As one of the oldest ski areas in the state of Colorado, Winter Park Resort has had a long and storied history. First opened in the 1939-1940 ski season, by 1947 Winter Park still consisted of just four lifts and eight runs. That might seem tiny, but it was still the biggest ski area in Colorado at the time. By the end of 1950, skier visits had reached over 100,000, and a slew of new lifts like the Comet and Meteor T-bars were installed over the next decade. The ski area installed its first chairlift in 1961, and the 1960s saw the addition of at least five other double chairlifts. Mary Jane officially opened for the 1975-1976 ski season, costing Winter Park $4.6 million to develop. In celebrating its 50th birthday in 1990, Winter Park grew to 1,325 acres. The Timberline Lift in 1992 made it easier to access the Parsenn Bowl Territory, and the late 90s saw a boom in construction at the base area. After adding the Eagle Wind Territory in 2006, the resort boasted 3,081 acres. Want to see it in action? Check out these old trail maps to see just how Winter Park has changed over the years.
Here's what the resort looked like just 7 years after it opened, in 1947:
The trail map in 1960:
The trail map in 1974:
The trail map in 1981, now with the addition of Mary Jane:
Here's what the mountain looked like in 1987:
The trail map in 1993 with the addition of the Timberline Lift:
And here's the 1997 trail map now with the Vasquez Cirque:
The 2002 trail map:
The 2009 trail map:
The current trail map:
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