Winter Park Resort family holidays and breaks

Shortlisted for our Best Ever Family Ski Resort for Under-8s, Winter Park is one of Colorado’s most family-friendly resorts and the closest resort to Denver airport. What particularly marks it out for family holidays is that it offers large beginner slopes right by king-size apartments and fun restaurants.
 
In spring and summer, Winter Park is a haven for mountain-bikers, hikers and anglers.

14.00

Today

8°C
47°F

Flying Time	10 hours
Timezone	GMT -7

What to do

Ski and snowboard. There’s a total of 1,521 skiable hectares, of which roughly a third is off-piste. About three-quarters of the 143 designated trails fall into the advanced/most difficult categories, although within the immediate Winter Park area, almost a third of piste are beginners and about a fifth intermediate.
 
Book childcare (ages 2 months to 6 years) at least 48hrs in advance. The same goes for kids’ group lessons for ages 3, 4–6, and 7–14.
 
In winter, also try ice-skating, ski-bike lessons and hire (ages 13+), scenic chairlift rides and Snowcat tours, snowshoe tours, free guided mountain orientation tours and NASTAR racing.
 
In summer, enjoy the alpine slide, a climbing wall and bungee, a bouncy snowcat, a mini zipline, chairlift rides to more than 50km of mountain-biking terrain, and mini-golf.

When

Winter Park Resort’s official ski season generally runs from mid-Nov to mid-April. For summer activities, the resort is open from mid-June to early Sept.

How

Winter Park is only around a 90-minute drive from Denver airport, although you’re best advised to take a shared or private shuttle as when it’s snowing, driving can be difficult on the Berthoud Pass for those with no experience of the road.

Eat

Eating out in Winter Park needn’t be expensive, with several places selling reasonably prized pizza and pasta. Or try local favourite Gasthaus Eichler, for its hearty schnitzels, steak and seafood, hot apple strudel and black forest gateau. It also offers accommodation.

Cost

The transatlantic trip rules Winter Park Resort out for low-budget family ski holidays, although as resorts in Colorado go, it’s not among the most expensive. Check out the town of Winter Park itself for lower-priced eating and drinking.

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