Horseback Riding in Winter Park: Steak Dinner Ride

Bernie's Backside

My brother and his family plus my 77 year old dad were in town last week, so we decided to be tourists and headed to Sombrero Stables in Snow Mountain Ranch (a YMCA camp) for a steak dinner horseback ride. 

We had to arrive by 3:30 to be matched with our horses (I got “Hitch” who liked to eat grass). We were riding by 4:15 in a straight line with our nice guide who rode looking back at us to be sure we were ok. 

We rode the horses into a nice trail, thru some beautiful big aspens and by a meadow where our guide said she saw a moose just a few days before. We squinted and hoped, but no moose appeared.  It was very peaceful and not scary in the least, since they don’t let you go any faster than a walk, although we learned the trick of holding the horse back a bit and then got to trot to catch up.  

We arrived at our dinner spot – a wagon-looking grill and picnic area. By that point, one of my nephews was in the deep depths of a horse allergic reaction so they offered (and he accepted) to take some Benedryl and ride back down in the car.  He hung out with us for dinner though which was surprisingly good.  We had steak, excellent grilled potatoes, beans, and bread.  They even had “Cowboy Coffee” for the caffeine addicted. 

Wagon Grill

Got back on the horses and by that point we were aching a bit (knees, bum, etc) but we made it back before sunset and said goodbye to Bernie, Hitch, and the rest of the horses.  One hint – if you tell them you’re an experienced rider, they give you the horses that act up a bit so for the most enjoyable time, swallow your pride and tell them you’ve never put your foot in a saddle. 

Strongly recommend this fun activity for families with kids (age 3 and up) or groups that want to take enjoy the scenery and West without flying down a mountain on a bike or falling in the river on a raft.  Thank you, Sombrero Stables!

Day at Grand Lake, Colorado for $2

I took the kids to Grand Lake this week for a day of fun and we spent a whopping $2.  If you have toddlers that are entertained by water, sand, and ice cream, give it a try for a day while you are here.  Here’s what our day looked like:

9am – departed Winter Park with lunch packed

9:40am – arrived in Grand Lake, parked on main drag across from park

9:40 am – 10:40am – played on big play structures in park with lots of other kids. Four swings – 2 for little guys, 2 for bigger kids.

10:40 – walked down to lake (3 minute walk) and played at “beach”. Nice thing is that water is really cold do you don’t have to worry much about your toddlers jumping right in. They think it’s good enough to get their feet wet and laugh at the dogs jumping in after the ball.  Lots of sailboats and motor boats where out.  If you wanted to break the $2 budget, you could rent paddleboats (seat 4) for $24/hr for 2 people or $32/hr for 4 people.  You can also rent boats right there too but that would probably break the bank.

11:30am – had packed lunch on picnic benches and faced the water so we were entertained with the view. Kids ate

Yum! $1 cones.

more than normal. Guess this strategy worked.

12 noon – packed up lunch, and headed to ice cream.  You can go right there by the beach (homemade ice cream, looked good) but we went back up to the ice cream joint in town b/c there were about 30 people in line at the one by the beach.  Got a chocolate ice cream – kid size – for each child in sugar cone.  $1 each.  wow!  Sat outside on a bench for little kids and they looked so cute eating their ice cream, a lady stopped and took a picture of them with her camera.

12:30pm – walked the boardwalk a bit and then got in the car and headed back to Winter Park

12:40pm – two boys fast asleep in the car just as the afternoon rain started to fall.

Winter Park, CO Chocolate Festival

Colorado Summer Food Festivals

Chocolate Chocolate  Chocolate …. who doesn’t like chocolate? What is your favorite chocolate? Well lets try some of the best before we make that call.

Winter Park Resort is putting on a summer food festival that is all about the love of chocolate.

Winter Park CO Chocolate Festival

June 26th 2010

A treat for the Winter Park vacationers and a destination for chocolate lovers around the state! Everyone loves chocolate! The Winter Park Chocolate Festival will include chocolate samples and fine chocolates for sale from a wide variety of regional vendors. Special guests and a full-day’s event schedule round out the fun!

There is even a wine pairing with chocolate session. Now that is right up my alley – wine and chocolate.

Saturday the 26th

10am -     Winter Park Chocolate Festival opens!

11 am – Pudding Eating Contest!

Rounds for kids and adults! The catch – no hands!

12 noon – Denise Nickerson on Stage!

Star of the original Willy Wonka film talks about ”My Life as the Blueberry Girl”

1 pm – Truffle Competition Awards Presentation

2 pm – Truffle Demo with Chef Trusan

3pm – Chocolate and Wine-Pairing demo with The Chocolate Therapist, Julie Pech

3 – 5 pm – Wine Tasting

5pm – Festival closes.

Sounds like a great way to to enjoy some tasty treats and in Colorado Rockies.

What is your favorite chocolate? The favorite in our home at the moment is the Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt .  Sounds odd but man it is delicious especially with red wine.

Winter Park Resort Alpine Slide

Summer Activities in Winter Park, CO

For those of you that are alpine slide lovers there is some very good news from Winter Park Resort.  There will be all new sleds for the slide this year.

Colorado’s longest and most exciting two-track Alpine Slide is located under the Arrow chairlift with viewing from the base area.   Both tracks are 3,030 feet long with 26 linked turns.  New this season, guests will ride in style on new, state of the art, alpine sleds.  Cost is $15, children 5 and under are free.

The Winter Park base area will open for summer fun on June 12, 2010.

If you haven’t ridden the alpine slide or more importantly taken your kids to ride the slide you are missing out.  we took our almost two year olds last summer and  they were thrilled with the ride.  For those kids a little older the alpine is especially thrilling .

There are lots of things to do at the Winter Park Resort base for the young ones and those that are just young at heart.  Winter Park Resort summer activities and attractions include lift-accessible mountain biking, Colorado’s longest Alpine Side, Amaze’n Human Maze, Leaps & Bounds Bungee, Rock ‘n Roll Gyro, Zephyr Express chairlift rides, Outdoor Climbing Wall, Mountainside Mini Golf, an 18-hole mountaintop disc golf course, eateries and shops.

Get up to Winter Park this summer and beat the crowds and the heat and have a little fun with the whole family.

Cross Country|Nordic Skiing at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

Ma & Pa hoofin' it at Devil's Thumb

Devil’s Thumb is the largest Nordic center in the Rocky Mountains with 100km of trails. My mom had her knee replaced last summer so alpine skiing isn’t an option and we wanted to get out of the house last week when my parents were visiting. So, we got out my parents’ 20 year old cross country skis and took a short drive over to Devil’s Thumb on a gorgeous bluebird day.

I rented equipment from a guy who said he grew up alpine skiing in Vermont but explained that cross country skiing was actually the first “skiing” sport and beat alpine by about 500 years.  Renting was cheap – maybe $15 and equipment seemed pretty nice to me. And the best part is it felt we had the place to ourselves. He said it’s only “busy” on weekends but busy to them is like April 30th at the resort (hint: resort closes April 18th).

Meadow Trail

We had lunch at a picnic table overlooking the trails (brought it with us) and then got started. We went slowly but soon got the hang of getting in the rutts (I’m sure there’s a more proper name but that’s what we called them) made by the custom snowplow that grooms the trails and cuts in 2 rutts so you can steady yourselves.  We skied for about 2 hours and it was just beautiful. Stayed on the Meadow Trail to Wapiti then Broken Barn and back on Ranch Walk. All flat, but over bridges, down a few small little hills, gorgeous scenery and a nice workout. Ten minutes into it, we wished we were as smart as the guy who passed us wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It was HOT. And my dad and I forgot face sunscreen so we looked silly for a few days afterwards. But, other than that, it was really a wonderful day.

If you need an alternative to downhill skiing for the young or the old, or just want to take a break and enjoy the peaceful serenity of Colorado in the wintertime, head over to Devil’s Thumb Ranch and find out what “classic” vs “skate” skiing is.  Plus, it’s cheap. Adults are $18 a day and kids 12 and under and the grandparents are only $8 a day.  Got little ones? They even have chariots so you can pull them along with you for $20.  Definitely wear shorts and a t-shirt if you’re going to pull that off.  

Winter Park Resort Skiing For Kids

Teaching Kids to Ski at Winter Park Resort

We had our third day out with the twins on the slopes at Winter Park.  The day wasn’t as nice as last week but we captured Nicholas and Willem in action on video.  The plan was to head up the Gemini lift and spend a few hours at Discovery Park with the boys but when we got to the resort the snow was falling and the wind was a howlin’.  No problems!

We headed over to Sorenson Park and made about six quick runs down.  Willem skied all the way down a few times and Nicholas perfected his hard right turn to slow down.  I don’t think he means to make a hard right turn but lets give him the benefit of the doubt, he is only two.  All in all it was a very successful day and the boys are now excited to go skiing.

Next week we will take the first lift ride up to Discovery Park and make a few turns up there before we head down Turnpike.  Oh Boy, Turnpike is making my back hurt just thinking about all of the bending over.

Anywho, we are trying to get the boys comfortable on skis this year before we put them in ski school next year.  I think we are well on our way and I hope the  Nicholas and Willem do truelly enjoy the skiing and it’s not just the M&M’s that we are bribing them with.

Here is Winter Park Resorts description of their ski school for three year olds:

JUST BECAUSE I’M THREE

The main focus for the day is skiing, but a full day of skiing can be a lot for three year olds. Your 3 year old will learn about skiing and may also enjoy activities such as outside snowplay, arts & crafts, Adventure Sled rides. Children must be potty trained and willing to participate.

Guests without reservations may enroll their 3-year-olds on the 2nd floor of the Winter Park Kids Ski & Ride School.

Winter Park Kids’ Lesson Season Pass for $1299!

Top Five Winter Park Kids Activities

Winter Park, CO Kids Activities

After hitting the slopes and the Grand Park Rec Center with our twins I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of the top five activities with kids here in Winter Park, Colo.  These are the can’t miss things to do when coming up to Grand County with your little ones in the winter.  For summer there will be a whole other list.

Learn to Ski at Winter Park Resort - This is a no-brainer as most everyone coming to Winter Park this is the main reason that they are heading to our little piece of paradise.

Spend a Day at The Grand Park Rec Center – Our Rec Center sitting just at the end of the town of Winter Park is a kids and parents dream.  With two pools , diving board, lazy river, water slide. steam room, dry sauna, basketball courts, climbing wall, trampoline and lots and lots of exercise equipment for the adults this a great place to take a vacation from the snow outside.  Grand Park Rec Center also offers day care for kids.  This is especially helpful for those parents with the wee little ones.

Go Sledding or Tubing at Winter Park’s Colorado Adventure Park - The Adventure Park  offers Tubing, Airboards, Snow Scoots, and Sleigh Rides.  They are conveniently located just minutes from the Winter Park Ski Resort, in Fraser, and an easy 70 miles from Denver .  From young to young at heart they have something for you!  This is an exhilarating place.  The hill you go down is big and you can get some serious air.

Take a Dog Sled Ride at Winter Park Dog Sled Rides – We bought a ride for our niece and sister-in-law and they loved it.  When the the sled takes off it looks like a rocket.  The ride goes through some secluded forest area and it just amazing how fast the dogs go and how quiet it is in all the trees.  They are located just a short drive from Winter Park Resort on Grand County Road 5.

Sit in the Hot Springs at Hot Sulphur Springs – There are enough hot springs for the whole family with temperatures  for everyone.  There are  22 pools and private baths, which include a solarium pool, the therapy Elk Pool, and a summer swimming pool.   They are known as one of the nation’s oldest, largest and finest natural hot mineral springs resort and spa.  Relax and enjoy the sacred waters where the Ute Indians once bathed, healed mind, body, and spirit.

Enough activities to keep the adults and the little tykes busy for a week or so.  Stay tuned for the top five summer activities for kids in Winter Park, CO

Learning to Ski at Winter Park Resort

Teaching Your Kids to Ski at Winter Park, CO

We finally got our precious twin 2 year-olds out to the slopes at Winter Park Resort.  What took us so long you ask.  Well we waited until we had some nice spring like days with plenty of snow and warm, blue sky weather.  If we would have known how cool it would be seeing your children ski down the hill we may have had them out there a year ago.

We spent our first two days of ski learning and teaching experience at the base of Winter Park.  The first day we were on Mt. Maury with the Winter Park ski school classes.  I think from some of the comments that that hill is reserved for Winter Park ski school.  I think this is a better hill to teach kids on as everyone on this little hill looked to be under five years of age.  The second day we went over to Sorenson Park with all the big kids.  By day two Nicholas and Willem skied all the way down the hill by themselves.  Awesome is all I have to say.  No, they weren’t turning and they need help getting onto the magic carpet but these barely two year-olds skied down a hill all by themselves!  I could not have been prouder as some observers at Sorenson Park were cheering for the little tykes.  What a great day!

As you can see above Winter Park has wagons that are a great help in transporting the kids around the base.  It says on the wagon not to be used to go over the snow to Sorenson Park but we have been told by the Winter Park Hosts that it is OK to take the wagons over there.  There were three or four wagons at Sorenson when we arrived with ours.  Mt. Maury and Sorenson are just a short walk to Winter Park Base Rental ski shop and the Winter Park Market/Cafeteria.  The whole setup is very very convenient with the Winter Park Ski School right here as well.  Now you are asking why the heck didn’t we just put our little future skiing Olympians in ski school?  Well, the ski school will not take kids that are not potty trained.  And at the pace of our little ones they may be skiing black diamonds before they know how to use a toilet.

Next week we will attempt a chair lift ride up to Discovery Park.  We will keep you posted as to how that goes and if it goes at all like to today it will be one of the better days indeed.

Winter Park Village Free Events

Free Events in Winter Park Resort Village

There are many many activities in the Winter Park Village and almost all of them are absolutely free.  The new Village is in its first full year of operation and there are now four eateries up and running:

Goodys is a European creperie offering made to order crepes and homemade ice cream.

Lime is a modern Mexican eatery with great tacos and margaritas.

The Back Bowl Soup Company offers homemade soups, breakfast burritos and fantastic breads.

The Cheeky Monk is a Belgium beer bar with great Flemish food with some of the best beers known to man.

Enjoy all these restaurants and spend a night in Village with some of their free events.  From Mardi Gras celebration to free ice skating lessons there something for everyone in the Winter Park Village.

DISCO SKATE NIGHTS
Thursdays, January 7 & 21, February 4 & 18, 6-8pm

Get down tonight! Grab your skates and come dance to funky disco music! You are sure to have fun with your friends while ice-skating on the Village Ice Rink to a dj playing 1970′s disco music while the disco ball lights up the ice! Bring your costumes!

KIDS’ NIGHT OUT
Thursdays, December 17 – April 8, 5:30-8:30pm

The Village at Winter Park introduces Kids’ Night Out! This fun, activity-filled evening is for 4-12 year olds, and is loaded with activities – including dinner and s’mores by the firepit! Kids’ Night Out is a worry-free night out for Mom & Dad and a convenient alternative to at-home babysitting.

Details:
▪ Kids’ Night Out is held at Kids Ski and Ride School on Thursday evenings from 5:30-8:30pm
▪ Kids’ Night Out is a FREE childcare service offered to parents on the condition that $30 per child is spent in any commercial outlet at the resort during the hours that your children are in the program. We do require original receipts to verify the expenditure. If less than $30 per child is spent, parents will only be charged the difference.
▪ Kids’ Night Out includes dinner from Doc’s Roadhouse and indoor activities such as games, seasonal crafts and movies
▪ Please reserve your child’s space by 3pm on Thursday. Call Winter Park Guest Services at 800.729.7907 to reserve your child’s space. Enrollment is limited and is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

MINI RAIL JAM
Fridays, January 15 - March 19, 4:30-6pm

*No Mini Rail Jam on February 19

Little jibbers come practice and show your tricks! Hit the mini rail park, Bouncer, in the Village for some fun after the mountain has closed for the day. Practice your rail slides and jumps in a training mini terrain park.

Details:
▪ Recommended for skiers and snowboarders ages 6 – 12 years old. Helmets are recommended.
▪ Located at the Bouncer Terrain Park located across from Doc’s Roadhouse and adjacent to the Discovery Center in the Village

FIRESIDE STORY-TELLING

Saturdays, January 9 - March 27, 3:00-4:00pm Join around the Discovery Center Plaza firepit for an animated story retelling the history of Winter Park Ski Resort, the railroad, early settlers and mountaineers. This FREE story-telling series is offered weekly from January through March and will include the stories of Fraser Valley locals such as: Doc Susie Anderson, the Byers family, the Cozens family and David Moffat. A perfect event for the entire family!

COWBOY SING-A-LONG
Fridays, December 18 – April 18, 4-5pm Come and join us by the campfire for our fun Cowboy Sing-A-Long just outside of the Village Gazebo, located at the base of Winter Park Resort. Cowboys and cowgals of all ages will enjoy this laid back and entertaining live show featuring all your campfire favorites! This FREE family entertainment is available Fridays from 4–5pm in the Village Gazebo.

ICE-SKATING LESSONS
Daily*, December 19—mid-March, 4-5pm

*Saturdays are Blade Capades, ice-skating games

Come join a FREE lesson to learn how to “hit the ice” (after “hitting the slopes”) or improve your skills on ice. An instructor and hot chocolate will be provided for each lesson. Bring your own skates or rent skates near the Village Ice Rink.

*Sign up by 3pm at Village Rentals on the day of the lesson

MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION
Saturday, February 13, 12:00-5:00pm

High Altitude Style! Come join the party in the Village to celebrate this New Orleans tradition Winter Park-style! This event features bands, street performers, festive decorations, food and plenty of beads to go around!

Music (in Starbucks Plaza)

12:00pm-1:00pm:  Louisiana Clan Dogs
1:20pm-2:20pm:  Aden Harrell & Friends Jazz Quartet
2:40pm-3:40pm:  Otones Brass Band
4:00pm-5:00pm:  Dikki Du & The Zydeco Krewe
Performers (throughout the Village)

12:00pm-5:00pm:  Salida Circus Performers (includes flame throwers, jugglers, trapeze artists, jesters & unicyclists)
12:00pm-5:00pm:  Face-Painting and Caricature Drawings
12:00pm-5:00pm:  Children’s Crafts – masks and crowns
1:00pm-3:00pm:  Giant Puppetry
2:00pm-4:00pm:  Ear2Ear Photobooth

Food (in Starbucks Plaza)

Jambalaya, crawfish, etouffee, gumbo, crepes, bread pudding and beignets provided by Village restaurants

Lots of things to to do for free at “the Village”.  If you would like to have a free family night out, the Winter Park Village can not be beat.

Mardi Gras in Winter Park, Colorado

Winter Park Resort Mardi Gras 2010

You don’t have to be in New Orleans or Rio de Janiero to celebrate Mardi Gras.  We here up in Winter Park, CO have our own little celebration up on the ski slopes.  The Winter Park Resort employees are usually all decked out and there are lots and lots of beads.  You my even see some topless celebratants latter in the day if the sun is out and the booze is flowing.

The Winter Park/ Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce will be putting on a Mardi Gras Festival for the kids and family at the Hideaway Park in Town of Winter Park from 1PM to 4PM on Feb 13th.  The sledding hill will be open and there will be games and treats for the kids.

Sol Vista will be putting on a Mardi Gras Snow fest.  SolVista Basin resort family celebrations: Fun Events for kids of all ages; music; food, beverage and retail specials. Kids Snow Play Park, Sledding Hill, and Cross Country Skiing always free.

And there will be lots of celebrating on the slopes with beads a flying and everyone trying to have some fun on the slopes of Mary Jane/Winter Park Resort.

It’s Mardi Gras, show us your……… ??