Beginners area Columbine, and the slopes off the Twilight lift.
Looking at Durango Mountain Resort's trail map, you'll easily be able to locate the area where the most easy trails can be found (easy trails are green in the USA). The Columbine area is located down mountain from Purgatory Village and is separated from the rest of the ski area. Here aspiring winter athletes will find two chairlifts (Columbine and Graduate triples) to help them make their first runs on skis or a board. After you've explored this little practice slope, we recommend heading over to the flat, yet noticeably longer Columbine or Divinity slopes off of the Twilight chairlift. Mercy, which is serviced by the Engineer lift, is also a good beginner slope. Toward the back of the ski area, between the Hermosa Park Express the Legends lift, you'll find nothing but intermediate (blue) and black diamond trails (difficult). Some of these runs (such as Zinfandel and Boogie, serviced by the Hermosa Park Express lift) are not necessarily too difficult for less-experienced skiers, but you will need to ski cautiously. All in all, we found the Durango Mountain Resort less challenging than most other resorts in Colorado, which justified their great score of 4.5 out of 5 stars in the beginner’s category.