Image of the tubing hill in Copper Mountain, Colorado
Tubing Hill. Photo: Copper Mountain

Which snow tubing hills are near what Colorado towns?

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Snow tubing is a fun winter activity for the whole family or a group of friends. Most of Colorado’s ski resorts are located near some tubing hill, even if it’s not at the resort, however, there are some holiday hot spots that lack tubing.

What draws people in is the simplicity of tubing and its relative ease of it. It doesn’t require a great deal of athleticism, with the only exception being the ability to hike around in snowy conditions. The difference between these and your old-fashion sledding hills is a lift mechanism. It’s usually a simple pulley lift that tows your tube with you in back up to the top.

Image of people pulling snow tubes in Copper Mountain, Colorado
Snow tubing in Copper Mountain. Photo: Dino Borelli

There are around a dozen or more snow tubing hills in Colorado. Some locations are blessed with more than one tubing hill, such as Grand or Summit County. A lot of the hills are lighted and open at night, so you can sled long after the ski resort has stopped running its lifts.

Remember to dress in layers and wear similar clothing to what you would wear skiing or snowboarding such as waterproof pants, a jacket, gloves, and a hat. Your footwear should have good traction in the snow and ideally be winter boots. Let’s find the closest tubing hill to you.

Here is the snow tubing near ________, CO, in alphabetical order: (click an anchor link to jump to town)

For some of these destinations, the closest tubing hills are the ones to Denver or another noted town. 

Image of people snow tubing in Keystone
Snow tubing in Keystone. Photo: David Shankbone

Snow tubing near Alamosa

We won’t be starting things off on a strong point, there’s no nearby tubing hill to town. Your best bet is securing a sled or tube or snowboard and riding down the Great Sand Dunes, sand or snow. And stick around after dark, the skies are supposed to be mesmerizing. The closest tubing hills to Alamosa, CO are:

Snow tubing near Aspen

It’s unlikely Aspen wants to be outdone. So naturally, they have a tubing hill as well. It’s located at neighbor Snowmass’s resort. In the last few years, they even built an alpine coaster. The closest tubing hills to Aspen, CO are:

Snow tubing near Avon/Beaver Creek

Years back, Beaver Creek Resort did have its own tubing hill but unfortunately, they closed it; as did Vail a few years later. Now, they both rely on Summit County. It’s west on the highway, up over and down Vail Pass where can slay Copper’s tubing hill. The closest tubing hills to Avon, CO are:

Snow tubing near Boulder

Since Eldora Mountain in Nederland lacks a tubing hill, the closest resorts will all be through Denver. So choices include Echo Mountain near Idaho Springs, Summit, or Grand counties. The closest tubing hills to Boulder, CO are:

Snow tubing near Breckenridge

Breck’s local Country Boy Mine has a few unique winter attractions. There’s a sledding hill as well as monster truck sleigh rides, in addition to the mine tour and gold panning. Heading north on Highway 9 leads you to the Frisco Adventure Park in less than twenty minutes too. The closest tubing hills to Breckenridge, CO are:

Snow tubing near Buena Vista

In order to reach a top tubing hill, you’ll simply need to head north on Highway 24 past Leadville. Choose Copper Mountain as the closest and you can be back for a hot spring soak in BV by sunset. The closest tubing hills to Buena Vista, CO are:

Snow tubing near Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs isn’t as close to the ski resorts as Denver, and this mirrors tubing hills as well. Your best bet is day-tripping up north into Summit County and exploring one of its treasured spots. The closest tubing hills to Colorado Springs, CO are:

Snow tubing near Copper Mountain

Copper’s East Village showcases the resort’s outstanding tubing hill. Nestled within walking distance of the base village, it’s easy to combine tube sledding with your ski day or day off. Additionally, there is ice skating in Center Village and more tubing fun in neighboring towns. The closest tubing hills to Copper Mountain, CO are:

Snow tubing near Crested Butte

Crested Butte used to operate a tubing hill but gave that gig up. Luckily, they at least still have their CB Aventure Park, where you can rock climb a tower or zip line. Otherwise, there is no tubing around you anywhere. The closest tubing hills to Crested Butte, CO are:

Snow tubing near Denver

Both Summit and Grand County are loaded with snow tubing options. And both are traditional road trips from Denver options. However, the quickest tubing hill is located at Echo Mountain Resort near Idaho Springs. The closest tubing hills to Denver, CO are:

Snow tubing near Dillon

Around the way from Dillon lies a trio of Summit County tubing hills. Try one or try them all. Like ski resorts in Summit County, Dillon makes a great base for exploring all the wintertime adventures. The closest tubing hills to Dillon, CO are:

Snow tubing near Durango

The historic narrow-gauge railroad town of Durango boasts two local tubing hills. Purgatory Resort has the Snow Caster Tubing Hill as well as a zipline and alpine slide, meanwhile, Hesperus Ski Area has a small tubing hill that serves its purpose for Southwest Colorado residents. The closest tubing hills to Durango, CO are:

Snow tubing near Estes Park

Like the rest of the northern front range, visitors to Estes Park will need to backtrack clear down to the Denver Metro before heading west to its nearest tube spots. Eldora is the closest ski resort, located south on Highway 119/Peak-to-Peak Byway in Nederland. The closest tubing hills to Estes Park, CO are:

Snow tubing near Fairplay

Sledding is available around Breckenridge, but going a little further leads you to Frisco Adventure Park. Year-round it’s a fun place, but the wintertime brings some fun activities including tubing and a downhill learning area. This requires a simple drive north on Highway 9 over Hoosier Pass to reach Summit Co. The closest tubing hills to Fairplay, CO are:

Snow tubing near Fort Collins

People don’t come to the historic college town of Fort Collins for winter sports. Most of the good stuff requires you to drive south to Denver just to start your trip west. The closest tubing hills to Fort Collins, CO are:

Snow tubing near Frisco

Frisco is smack dab in the middle of Summit county and its plethora of choices. You might as well visit the local Frisco Adventure Park before trying some of the others nearby. The closest tubing hills to Frisco, CO are:

Snow tubing near Glenwood Springs

An about forty-five minutes drive from Glenwood Springs will have you in Snowmass Village where you can go tubing. The drive south in the Roaring Fork Valley is worth the trip, and you can hit the ski slopes before or after. The closest tubing hills to Glenwood Springs, CO are:

Snow tubing near Granby

A winter vacation in Granby is a sure hit for family fun activities like tubing and skiing. The YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch hosts the closest tubing hill. Otherwise just going down to Fraser and Winter Park have its trio of attractions. The closest tubing hills to Granby, CO are:

Snow tubing near Grand Junction

Since Grand Junction’s local mountain, Powderhorn, does not offer tubing, there’s no real good option out this way. You can trek south to Purgatory or east Snowmass and spend a few nights hitting the slopes and tubing hills. The closest tubing hills to Grand Junction, CO are:

Snow tubing near Grand Lake

Grand Lake is a snowmobiling hot spot, loaded with trails in the nearby national forest. The rest of the winter fun tends to happen south down in Granby, Fraser, and Winter Park. The closest tubing hills to Grand Lake, CO are:

Snow tubing near Idaho Springs

Located less than forty-five minutes west of Downtown Denver, Idaho Springs makes a convenient winter base camp. You get a head start and finish the I-70 traffic earlier than the rest of the front rangers. Night skiing and tubing are available by Idaho Springs at Echo Mountain. Or head through Eisenhower Tunnel to Summit County or over Berthoud Pass to Grand County.

The closest tubing hills to Idaho Springs, CO are:

Snow tubing near Keystone

Keystone has one of the best tubing hills in the state, long and steep, boasting high elevations. It’s so good that even during the summer they are known to have tubing-on-snow still happening. Otherwise Frisco and Copper await the true fanatic that needs more sledding fix. The closest tubing hills to Keystone, CO are:

Snow tubing near Leadville

Experience the cold season at 10,200 ft. From Leadville, you can venture back to I-70 on the east side of Vail Pass, at Copper Mountain. This accesses its tubing hills. The closest tubing hills to Leadville, CO are:

Snow tubing near Ouray

Ouray is a year-round hot springs destination. While it does have its own tiny Lee’s Ski Hill, the only tubing in town is at Vinegar Hill. Bring your own sled and hike your own vertical. Otherwise you can venture an hour and a half south to Purgatory. The closest tubing hills to Ouray, CO are:

Snow tubing near Pagosa Springs

Like Ouray, Pagosa attracts people all year to its natural hot springs. It also has an awesome ski area in Wolf Creek, but alas, no tubing.  You can try dog sledding instead maybe or venture all the way to Durango and choose between Hesperus and Purgatory’s tubing outfits. The closest tubing hills to Pagosa Springs, CO are:

Snow tubing near Pueblo

Ah, Steel City, home of the Arkansas Riverwalk. Pueblo lacks nearby ski resorts and tubing hills. The best bet is all the way to Summit County or a road trip to Durango. The closest tubing hills to Pueblo, CO are:

Snow tubing near Salida

Salida is a fun spot any time of the year. Thirty minutes away from town, Monarch Mountain draws in downhill skiers and riders, but no tubing. Summit County has the most efficient options, but they’re pretty far for a day trip. The closest tubing hills to Salida, CO are:

Snow tubing near Silverthorne

Choose from a trio of snow tubing hills from your base in Silverthorne. This Summit County gem is convenient to so much that the region offers, including its winter attractions. The closest tubing hills to Silverthorne, CO are:

Snow tubing near Silverton

This San Juan County Seat is sparsely visited during the winter months. Locals with families appreciate having access to the in-town Kendall Mountain Rec Area, which has a short downhill ski area and ice skating. Driving south on the San Juan Skyway to Purgatory Resort provides a nice place to tube. The closest tubing hills to Silverton, CO are:

Snow tubing near Steamboat Springs

While neither ski area in Steamboat Springs has snow tubing, Howelsen Hill or Steamboat Resort, a guest ranch just west of town does. Saddleback Ranch has a slew of winter activities, including sleigh rides, snowmobiling, and the Yee-Haw (say it loud!) tubing hill. Both Howelsen and Steamboat do have night skiing though to keep the fun going.

The closest tubing hills to Steamboat Springs, CO are:

Snow tubing near Telluride

For such a fancy place you’d expect Telluride to have a proper tubing hill. They don’t. But they have plenty of other reasons to visit, including its 4,000+ acre ski resort, charming mountain village, and downtown. You can acquire a sled or tube in town and trek the traditional way up Firecracker Hill. The closest tubing hills to Telluride, CO are:

Snow tubing near Vail

The Vail Valley is an outdoor paradise, home to the biggest resort in the state. Vail closed its tubing hill at Adventure Ridge in 2021. So you’ll need to head east over Vail Pass down into Copper for the nearest snow tubing. The closest tubing hills to Vail, CO are:

Snow tubing near Winter Park

While Summit County trumps Grand County in the number of ski resorts, 4 to 2, the latter has more tubing hills. There’s one at the resort and two in neighbor Fraser. Up in Middle Park lies the Snow Mountain Ranch, hosted by the YMCA of the Rockies. The closest tubing hills to Winter Park, CO are:

Image of a person snow tubing in Littleton, Colorado
Snow tubing in Littleton, CO. Photo: Cathy McCray

Chances are fairly high that you can come across a nearby snow tubing hill at some point on your trip, even if it’s during the journey part. If not, there’s usually ice skating near you in the Colorado Rockies.

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