Winter Park

With a name like Winter Park, there isn’t much doubt about this central Rockies town's purpose. If it’s a snow activity, you can do it here.

The skiing on Winter Park Resort's 3,000 acres is diverse enough to please everyone from beginners to experts. The snowshoeing around town is great as well. And the sledding in nearby Fraser is screamingly good. Snow Mountain Ranch Nordic Center and Devil's Thumb Ranch offer plenty of trails and amenities for cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Sleigh and hayrides are also part of the local winter scene. Or how about a dogsled ride? Winter Park is also home to the National Sports Center for the Disabled. 

Restaurants cater to cold-weather activities with hearty German, spicy Cajun or Mexican food, and shops sell just about anything you forgot to pack.

Winter Park is also a spectacular summer vacation destination. You can ride a ski lift up a mountain and hike down a wildflower-strewn trail, and mountain bikers find plenty of places to ride here.

Visit the Cozens Ranch Museum just north of town, the site of a stage stop and post office from the 1870s. Be sure to check out the room commemorating Doc Suzie, the first female doctor in the area.