Colorado family ranch vacation spot needed

November 23, 2008 7:32 PM

Colorado family winter vacation refuge wanted...at this late date, I need your help to find a ranch in Colorado that provides families with a retreat that includes winter fun, outdoor fires, good food, sleigh rides, horses, etc. I've searched the internet and am confronted with numerous possibilities for which I have nothing to rely on, etc. If anyone has any experience they could share or suggestions, I'd be most appreciative. Obviously, time is of the essence...
posted by america4 to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for, but you could try YMCA of the Rockies, especially the Winter Park location.
posted by lukemeister at 8:22 PM on November 23, 2008

My family and I stayed at Tiger Run Resort long, long ago, but they did have sleigh rides, fires, etc. You just had to go outside the resort to actually do the things. The sleigh ride was about 30 minutes each way, and stopped at a heated tent for food. Breckenridge proper isn't terribly far away either if you're looking to get some skiing in as well.
posted by squorch at 8:59 PM on November 23, 2008

Gold Lake resort is amazing, but not for very little kids. If they are Middle School or older it would be fine. No sleigh rides, but there are guided horse trips. Also, hot springs, gourmet dining, snowshoeing and in warmer weather, canoeing and fishing. It's a resort/spa though, so might not be suitable for kiddies.
posted by np312 at 10:48 PM on November 23, 2008

My wife can't say enough good things about Aspen Lodge, which despite the name, isn't in Aspen, it's near Estes Park (up in the mountains near Rocky Mountain National Park). They do sleigh rides, the full deal. She's a Mefite too, I'll see if she can give you any more info.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:39 AM on November 24, 2008

Sorry, the interwebs were out at Chez Happy Dave and Princess Valium the last couple of days and I don't have access at work to explain more about the Aspen Lodge.

It is a pretty cool place - I've never personally stayed there, but used to live near it and was a professional colleague of their general manager. It is slightly out of town from Estes Park so you will need to hire a car if you won't be bringing one with you anyway.

In the autumn they do hayrides, in the winter they do both 'cut your own' christmas trees as part of their land management plan (win-win!), offer sleigh rides on proper sleighs (when there's enough snow!) - pulled by two gorgeous Belgian draft horses - Fred and Barney. Ice-skating on the outdoor pond (if the ice is thick enough), horseback riding, close to Rocky Mountain National Park and the Longs Peak Trail Head (though that is usually a technical climb this time of year requiring crampons, etc.). They have great holiday packages for New Year's Eve and Christmas - with a lot of dedicated employees that have worked there for more than a decade who are really, really interested in attracting and maintaining their clientele base. Oh, there's also a restaurant that can either do fine dining or burgers and fries. There's special kids activities too, but being without wee ones myself, I'm not sure what those offerings may be. I seem to recall a couple of years ago the hotel would provide Xmas stockings on Christmas Day for kids who were staying at the hotel, but I don't know if that is still the case.

I can't really tell you more than what their website does, other than for other 'ranches' around RMNP that offer guest accomodation, I think it's a great, well-kept secret, especially in the winter, which is Estes Park's off-season. Estes itself is absurdly Christmassy this time of year- if anything holds still for more than a minute they drape lights on it and call it festive (it helps residents cope psychologically with the wind, which can be intense in the winter). It's really charming in the snow. Honestly, winter in Estes is why I lived there for so long - it really is a different town compared to how it is in the summer.

Because the Aspen Lodge isn't directly in town it gets overlooked a lot, but if I were to return to Estes Park for any length of time (I lived there for a decade) I would stay at the Aspen Lodge no matter what the season. They're really good people all-around.
posted by Princess Valium at 10:06 AM on November 25, 2008