Beaver Creek's posted opening date is Wednesday, Nov. 25. For its restaurants, that date is only the start. The resort's winter hours table opens its on-mountain and village dining over a month. The last place on the list opens Christmas Eve.
The schedule also follows a pattern. Quick lunches and a cookie counter come first, and the destination dinners come last. For the first week and a half of the season, Spruce Saddle feeds the mountain alone, with only the Cookie Cabin and The Ranch beside it. The three dinner cabins aren't all serving on the same night until Saturday, Dec. 19. All dates below come from the resort's published schedule, which says hours and dates may change with conditions and operations.
The order the kitchens open
| Date | What opens | Posted schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Citrea | Dinner daily, 5 to 8 p.m.; lunch Wed. through Fri.; brunch Sat. and Sun. |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Spruce Saddle | Daily, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | The Ranch | Daily, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Cookie Cabin | Daily, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Allie's Cabin | Wed. through Sun., 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Candy Cabin | Daily, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Mamie's | Food 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; bar 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Broken Arrow | Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Zach's Cabin | Thu. through Mon., 5 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Talons | Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Beano's Cabin | Tue. through Sat., 5 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Eaton Haus | Daily, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
Citrea is the village's Mediterranean restaurant, and it opens the day before the lifts. That gives the village a sit-down dinner from the first night of the season.
Opening week runs through Spruce Saddle
Spruce Saddle sits at the top of Centennial Express #6. Unload the lift and ski left. It is a quick-service lodge with six counters, and in the first days of the season those counters are most of the lunch options on the mountain. Early Run sells grab-and-go parfaits and croissants. Black Diamond Burger Co. and The Coop cover family favorites. Slopeside Sammies does a cheesesteak, Chefology has a signature brisket grilled cheese, and Kettle serves soup.
That menu matters more this winter because of an Oct. 26 Vail Resorts announcement. The company called it its "largest investment in food to date": better ingredients and recipes for chili, burgers, pizza, fries, hot dogs, chicken strips, and mac and cheese across 15 resorts. The release says those items account for most dining purchases, and that the changes won't raise prices beyond normal inflation. Its example is a new Steakhouse Burger, a butcher's blend with New School American Cheese and Summit Sauce on a toasted brioche bun, served with waffle fries. The company also says it is adding technology and operational changes meant to shorten lines and add seating. The announcement covers the company's resorts in general and doesn't list which Beaver Creek counters get which dishes.
The rest of opening week happens off the lifts. The Beaver Creek winter press kit lists a Chair 6 banner break at the top of Centennial on Nov. 25, with free hot chocolate and cookies and DJ Pippen at the base. A Holiday Market follows on Nov. 27 and 28, and the Tree Lighting & Ice Spectacular is set for Nov. 28. The resort's signature events page also lists the annual Cookie Competition. Five finalists' chocolate chip cookies are judged by guests who sign up to taste and vote.
December adds counters around the mountain
After that first stretch, the openings spread out across the mountain. Candy Cabin opens at the top of Strawberry Express, at 9,840 feet, on Dec. 5. Mamie's opens at the top of Bachelor Gulch on Dec. 11. Its bar opens at 9 a.m., two hours before the kitchen.
These December openings overlap with this year's World Cup race calendar. The press kit puts Birds of Prey on Dec. 3 through 13, with men's races the first weekend and women's downhills and super-G the second. During those two race weekends, the lunch options are still Spruce Saddle, The Ranch, the Cookie and Candy cabins, and, from Dec. 11, Mamie's. Broken Arrow and Talons follow on Dec. 17 and 18, after the final race on Dec. 13. Eaton Haus opens on Dec. 24, and that completes the list.
Three cabins, three overlapping weeks
The dinner cabins open on their own schedule, and each runs a different five-night week. Allie's opens first, on Dec. 4, serving Wednesday through Sunday. Zach's opens Dec. 17, serving Thursday through Monday. Beano's opens last, on Dec. 19, serving Tuesday through Saturday.
Once all three are open, every night of the week has at least one cabin serving dinner:
| Night | Cabins serving |
|---|---|
| Monday | Zach's |
| Tuesday | Beano's |
| Wednesday | Allie's, Beano's |
| Thursday | Allie's, Beano's, Zach's |
| Friday | Allie's, Beano's, Zach's |
| Saturday | Allie's, Beano's, Zach's |
| Sunday | Allie's, Zach's |
For a family planning holiday dinners, that grid matters. A Monday reservation means Zach's, and a Tuesday means Beano's. From Dec. 4 until Zach's opens on Dec. 17, Allie's is the only cabin serving, five nights a week.
Here is how each cabin works:
- Allie's Cabin serves Northern Italian food under Executive Chef Jillian Shaw. The resort describes an open-air sleigh ride from Beaver Creek Village to a cabin in a quiet aspen grove. Vail Magazine puts the ride at about eight minutes and mentions the view of the village. Allie's Tock page says your reservation time is your departure time and asks guests to check in at the Beaver Creek Chophouse, C Bar, ahead of it. Allie's is also the breakfast stop for the resort's First Tracks early-skiing program.
- Beano's Cabin sits in a meadow at the base of Larkspur Bowl and serves a five-course dinner from an open kitchen. The menu is built on local game and rustic Colorado food. Vail Magazine calls it the longest-running of the three cabins, in operation for more than 35 years, and named Executive Chef Mackenzie Nicholson, who works foraged ingredients into her menu. Its Tock page lists winter pricing of $235 for adults and $95 for children ages 4 to 12. Transport and other details are handled by the reservations office at 970-754-3463.
- Zach's Cabin serves Alsatian food under Executive Chef Jonathan Alonso. It sits in an aspen grove high above Bachelor Gulch, and guests ride a sleigh pulled by a Beaver Creek snowcat. Its Tock page says the reservation time is the sleigh departure time, from the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. Vail Magazine places the cabin between the Cabin Fever and Stirrup runs and recommended the cheese and chocolate fondues for groups.
Each cabin's Tock page says winter reservations are open now. At Allie's and Zach's, lunch is limited to Signature Club members.
One cost detail applies to all three. Vail Resorts says Epic Pass holders get 20% off dining all season, but Beaver Creek's dining page states that Epic Mountain Rewards don't apply at Beano's, Allie's or Zach's. That discount covers the Spruce Saddle lunch, not the cabin dinner.
Later in the season, cabin cooking comes to Spruce Saddle
One of this winter's new dining concepts brings cabin cooking to lunch. Spruce Saddle Cabin Corner comes from Beaver Creek's cabin culinary team and serves cabin-inspired dishes at Spruce Saddle in a quick-service format. Vail Resorts calls it "a casual meal in a convenient on-mountain setting." It runs on eight dates only.
- Tuesday, Jan. 5
- Tuesday, Jan. 19
- Saturday, Feb. 20
- Saturday, Feb. 27
- Saturday, March 20
- Saturday, March 27
- Saturday, April 3
- Saturday, April 10
Two of those dates fall on bigger weekends. Feb. 20 is the first day of the Talons Challenge, presented by Helly Hansen, which runs Feb. 20 and 21. Skiers work through 14 of Beaver Creek's black and double-black runs, and this year adds tracked results with leaderboards and awards. March 20 falls during the new Après Pop-Up Weekend at Mamie's, March 19 to 21, with live music and specialty drinks at the top of Bachelor Gulch.
The cabin chefs have three more dates in March. The Alpine Table Series returns March 6 and 7, with a multi-course menu from the cabin chefs and wine pairings chosen by a sommelier. On March 13, a new whiskey dinner pairs rare bottles from The Last Drop, part of the Sazerac portfolio, with a multi-course meal from the resort's fine-dining chefs. It seats 14 guests.
For an owner planning the winter, that adds up to a cabin-chef calendar of 11 dates beyond the nightly cabin dinners: eight Cabin Corner lunches, two Alpine Table nights and one whiskey dinner. The Last Drop dinner has the fewest seats, at 14.
If a calendar like this one is shaping when you plan to be in Beaver Creek and you want help managing your home here from a distance, from holiday-week logistics to keeping your home ready while you're away, Led Gardner is glad to help. Contact Led for a private, no-pressure property consultation.
