DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 12, 2022) — Fall is in the air, which means that snow is around the corner. With the change of seasons comes a renewed excitement around winter travel, and Colorado’s breathtaking landscapes and snow-filled adventures are the ultimate way to immerse in winter.

Visitors to Colorado will be welcomed with exciting new travel offerings both on and off the slopes this winter from arts and cultural experiences like the world premiere of David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind in Denver and the opening of the new Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies in Aspen to the celebration of snow with major anniversaries like the 50th anniversary of skiing at Telluride Ski Resort and Copper Mountain. Travelers can revel in their winter adventures over a meal or craft beverage at a variety of new and distinct food and drink establishments across the state followed by snow-filled dreams in a large array of new accommodations. They can also add a theme to their trips by exploring the Historic Hot Springs Loop, Historic Opera Houses Circuit, Black Heritage Trail and more.

Visitors to the state are encouraged to “Do Colorado Right” and embrace the state’s interpretation of responsible tourism — showing care not only for destinations but for others, including the people who call Colorado home. The following is a sampling of what’s new in Colorado for the fall and winter seasons ahead. For more information and travel ideas, visit COLORADO.com.

Ski Resort News:

The winter 22/23 season welcomes exciting news from Colorado’s 26 ski areas and resorts. This season Telluride Ski Resort and Copper Mountain will celebrate their 50th anniversaries and Eldora Ski Area and Vail Mountain will celebrate their 60th anniversaries. Steamboat Resort continues to move Full Steam Ahead as it nears completion of the second phase of its $200 million, multi-year transformation of the base area and mountain. Updates completed for the 22/23 season include an ice-skating rink and a new food and drink hall in the base area, and a second out-of-base gondola servicing a new beginner learning area. Vail Mountain will unveil a transformative two-lift project. The beginner ski and snowboard school experience will be enhanced with the upgrade of Rip’s Ride at the Breckenridge Ski Resort. Buttermilk Mountain will unveil a transformed base area and World Cup downhill racing will return to Aspen Mountain this spring. Arapahoe Basin will re-open a completely renovated and expanded il Rifugio, a European-inspired full-service eatery that is North America’s highest-elevation restaurant. Loveland Ski Area will launch a guided snowcat operation in Dry Gulch offering guided backcountry trips for intermediate level and above skiers and snowboarders expected to start in January of 2023. Howelsen Hill in Steamboat holds the honor of being Colorado’s oldest ski area in continuous use (it opened in 1915), and will open a new snow tubing area and lift to debut this December.

New Winter Lodging Offerings:

Sweet dreams are sure to be had after a day of winter adventuring with several unique and boutique lodging offerings. Slated to open in time for the 22/23 ski season, A-Frame Club is a lifestyle hotel consisting of 31 newly-constructed A-Frame cabins integrated into Winter Park's natural environment. The Western Hotel & Spa is an iconic Old West property located in the historic district of Ouray that is being restored with select modern, luxe touches. The historic Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs is in the midst of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar restoration. A-Lodge Lyons was fully completed in July 2022 and celebrates outdoor recreation, local music and small town charm. The historic Rochester Hotel in Durango underwent a complete renovation in time for ski season. Airstream, tiny home and campsite accommodations are debuting this fall at the new Camp Eddy in Grand Junction, and lodging in steelmaster sheds converted to luxury hotel suites debuted in August 2022 at the historic Frontier Drive-In/n in the San Luis Valley. The Carlin will open this winter in Breckenridge featuring four luxury hotel suites on the top floor, an open kitchen restaurant on the main floor and a subterranean tavern. The Aspen Meadows Resort is undergoing a multi-million-dollar refresh beginning this fall in a phased manner that will pay close homage to the resort's Bauhaus roots and its famous designer, Herbert Bayer, down to the original, reupholstered Knoll chairs.

Trails & Tours:

The first-ever Colorado Historic Opera Houses Circuit is a joint promotion of five historic Colorado mountain opera houses and shares the performances, programs, history and stories of these historic venues. History Colorado recently launched the “Black Heritage Trail,” an interactive mobile app that maps sites and places of Black historical significance to explore throughout Colorado. The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop expanded in 2022 adding three more destination partners to this loop that showcases the state’s premier hot springs destinations via self-guided itineraries to explore 23 unique hot springs soaking experiences. The Boulder County Farm Trail added five new farms for fall bringing the total to 20 farms on the trail, all with unique visitor experiences. Colorado has electrified ten of its Scenic and Historic Byways with Alpine Loop and Guanella Pass just added, and the state is committed to electrifying all 26 of its byways over the next several years.

Immersive Arts:

The new Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies recently opened in Aspen focusing on preserving and honoring Bayer’s Bauhaus art. New this fall, visitors to the Colorado Shoe School near Fort Collins can not only design and make their own shoes, but also create custom wallets and wool felt hats out of repurposed and recycled materials.The world premiere of David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind comes to Denver Sept. 13–Dec. 18, 2022. The inaugural woman and immigrant-owned Denver Walls international mural festival will take place Sept. 22-26, 2022. Denver’s Kirkland Museum welcomes “Frank Lloyd Wright Inside the Walls” exhibit on display through Jan. 8, 2023. Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace was selected as the permanent location of Grande Experiences’ second U.S. digital art gallery, dubbed LUME Colorado that will open with DALÍ ALIVE, an immersive look into Salvador Dalí’s life and work. These offerings come on the heels of the opening of MeowWolf’s Convergence Station, an immersive arts experience in Denver and the Denver Art Museum’s $150 million renovation that were both completed in late 2021.

Hot Springs Are Hot This Winter:

The Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa expansion continues with the addition of 12 hot spring pools, making a grand total of 38 pools in the newly renovated resort that also just finished crafting a Japanese inspired mediation garden with Japanese soaking tubs. The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs takes a deep dive into wellness with a new Medical Director and Balneology expert as well as new activities such as a clay-infused water treatment, wild yoga class in the forest, sound baths and results-oriented soaking guides. Glenwood Springs’ Iron Mountain Hot Springs is working on Upriver, a new section that will be 21+ and feature eight new riverside pools, a cold plunge pool, large experience pool and a café to be completed by mid-2023.

Immerse in Colorado’s Natural & Cultural History:

Amache National Historic Site was named as America’s newest National Historic Site. This designation, the first in the National Park System during this Administration, will permanently protect the site for future generations and will help tell the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Chimney Rock celebrates its 10th anniversary as a National Monument this fall and represents one of the largest Pueblo II (900-1150 AD) communities in southwestern Colorado. The inaugural Tarantula Fest will take place in La Junta this October when large numbers of tarantulas skitter across the landscape during a mating ritual on the Comanche National Grassland. The event will include guided tarantula tours, an educational pavilion and much more.

Colorado For All:

Colorado strives to be a truly welcoming destination and offers experiences and access opportunities for everyone. The National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS) selected Vail for their 2023 Golden 50th Anniversary Summit (Feb. 4–11, 2023). During a week of winter sports fun, NBS will raise funds to support their mission—increasing participation in winter sports while developing and supporting athletes of color who will win international competitions. Aspen and Telluride roll out some of the liveliest gay ski weeks in the country. Girls rule winter in Colorado with ski areas across the state offering tailored programming to provide women skiers and riders the opportunity to take part in a welcoming, supportive and fun learning environment on the snow. Several ski areas across the state also offer adaptive sports programming including the Crested Butte Adaptive Sports Center and The National Sports Center for the Disabled based out of Winter Park Resort. Colorado is the place where kids become lifelong skiers and snowboarders with unparalleled learning programs and terrain and offerings like Keystone Resort’s Kids Ski Free program.

Offbeat Snow-ventures:

There has been an emergence of off-beat and dynamic non-ski adventures for visitors to enjoy Colorado's snowy terrain, both on and off the slopes including new mountain coasters, curling, fat biking, new Via Ferrata offerings across the state, winter Jeeping, heli skiing, dog sledding, winter fly-fishing, snow kiting and more. The City of Steamboat Springs awarded first-ever permits for this winter for fat biking and backcountry ski tours and instruction on the Emerald Mountain Trail Network by local outfitters. Femme Trek offers new guided snowshoeing adventures for women in Rocky Mountain National Park. The highest looping roller coaster in the U.S., Defiance just opened at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and features the steepest freefall drop in the Western U.S.

Après Adventure Eats & Craft Libations:

After a day of adventures, refueling through après snacks and craft libations is a must. The Great American Beer Festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary and will be in person for the first time in three years in Denver Oct. 6–8, 2022. Bluebird Market Hall’s restaurants and eclectic mix of pop-up Colorado retailers in Silverthorne is an exciting new stop on the way to Summit County’s ski resorts. Ben Parsons, founder of Infinite Monkey Theorem, has introduced The Ordinary Fellow, a brand-new winery and tasting room on the site of the historic United Fruit Growers COOP peach packing shed in Palisade. Also in Palisade, the new Clark & Co. Distilling invites visitors to enjoy their famous specialty cocktails and food with one of the best orchard views in town. For those venturing into Rocky Mountain National Park, The Bird’s Nest Cafe in Estes Park offers Colorado cuisine and exclusive wine and bar selections against a gorgeous mountain backdrop. The iconic The Sink restaurant in Boulder turns 100 in 2023. The university town restaurant is known for its burgers, iconic art on every wall, employment of Robert Redford as a janitor and hosting former President Barack Obama who signed his name on the wall.

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ABOUT COLORADO: Colorado is a four-season destination offering unparalleled adventure and recreational pursuits, a thriving arts scene, a rich cultural heritage, flavorful cuisine and 28 renowned ski areas and resorts. The state's breathtaking scenic landscape boasts natural hot springs, the headwaters of seven major rivers, many peaceful lakes and reservoirs, 12 national parks and monuments, 26 scenic and historic byways and 58 mountain peaks that top 14,000 feet. For more information or a copy of the Explore Colorado 2022 Official Travel Guide, visit COLORADO.com or call 1-800 COLORADO.

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DO COLORADO RIGHT: We encourage locals and travelers alike to embrace our interpretation of responsible tourism — showing care not only for our destinations and beautiful landscapes but for the people who call Colorado home — by adopting our Care for Colorado Leave No Trace Principles and making sure visitors Do Colorado Right. It’s little things like practicing patience, keeping wildlife wild and making sure to trash the trash on our trails. Together we can help protect what makes Colorado special so that current and future travelers can also enjoy the state’s natural beauty.