Great week honeymooning in the Rockies? Where would you tell a skiing/riding couple to go?
We're getting hitched next fall (yay!) but work and school committments will be pushing back the honeymoon until the second week of January, 2009. We're not particular keen on the "lie baking on a beach" concept, and are outdoorsy, active people, so we thought we'd put the timing to good use and have a Ski Holiday. As New England skiiers this fresh powder we keep hearing about seems like something we ought to experience ;-)
We're looking most closely at Aspen, CO right now, because it's the classic choice although of course very touristy. Point in its favor are that it's easy to get to and around in, the mountains look really great,
and do very well on
this eco friendliness ranking. At first glance it looks like we could really put together a fantastic week of skiing and boarding, with some fun dining, hiking and snowshoing options to boot. (Shopping doesn't thrill either of us, but might while away an hour or two window shopping)
So we're looking for comments on Aspen accomodations and activities, but we'd be open to any recommendations in the U.S. or Canada.
A few other things we're looking for:
- No more than one layover from Manchester, NH - preferably with little (<1 hour) to no driving to our final destination
- Plenty of vegetarian dining options
- Generally we'd be looking for a place to hole up in the evenings with the hot tub, but the opportunity for night or two out for dinner and a show would be super
- Eco-travel and resort options are a huge plus, but not strictly required
Thanks everyone! You can also email me direct, it's in the profile.
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It's a pretty huge mountain (technically, four different ones), so you won't run out of places to explore. This can also help alleviate seasonal crowding once you get away from the base. Winter Park as a city doesn't have the shopping thing that Aspen does, but since that's not your thing, you probably won't miss it. It doesn't have the restaurants that Aspen does, but there are still several good ones, especially at the resort itself. Certainly enough if you're only planning on a few "fancy" dinners during your week. I can really speak to the veg-friendly nature, but I can't imagine it would be noticeably different from Aspen. Winter Park also doesn't have the snobby vibe I get from Aspen either, which might be a perk.
One downside is that Berthoud Pass can be horrifying in the winter if conditions are bad (and you pretty much have to go over Berthoud to get to Winter Park). If you're not used to scary-ass winter mountain driving, it can be quite harrowing. Otherwise, I don't think it's any more of a drive than Aspen is. Additionally, DIA is very susceptible to winter weather. If you're really opposed to massive delays due to weather, DIA should be avoided.
I'd highly, highly recommend coming up here to BC and going to Whistler instead if you can afford it. Whistler is very similar to Aspen, but Vancouver is much closer to Whistler than Denver is to Aspen. It's entirely feasible to head down to Vancouver for a day, or spend the first/last day of the trip in Vancouver instead. The air fare is probably more expensive and I don't know how easy it would be to get a one layover flight from NH. There are rarely weather-related delays at YVR and nothing compared to what DIA regularly sees. You might be able to save some money if you flew into Seattle and took the train up (it's maybe $75/person and can be quite romantic) instead. Whistler is between 90-120 minutes from Vancouver, but there are shuttles, buses and trains that go up there too.
Also, there are three mountains even closer to Vancouver for skiing: Seymour, Cypress and Grouse. You could hypothetically just stay in Vancouver and spend a day or two at each mountain, and enjoy the host of restaurants and other things to do in Vancouver. If you can, hit the mountain on weekdays and enjoy the city on the weekend to avoid crowds.
If you can afford to come to Vancouver, head up here! If not, I'd suggest Winter Park above any other mountain (that I've been to) in Colorado. Either way, enjoy the honeymoon!
posted by Nelsormensch at 2:46 PM on December 5, 2007