Winter in the Denver Area

Anywhere in Colorado is a great place to be in the winter. We have winter sports and snow that rival all other areas in the U.S. When I lived in the Northeast and would hear people commenting that “skiing in the Berkshires, NY or Stowe, VT just wasn’t the same as out west,” I used to think they were just being snobby. Now that I have lived in Colorado and experienced winter here, I get it, it’s a true statement. The mountains and winter sports in Colorado remind me so much of living in Europe and going to the Alps. The dry powder snow makes for perfect conditions and allows outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy the weather at the same time. Don’t forget your sunblock and chapstick… you’ll need it in our sunny snow!

I call Denver winter-light, not the kind of weather and snowfall that the mountain towns get at the higher elevations. It was the perfect place for a family of Floridians to move to, since we didn’t own coats and had only a handful of jeans and hoodies to even get us through fall. I would never have believed before moving here, how much the humidity of the climate makes it feel colder. I can hang out in 40 degree temperatures in the sun with just a t-shirt or long sleeve shirt and not feel cold. Denver winters do get snow, but since it is a desert climate we don’t get that much precipitation period, so snow storms are not happening all winter long. When they do roll in, you get snow for a day or two, then the next day the sun comes out and half of the street has been melted in a few hours, while the other half is still the frozen tundra. Denver tip: buy a house that faces south so you’ll never slave to shovel your driveway.

Downtown Denver is a great place to spend some of the winter session indoors too at places like Union Station. It has been described as the living room of Denver and a great place to get a hot coco, a drink at the bar or a fantastic dinner meal. Denver is a pretty urban city these days, but in January the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo comes to town and those in the western world flock to Denver. This will be an expensive time to visit, even though Christmas and the Holidays are over. If you are more interested in team sports, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche have games at Ball Arena, with lots of convenient hotels, restaurants and attractions.

For those looking to schedule indoor activities, I highly recommend the Denver CityPASS. The pass has a 3-, 4- or 5-day option, from $43.00 adult/$36.00 child to $59.00/$54 for tickets. The fine print with this deal is that you only have 7 days to complete all your museum entrances. The Denver City Pass includes a choice between:
· Denver Downtown Aquarium
· Denver Museum of Nature & Science
· Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus
· Denver Botanic Gardens
· Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
· Denver Art Museum
· History Colorado Center

Additionally, Denver has many art galleries and top attractions to visit that are perfect for cold winter visits. On the first Friday of every month there is an Art Walk hosted, including winter months. The winter in Denver is often mild and tolerable if you have some good wind or snow gear. I try to tell my kids, the German saying, “there is no such thing as poor weather, just poor clothing choices” and they roll their eyes at me. Some great indoor spots to check out in Denver include:
· Clyfford Still Museum
· Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
· American Museum of Western Art
· Denver Mint
· Colorado State Capitol
· National Ballpark Museum
· Denver Firefighters Museum
· Afternoon Tea at Brown Palace

I was a competitive figure skater growing up, so ice skating is always close to my heart. There are lots more skating options since we’ve moved to Colorado. I’m fortunate enough to have a rink around the corner from my house, but it’s not the same as an outdoor winter ice skating experience. Halcyon Hotel has an ice skating rink on their rooftop and has great romantic packages with hot or alcoholic drinks and a cozy spot to take a break. Skating at Skyline park is another very touristy winter ice skating experience in the downtown area, but still a lot more fun than a public skating session.. Traveling out to Evergreen Lake will allow you to skate outside on part of a huge iced lake. This lake also has tons of ice fishing and you will see their igloos dot the farther part of the lake. You can find ice skating in its most wild setting at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. This area is not guarded and doesn’t have a zamboni to clean the ice, but it is the most similar to when I skated on the lakes growing up.

Sometimes the best part about Denver is its location to get out of town and into the winter sport Mecca of Colorado. We have loved exploring ski towns, even though we as a family are not really skiers. My oldest son and I really love outdoor activities and want to enjoy skiing together more, but between the 2020 & 2021 ski season shutdown and injuries we have not made the most of our foothills location. The rest of the family is in no rush to learn to ski or spend more than an hour or two max, outdoors in the cold winter climate. We have enjoyed more of the skiing adjacent activities, like snowshoeing, riding snow machines, snow tubing and sledding since living out here in Colorado. I have high hopes for the future! Estes Park, Winter Park, Frisco, Breckenridge and Vail have been our favorite winter towns that we have visited year after year, especially in the winter season.

Estes Park
Estes Park is about a 90 minute drive, north and west of Denver. It’s a cute winter town, with tons of lights and charm during the winter season. As you descend on the town by car, a large lake greets you before getting into the downtown maze of streets and shops. Lots of great hot drinks (or ice cream for my daughter, even in the winter) and shopping for souvenirs or needed winter apparel. Don’t forget to stop at the Christmas Shoppe anytime of year to pick up an ornament to commemorate your trip to Estes Park or RMNP.

We have stayed at the Appenzell Inn a few times and the YMCA. The Appenzell has 2-3 bedroom apartments that are perfect for our family, with a kitchen and indoor pool area (with an outdoor jacuzzi). This is my favorite location because it feels like a German hotel I stayed at years ago. The YMCA has the best amenities by far, with all the indoor and winter activities you could ever want from ice skating, sledding, indoor swimming pool, arts & crafts and many other activities. Use their schedules and map to plan out your whole itinerary, they have something for everyone’s personality. The YMCA sits on a huge property and has cabins for every size group from couples all the way to family reunions and school field trips. However, the food is really not great, think of school cafeteria or camp style meals. I suggest you plan meals in your cabin, either cooking in the full kitchen, getting take-out or expecting to eat out. For breakfast and lunch, we return to sister restaurants in the Safeway shopping center, Mountain Home Cafe and Notchtop Bakery & Cafe, both are great. There are lots of steakhouse and specialty restaurants in the area for dinner and Snowy Peaks winery and tasting room is a must stop for wine lovers.

The Stanley hotel is infamously known for the movie The Shining, this was it’s inspiration hotel and a must see when visiting Estes Park, regardless if you are staying at the hotel. There are four tours that run during the day and night including the Historic tour, The Shining tour, Stanley Night tour or the Ice House tour. The Vault at the Stanley Hotel is located in the basement and has a great whisky tasting. Hubby and I typically do wine tastings when we travel, but decided to try this whiskey tasting instead on a recent trip and it was fantastic. There was a small group of 10 or so and we all sat at tables inside the whisky vault. Outside the vault is a whisky store where all visitors can purchase a distilled souvenir. There are a few dining options at the Stanley hotel including Post Chicken and Beer which we tried on our last trip. I thought this casual, yet expensive, chicken restaurant would get high ratings from my chicken loving family, but it was only mediocre at best. The chicken finger queen was satisfied, but the rest of us were not as easily impressed and have not wanted to try another Post location since.

The main attraction at Estes Park is Rocky Mountain National Park, it has two entrances from Estes Park. I was disappointed returning home on our Colorado family vacation because we didn’t make it to RMNP, never thinking I would move here and have an annual pass into the park. We come on long weekends and day trips, during all the seasons, including winter. In the winter, the park has closed Trail Ridge Road by October, so you will be going in and out of Estes Park entrances. In the winter, Hidden Valley is the best place to go sledding. Take all the winter gear and sleds with you to RMNP and plan a picnic and fun day of sledding in Hidden Valley. There is lots of parking and even bathrooms in this area of the park.

Winter Park*
Winter Park is also about 90 minutes from Denver and close to Grand Lake and Lake Granby. In summer, when Trail Ridge Road is open in RMNP you can drive straight through the park, coming out by Grand Lake and eventually into Winter Park. Winter Park Resort is the hotel at the main ski area and where all of the restaurants, shops, rental equipment locations and where most of the activities will begin or meet. There is a lift from the lower parking area, if you are coming in for the day or have a rental cabin downtown. There are snowshoe tours, tubing, snowcat tours, glow night ice skating, snow bike tours and ski lessons for the whole family. Half day or full day ski school is available for children to learn to ski in a fun environment. The scenic gondola is also not to be missed, since they are often not free in many of the ski towns.

There are many apartment and cabin rentals in the downtown area, which is really just a short way down main street. Restaurants, shops, a playground & walking/biking trails line the main road, then head north to the lakes. One big word to the wise, do not go to sulfur springs! There are two very different types of hot springs experiences, either a relaxing wellness experience or you’re going to be skeeved out and cold …this one was the latter.

A few years ago we planned a Thanksgiving trip to Glenwood Springs and Winter Park. Since I had rented an apartment with a “full kitchen” I figured that we could order a full Thanksgiving dinner from Whole Foods and I’d warm it up in the apartment kitchen, then we’d eat at the dining table sitting in front of the fireplace in the apartment. However, when we got in the room that “full kitchen” did not include an oven, just a 2-burner cooktop and microwave! I ate all the seafood appetizers and drank wine while frantically calling restaurants with a Thanksgiving menu for a reservation. Thankfully, I found Smokehouse BBQ on Main Street who had a fantastic walk-in Thanksgiving family style spread where we could choose our favorites sides and extras. In the end, it was a wonderful meal and even better, I didn’t have to cook or clean it up. We continued to drive around the state of Colorado with our full Thanksgiving dinner and eventually made it home and had a second Thanksgiving dinner that Sunday evening!

Breckenridge*
On the way to Breckenridge, about 90 minutes outside of Denver is the cute town of Frisco. This is a great spot to stop for lunch, but also for any shopping or supplies you might need before getting into the more expensive mountain town general stores. Hubby and I love the restaurants and cafes on the little main street, but there is also boutique shopping to outlet shopping all in this same area off the highway. Frisco Adventure Park is a great spot to snow tubing down the massive sledding hill. Tubing is run for the whole family and a lot less exhausting than sledding when you have to drag the sled up the hill. Tubing has a conveyor belt that takes you and the tube up the hill, before sliding your way down the hill. This winter activity can be enjoyed by the whole family, with the appropriate clothing.

When entering Breckenridge, the first gondola you see will have parking and you can ride to the top of the ski resort for free. Skiers will take a lift from there, but non-skiers can enjoy the view as well as have a drink, snack or lunch up at the top of the mountain. Back on the ground, Breck’s main street has a mile and a half of shops, restaurants, candy, cookies, hot chocolate, crepes, ice cream, little bars or coffee shops to get out of the cold. There are a few casual restaurants that are fantastic such as Blue River Bistro, The Blue Stag Saloon and Downstairs at Eric’s to keep the kids occupied indoors in the arcade area. On your way out of Breck, put the skating rink parking lot into your gps and park in the far, back corner near the treeline called Trollstigen Train. There is a troll named Isak Heartstone who is a 15-foot tall wooden sculpture that tourists take a photo with as they try not to slip on the icey boardwalk. No trip to Breck is complete without this troll experience.

Vail, Avon & Beaver Creek*
Vail is a destination unto itself and gives true European ski vibes (and expensive winter vacation too)! Lionshead and Vail Village are the two ski village areas at either side of town where the gondolas are located. They have tons of restaurants, shopping and ski equipment too. If you are needing family friendly and first time skiing or even intermediate skiers, Beaver Creek is best with their long, flat passes. There are the towns of Eagle, Avon and Beaver Creek all around Vail, that are each known for their own speciality skiing. But Vail mountain itself is a challenge for sure and will give any advanced skier a great day on the slopes.

Vail has a Nordic center that can handle any of your winter sports needs including cross country skiing. I might just have to accept that I’m going to just do cross country from now on. I might be more successful at getting my husband to ski with me if I skip the vertical slopes on the side of a mountain. Nordic anything makes me remember an experience I had with my friend Cindy, right after we moved to Germany. We went to the South of Germany in this lovely area called Garmisch & Partenkirchen and noticed an activity on the hotel list called Nordic walking. I asked the man at the hotel desk what this activity was and he tried to figure out how to say it in English and responded with “walking with sticks.” I now realize this means hiking with walking sticks, but I’ve come a long way since growing up in Philly where we didn’t have anything Nordic!

For those not interested in winter sports, Vail has other attractions to offer as well. The name’s Betty & Gerold Ford will be all over Vail including an amphitheater and an impressive Alpine Garden. It is one of the world’s highest botanical gardens at 8,200 feet high! Fat Tire Biking is another activity that is less of a sport than a way to see the town. There are some amazing day spas and what better way to spend the day off the slopes. RockResort Spa, The Lodge at Vail and The Hythe are all highly recommended with a relaxing atmosphere. For those who drink, beer or wine tasting is a great activity to do, as well as browse art at Lionshead or Vail Village.

I’ve been open about it, skiing is not the winter activity that we focus our itineraries or ratings & reviews on as a family. I have included a full list of ski towns on the eastern slope of Colorado that are all amazing in their own independent ways. Starred locations are known for being best places for novice skiers and those who want to learn to ski:
· Steamboat Springs*
· Ski Granby Ranch
· Loveland Ski Area
· Arapahoe Basin
· Keystone*
· Cooper Mountain*
· Echo Mountain
· Eldora Mt.
· Aspen
· Snowmass
· Crested Butte*
· Monarch
· Sunlight Mountain
· Snobahn*

Out of all of these amazing winter towns to visit, Aspen & Snowmass isn’t for me and I recommend planning to stay at any of the other ski towns and resorts. This area is more like being in a Euro rich and famous ski resort and gives off extremely wealthy vibes. Come for a day trip when visiting Crested Butte if you must, there are a few bakeries that might be worth the drive. Our family also really loves Glenwood Springs and think of it as a great winter town, but not for skiing. It is best known for its three famous hot springs in the area, but I think that’s what makes a great winter attraction. There are snow machine tours available at sunlight mountain ranch close to Glenwood.

We have not been out west yet and look forward to exploring Telluride and Ouray in the near future. I’ve been dying to go to Ouray since I heard it was called The Switzerland of the West, plus hot springs and the Million Dollar Highway! Be aware of what type of vehicle you are driving when it comes to driving in the Colorado winter weather. If you are renting a car, be specific to make sure it is 4 wheel drive or mountain weather compatible. I70 is the major highway pass out to all of the mountain towns from Denver and has chain laws that go in effect during winter weather, regarding the regulations you need on your vehicles in order to travel on the road and ignorance is no excuse!