating it as Summit County.
- Expecting daycare.
- Flying into DEN and driving 6 hours with no overnight plan.
Biggest tradeoffThe free child pass is the product. Ski school is a narrow 4–6 band, and there is no daycare.
Ski school deep dive
Ski school is 25% of Family Score — the heaviest weight, on purpose. This mountain: 6/10. How we score.
Published: ages 4–6, full day 9:30–3, lunch in, lift ticket extra, $209–$249. No published ratios and nothing structured for 7–12. That's why ski school stays 6/10 even with the numbers filled in. The family fact is still the free child pass.
Researched from official pages and 2026 reporting. Fields marked unverified are unpublished by the resort — we will not invent an age, a class cap, or a price.
- Group min age
- 4+
- Private min age
- Unverified
- Max group size
- Unverified
- Certification
- PSIA-AASI
- Formats
- Age 4 Winter Experience Program, ages 4–6, full day 9:30am–3:00pm. Drop-off from 9:00am, pick-up 3:00pm. Lunch provided. Published 25/26 dates: December 6, 2025 – April 12, 2026; 26/27 dates not yet posted.
- Group pricing
- $209 Monday–Thursday · $229 Friday–Sunday · $249 peak days (holiday and spring-break periods). Lift access is not included — you buy that separately. Kids 12 and under still need the free Power Kids Pass or a free kids day pass before the lesson.
- Private pricing
- Unverified — the resort does not publish this. We will not guess.
- Location
- Base learning area. Uncrowded compared with Summit County.
- Progression
- A single narrow age band (4–6) with nothing structured published for 7–12. Cheap for a full day. Not a full-age campus.
- Specialized
- Helmets are required for everyone 12 and under. If you're relying on the free child pass, you still need a helmet on that kid.
- Booking
- purgatory.ski/mountain/child-lessons/. Book at least 72 hours ahead; the program is capacity-limited and sells out. Get the Power Kids Pass before you arrive — proof of age and a waiver.
- Pickup / drop-off
- Unverified — the resort does not publish this. We will not guess.
- Season programs
- Unverified — the resort does not publish this. We will not guess.
Childcare
No formal visitor daycare we could verify. Kids who ski (or a non-skiing adult) only.
Beginner terrain
- Carpets: Base.
- Learning area: Uncrowded, which is a teaching condition money cannot buy at Breck in March.
- Greens: Enough for a first week.
- Progression: San Juan terrain with space.
On mountain
Base lodge food. Durango is dinner.
Modest on purpose.
Not a purpose-built village. Durango is a real town 25 minutes down.
Non-ski
- Durango town
- Durango & Silverton railroad in season
- Hot springs in the region
Kids programs
- Free Power Kids Pass (12 and under)
- Age 4 Winter Experience Program (4–6)
- Helmets required 12 and under
Getting there
Durango (DRO) or Albuquerque + drive. Transfer: DRO about 40 minutes to the hill, 25 to town. This is not a Denver day trip. Six hours from DEN. Frame it as Southwest Colorado or do not come. Altitude is real but lower drama than Breck. Possible from Durango. A car is the family default.
The base sits at 8,793 feet. That is physiology, not a vibe. Altitude and kids on a ski trip.
What a day costs
Everything below links straight to the merchant. No tracking IDs, no commission. Disclosure.
Typical 2025–26 / early 2026–27 ranges — not a quote. Flights not included.
- Adult window
- Adult tickets are the bill; children 12 and under are $0 lift
- Child window
- $0 lift with free Power Kids Pass (proof of age + waiver)
- Child rental
- Unverified — the resort does not publish this. We will not guess.
- Adult rental
- Unverified — the resort does not publish this. We will not guess.
- Family of 4 / day (2 adults, 2 kids: lifts + rentals + 1 group lesson)
- Roughly $350–$580 a day in our research when kids ride free — vs. $1,400-class Epic flagships. Lodging and lessons still exist.
- Pass
- Power Pass. The kids product is a free season pass, not a Tuesday coupon. No blackouts on the lift access the resort advertises for 12-and-under.
What six days on snow costs
Family of four: window tickets × 6, rentals × 6, one 3-day kids' lesson block. Not a week — lodging isn't in our data, so it isn't in this number.
- Adult lift tickets × 2 × 6Adult window isn't a dollar range on this page.
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- Child lift tickets × 2 × 6Child window isn't a dollar range on this page — we don't invent a kids' ticket.
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- Adult rentals × 2 × 6Adult rental isn't a dollar range on this page.
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- Child rentals × 2 × 6Child rental isn't a dollar range on this page.
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- One 3-day kids' lesson block × 2 (3× the published daily group rate — a ceiling, not a package)We don't have a published multi-day block. This is 3× the daily group rate, not six consecutive lesson days.
- $1,254
- Lodging, 7 nightsNot a number on this page. We will not invent a nightly rate.
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- FoodNot a number on this page.
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- FlightsExcluded. Always.
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- Six days on snow, before lodging, food, and flights
- $1,254
This mountain is on the 26/27 kids-ski-free list — read the cutoff before you plan a week around it. Kids ski free: the list and the fine print.
Season at a glance
December–April for families. Holiday weeks are when most of us can actually go.
Dec
Good
Season opens; Power Kids Pass before you arrive.
Jan
Great
A full Durango week.
Feb
Great
The window.
Mar
Good
Spring break, still uncrowded relative to I-70.
Apr
Fair
Season winds down — 25/26 program ended mid-April.