The mountain opened for the 1939–40 season as Winter Park Ski Area[3] and was owned and operated by the city and county of Denver until 2002, when Denver entered into a partnership with Intrawest ULC, a Canadian corporation headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, which operated the resort until Intrawest was acquired by Alterra Mountain Company in 2018.

The resort consists of three interconnected mountain peaks — Winter Park, Mary Jane, and Vasquez Ridge — which share a common lift ticket.

Mary Jane, opened in 1975, has a separate base area and is known for its moguls, tree skiing, hidden huts, and generally more difficult terrain.

In 1997, 435 acres (176 ha) of backcountry terrain in Vasquez Cirque were opened to skiing, although access required hiking from the top of Mary Jane;[10] the 2006 relocation of the former Outrigger triple chairlift to the backside of Parsenn Bowl (now called Eagle Wind) provides an easier escape back to Mary Jane after descending Vasquez Cirque.

The Arrow chairlift also services an alpine slide in the summer, and the base area features miniature golf, a climbing wall, and other diversions.