Wax your skis and lace your boots! Keystone and Winter Park Resorts are opening for the 2022-23 winter season this week.

The Denver area saw its first snowfall of the season today, marking the beginning of ski season at many of Colorado’s popular resorts. Keystone Resort opens Friday and Winter Park Resort opens Monday.

Winter Park’s Halloween opening marks its earliest season start ever, according to a Resort press release. The area’s snow stake shows 16 inches of snow with more in the forecast. The resort opens at 9 a.m. Monday and will run at least two base-area lifts and a handful of trails until 4 p.m.

Sorensen Park learning area will also open, the resort stated, and rentals will be available at West Portal rental shop. Sign up will also open for private ski and snowboard lessons until group lessons begin in late November.

“We’re super excited to kick this season off in October…on Halloween no less,” Winter Park Vice President of Marketing Liz Agostin said. “Opening now not only gives skiers and riders another mountain to enjoy early season, but it allows our operations teams to begin working on our enhanced grooming and snow-making, so we can get even more terrain open as soon as conditions allow.”

More information is available on the Winter Park Resort website.

Keystone Resort opens two miles of skiing and riding on its Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon trails Friday. They will be open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and until 8 p.m. during night skiing, which begins at Thanksgiving. There will also be access to a hike-to terrain park on Spring Dipper, the resort stated in a release.

Guests can access early-season terrain via the River Run Gondola, with skiing and riding off the Montezuma Express lift. The resort aims to open the Mountain House base area mid-November, the release said.

To celebrate Opening Day, the resort said they will provide free donuts, hot cocoa and Helly Hansen prizes to guests who arrive early. Keystone will also host a “mountaintop DJ experience” throughout the day.

“We are beyond excited to kick off the winter season here at Keystone,” Keystone Resort Vice President and General Manager Chris Sorensen said. “Thanks to our team’s hard work throughout the summer and over the past few months, winter is here, and with plenty to look forward to this season.”

The resort has “mountains of fun” in store for the season, including a Halloween party with trick-or-treating on snow, the World’s Largest Mountaintop Snow Fort and holiday celebrations. Guests can visit the Keystone Resort website for more information on passes and events.