The Best Après-Ski Activities in Colorado

Après-ski activities – live music, cocktailing, dining, ice skating, hot tubbing – will never go out of style. Although this season, Colorado après goes beyond the standby and introduces new takes on traditions.

According to Vail Resorts, Inc. senior communications specialist Hannah Dixon, “The trend is to create a community of après-ski culture through engaging, uniform experiences that bring visitors and locals of all ages together.”

Active or chill, Colorado resorts offer new twists on après ski.

Soak It Up

Opened this summer, the 99-room W Aspen pumps up the hot-tub party vibe. The stylish, psychedelic color-schemed hotel welcomes the public to its pulsing dance club and sprawling, rooftop deck outfitted with a big hot tub, swimming pool, bar and fire pits. The in-house DJ’s mix heats up the rooftop scene.

By contrast, dialed down RockResorts Spa in The Lodge at Vail has a float tank that induces a Zen-like meditative state, especially when paired with a massage. Opened this December in Breckenridge , the new Soho House, 60-room hotel Gravity Haus and sports recovery center feature a Japanese onsen bathhouse with multiple pools.

Going off-resort to soak in natural hot springs is gaining steam. On the banks of the Colorado River, Hot Sulphur Springs Resort & Spa 30 miles northwest of Winter Park Resort invites the public enjoy its 21 natural, mineral-rich pools and book massages.

In the mountain town Glenwood Springs at Iron Mountain Hot Springs , also along the Colorado River, visitors soak up serene snowy views from 16 steamy, natural mineral, riverbank pools.  Open till 10 p.m., the hot springs complex is a welcome way to chill out after skiing at affordable Sunlight Mountain and zooming down the nation’s first alpine coaster at nearby Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park , the only mountain-tip theme park in the United States. Thrill rides include the Haunted Mine Drop, the world’s only underground drop ride, plus laser tag, 4D motion theater, guided cave tours, choreographed lights show and live music. Glenwood Springs is an hour from Vail , Aspen-Snowmass , Beaver Creek , Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk.

Ouray Hot Springs is an hour (50 miles) from Telluride Ski Resort in the San Juan Mountains. Fed by the Uncompahgre River, the five, natural geothermal mineral pools stay open until 9 p.m. There’s an adults-only soaking section, swimming lanes, family play areas with two speedy water slides and an obstacle course.  Hike year-round at Ouray’s Box Canon Falls Park and ice climb in Ouray Ice Park .

Community Culture

Vail Resorts’ ski villages create a sense of community among visitors and locals through cultural events and programming. Open daily until 6 p.m., the free Colorado Snow Sports Museum recently spent $2.6 million to update exhibits showcasing the state’s dynamic ski and snowboarding legacy. Athletes, scientists and historians conduct weekly evening lectures. During special Friday night torchlight parades, skiers wearing historic 10th Mountain Division Ski Trooper uniforms commemorate World War II ski soldiers who helped found Vail, Aspen and other iconic American ski resorts.

This year Vail Mountain and the town merchants pay homage to the resort’s European alpine-inspired roots adopting Swiss and French ski villages’ tradition of ringing bells at 3 p.m. to announce après ski special appetizers, cocktails, champagne toasts, and retail promotions. The village’s brainy Vail Symposium hosts engaging lectures year-round.

The town of Breckenridge, within three miles of Breckenridge Ski Resort , is Colorado’s largest historic district founded as a Gold Rush base camp in the 1850s. It’s best explored through the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance’s museums and guided walking tours. Favorite tours explore museum-homes, haunted sites, saloons and gold mining history (a snowshoe experience).

Ghost towns dot the state’s high elevations, but most are inaccessible in winter.  Not Montezuma on plowed Montezuma Road just five miles east of the skier parking lot at Keystone Ski Resort . Approximately 65 people live in cabins and lodges sprinkled among buildings from Montezuma’s silver mining boom years during the 1880s.

All Aboard Après

Denver day-tripping skiers to Winter Park Resort après aboard the Amtrak Winter Park Express in the sleek, bi-level Superliner Sightseer Lounge enjoying snacks, cocktails and snowy Rocky Mountain views.  This season, the train departing from Union Station operates weekends from January 10 through March 29.

Amtrak’s California Zephyr runs daily from Denver stopping in Fraser and Granby, both quaint mountain towns offering their own après activities and easily accessible to Winter Park via the free Winter Park Area Town Shuttle .

Granby Ranch is a family-friendly resort giving skiers and snowboarders free s’mores après ski.  Before heading to Winter Park’s slopes, float above them at sunrise aboard Grand Adventure Hot Air Balloon Rides launching in Fraser. Favorite Winter Park après hot spots are The Perk craft beer-coffee-wine bar inside outdoor gear shop The Trailhead, and iconic watering hole Club Car .

Whatever your après-ski style, Colorado offers plenty of choices this season.