Winter Park is another big ski town that’s home to year round fun. At only an hour and a half’s drive from Denver, it’s an easy day trip and a chance to escape I-70.
There is both a downtown Winter Park and a newer, modern ski village located at the base of the slopes. The downtown is situated a few miles from the slopes. It features numerous awesome restaurants and shops, although it’s not walkable like some other mountain towns.
Skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog sledding and cross country skiing are all popular in the Fraser Valley area. Summer brings hikers, bikers and campers through town. There’s also an adventure park with an alpine slide, open in the summer.
Main Attractions
Winter Park Resort – Mountain is large and diverse with great tree skiing. In the summer, it’s a big fun park with numerous games to play.
Recreation
Biking:
- Trestle Pike Park is one of the best places to mountain bike. It’s located at the resort, where’ll you take a chair lift and an exciting ride down.
Camping:
- Idlewild is a convenient campground just off the highway in the Arapaho National Forest. Head south of downtown on US Rt 40 and turn left at campground sign. There 23 sites, 13 of them suitable for RV. Non-reservable. Sites have grills and tables. There is another national forest campground shortly after, also on the left.
- Another option is to take Vasquez Road west out of downtown. It will turn into County Rd 7 within a couples miles where there’ll be plenty of dispersed spots along the road once you enter the national forest.
- There are also two roads out of Fraser, County Rd 72 and 73, that lead into the national forest where camping is permitted. County Rd 72 only has a handful of spots, so it may not be the best choice and County Rd 73 has two established campgrounds for a fee. Free car camping is best off Vasquez Road. All spots are just a short drive back to town if you forget supplies.
Accommodations
Top 12 Cool Hotels in Winter Park – Tucked away on the north side of Berthoud Pass, Winter Park is a gem for tree skiing, expansive western views and affordable deals. There are hundreds of places to stay in town, with plenty of solid choices for a cool, clean hotel that…
Special Events
Colorado Freeride Festival – Four day biking event in late July featuring athletes in slopestyle, enduro racing, air downhill, cross country, and pond crossing events.
Things to do near Winter Park
Amusement:
Biking:
Hot Springs:
- Hot Sulphur Springs (30mi)
- Indian (34mi)
Ice Skating:
National Lands:
Ski Areas:
- Granby Ranch (20mi)
- Winter Park
Snow Tubing:
- Colorado Adventure Park (5mi)
- Fraser Tubing Hill (5mi)
Towns:
- Empire (24mi)
- Fraser (5mi)
- Granby (20mi)
- Grand Lake (36mi)
- Hot Sulphur Springs (30mi)
- Idaho Springs (34mi)
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