The 36th annual Bert & Ernie Golf Tournament is taking shape up here in the Colorado Rockies. The date is September 9th and this should be a great year to get up to the mountains play some golf and help the children.

The tournament will again be held at Pole Creek Golf Club in Tabernash, CO.  Pole Creek has been rated the number 1 public golf course in Colorado and is a spectacular layout with 27 holes of challenge and beauty.  This year the Bert and Ernie is making an energetic comeback. Register now and you will secure your team’s spot and have a reason to spend the weekend in the mountains.

This years theme is the future is so bright we have to wear shades.  Yes! that is WPLCo mascot Willem there on the bottom right in the picture.

The B & E Tourney is a Best Ball Format. Sponsorship opportunities are still available!

Exciting silent auction items ~ Winter Park 2012-2013 season ski passes, restaurants, massages, yoga, SmartWool, Whole Foods, and MORE!

Winter Park Lodging Company is offering a lodging deal for the Bert & Ernie weekend.  We  are offering a one bedroom condo at the base of Winter Park Resort for $100 a night and a two bedroom for $200 a night, must be a two night stay.  This includes all fees and taxes.  Also included in the lodging deal is two rounds of golf and cart at Pole Creek with each reservation. Lodging is in the Zephyr Mountain Lodge, Fraser Crossing or Founders Pointe.

The Fraser Creative Learning Center (FCLC) strives to provide a safe and positive learning environment in which children can grow and develop emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially.  The Center realizes this objective through a carefully prepared curriculum balanced with free time for play and social interaction.  The Bert & Ernie golf event is the the number one way the FCLC is able to raise dollars for the kids of Winter Park and the Fraser Valley area.  So make your plans and get up to the mountains, have some fun and help out these amazing kids.

A foursome of golf is $460 and an individual is $115.  Winter Park Lodging Company will be sponsoring the B & E golf classic along with Sharkey’s Eatery and along with some other fine establishments up here in the Winter Park area.  Book your Bert & Ernie Pole Creek Golf Lodging and get a great deal today.

Check out the Bert & Ernie Website for more details and sponsorship opportunities.

The Solshine Music Festival this year at Hideaway Park will be featuring Little Feat as the headliner.

Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles.

Although the band has undergone several changes in its lineup, the music remains an eclectic blend of rock and roll, blues, R&B, boogie, country, folk, gospel, soul, funk and jazz fusion influences.  Lowell died in 1979 but the group has been around since then performing some of their classics such as Willin’, Dixie Chicken and Fat Man in the Bathtub.  

Also,  appearing at the Solshine Music Festival will be The Samples as the opening act and unnamed second act that should make for a great show. The Solshine Fest will be on July 14th, 2012 from 12pm to 6pm.

Tickets to the Solshine Music Festival featuring Little Feat will be free for general admission.  VIP passed and other seating options will be available and will be able to be purchased through the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.

If you are looking to get the best lodging for the Solshine Music Festival make sure to book early.  Winter Park Lodging Company has some great lodging options within both walking and listening distance to the stage at Hideaway Park in Winter Park, CO.  Little Feat will be a big draw though so make sure to book your book early to get your choice of lodging.

Lodging for Little Feat in Winter Park, CO

As this ski season is winding down with Mary Jane closing April 15th and the whole of Winter Park Resort closing April 22 it may be time to think when the resort will be opening up for summer activities.  Winter Park Resort base activities and attractions include the Zephyr Lift opening with access to favorite attractions such as the Alpine Slide, Amaze’n Human Maze, Leaps & Bounds Bungee, Rock ‘n Roll Gyro, Mountainside Mini Golf and Outdoor Climbing Wall.

Winter Park Resort base activities will be opening June 16th, 2012.  Summer hours of operation are 10am through 5:30pm, 7 days a week, from June 16 through September 3, 2012 (Labor Day) – and the same hours weekends in September. Ticket windows open at 9:30am. The Zephyr Express Chairlift closes at 5pm, while other activities close at 5:30pm.

Trestle Bike Park will be opening by June 16th if not before.  This year new at Trestle will be Cruel and Unusual as well as 2 more new trails near the base. And DO NOT MISS the inaugural Colorado Freeride Festival – July 26-29, 2012 at Trestle Bike Park.  The Colorado Freeride Festival replaces Crankworx Colorado.  Trestle Bike Park passes will be available in early May.

Now is the time to get your Winter Park Resort Lodging to get all the rides you can on Colorado’s longest alpine slide.  Check out all the Winter Park Resort summer activities.  Winter Park Lodging Company provides the best Trestle Bike Park lodging at the Winter Park Resort Base.

Mark it down, Winter Park Resort summer activities open for business June 16th, 2012.

The 30th annual Winter Park Jazz festival will be held in Winter Park, Colorado on July 21 and July 22.  The WP Jazz Fest is the premier summer music festival in Winter Park, CO and maybe the whole of the Rocky Mountain West.

Now is the time to book your Winter Park Jazz Festival lodging if you haven’t already done so.  The premier jazz festival lodging usual goes quickly so now would be the time to get your lodging in order.

Check out last years Winter Park Jazz Festival lineup.

This year marks our 30th year for the Winter Park Jazz Festival! Stay tuned for a line up and ticket sales.  Want to be the first to find out about the Winter Park Jazz Festival?  Follow the Winter Park Lodging Company FaceBook page for all the latest updates.

There are some rumors going around about who will be in this years jazz fest lineup.  There are a couple of big names that you jazz lovers out there are not going to want to miss.  This years festival will be held in Hideaway Park in WP as have the last seven years or so of shows.

There is a jazz festival part held up at Winter Park Resort on the Saturday after the first day of the show and that will be taking place again this year.  The Winter Park Jazz Festival weekend is a full weekend of music, fun and sun in the mountains.  We have had good weather the last few years and are hoping that trend continues.

Again, save the dates July 21 and July 22 for the Winter Park Jazz Festival and make sure to check out the best Winter Park Music Festival Rentals.

The artist lineup has been announced for the 2011 Winter Park Jazz Festival. This is the twenty sixth edition of the WP Jazz Festival and the lineup looks very, very good.

This year the festival is being held July 23rd and 24th and is the highlight of the Winter Park summer concert series.  (Check out the poster for the tenth jazz festival to the left)

The 2011 Winter Park Jazz Festival Lineup

Saturday, July 23

OJay’s
Najee
Alex Bugnon with Special Guest Nelson Rangell
Dotsero

Sunday, July 24
Dave Koz
Will Downing
Arturo Sandoval
Hot 8 Brass Band

Tickets go on sale on April 1st at 9am. Call: 888-409-5974 for more information from the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.

Ticket and Package Pricing

It is getting the time of year to start looking forward to the summer music festivals here in Winter Park.  This year looks to be a doozy of a year with a couple of new festivals with some great music and musicians.

The biggest and usually the best Colorado summer concert music festival is the Winter Park Jazz Festival.  The dates are set for this years festival for Saturday July 24th and Sunday July 25th.  There a some rumors as to the jazz festival musician lineup but we promised to keep out tongues tied until there is an official announcement.  Last year the lineup was announced April 1st and that should be the same this year.

Check out the jazz festival poster to the left for last years musician lineup.  This year again the festival will be held at Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park, CO.  Times for the shows should also be the same going from 11am to 6pm.

The WP Jazz Festival is the premier Winter Park music festival of the year and if you are thinking of attending make sure to reserve your lodging soon.  The best lodging books early and you don’t want to be in some bad digs for this show.  Check out Winter Park Lodging Company’s Jazz Festival lodging options.

Winter Park, Colorado comes alive in the summer so get here a day or two early and stay and stay a couple of days late and enjoy the Rocky Mountain summer.

Stay tuned for the Winter Park Jazz Festival artist lineup – we will keep you posted.  And mark your calendars the 2011 Jazz Festival is July 23rd and 24th.

Bernie's Backside

My brother and his family plus my 77 year old dad were in town last week, so we decided to be tourists and headed to Sombrero Stables in Snow Mountain Ranch (a YMCA camp) for a steak dinner horseback ride. 

We had to arrive by 3:30 to be matched with our horses (I got “Hitch” who liked to eat grass). We were riding by 4:15 in a straight line with our nice guide who rode looking back at us to be sure we were ok. 

We rode the horses into a nice trail, thru some beautiful big aspens and by a meadow where our guide said she saw a moose just a few days before. We squinted and hoped, but no moose appeared.  It was very peaceful and not scary in the least, since they don’t let you go any faster than a walk, although we learned the trick of holding the horse back a bit and then got to trot to catch up.  

We arrived at our dinner spot – a wagon-looking grill and picnic area. By that point, one of my nephews was in the deep depths of a horse allergic reaction so they offered (and he accepted) to take some Benedryl and ride back down in the car.  He hung out with us for dinner though which was surprisingly good.  We had steak, excellent grilled potatoes, beans, and bread.  They even had “Cowboy Coffee” for the caffeine addicted. 

Wagon Grill

Got back on the horses and by that point we were aching a bit (knees, bum, etc) but we made it back before sunset and said goodbye to Bernie, Hitch, and the rest of the horses.  One hint – if you tell them you’re an experienced rider, they give you the horses that act up a bit so for the most enjoyable time, swallow your pride and tell them you’ve never put your foot in a saddle. 

Strongly recommend this fun activity for families with kids (age 3 and up) or groups that want to take enjoy the scenery and West without flying down a mountain on a bike or falling in the river on a raft.  Thank you, Sombrero Stables!

As mentioned in Chris’s earlier blog, the WPLC crew got together last week for an exciting day of downhilling. After getting suited up in our ‘armor’ (see right) and loading our bikes on the lift, the ladies (Amy, Sarah, and myself) took the Trestle 101 course, which is perfect for those who are beginning or wanting to improve technique. For anyone looking to take the class, we recommend our instructor Ian who was knowedgable and who’s calm demeanor helped 3 crazy girls get down the mountain in one piece! Meanwhile, Chris and Dace were on their own with the helmet cam strapped on and ready to rock. We’ve got part 1 of their roller coaster ride caught on tape for you to check out…

After a few practice rounds and mtn. biking fundamentals, Ian took us girls down a looooong green trail aptly named ‘Green World’.  It was a fun winding trail through dense trees, open single track and rolling hills with lots of swooping turns (we liked calling them woop-de- woos). Needless to say, our class and one run on Green World lasted nearly three hours, so we got a great workout and were quite tired at the end. All in all, it was a great day and experience. We had a few spills, but managed to get back on the bikes and keep truckin’.  Gotta say the body armor doesn’t just look cool, it definitely cushions the falls! Soon, we’ll have part 2 of the helmet cam video up and running, so keep an eye out…

If you’re thinking about taking a weekend getaway filled with fresh mountain air or getting out of the city heat , Winter Park is where it’s at. Get an unbeatable price on summer lodging with Winter Park Lodging Company, and save big on all kinds of outdoor activities, including Trestle Bike Park and cross country bike rentals (great for the whole family!). We have an exclusive deal for our guests that gets you and your friends geared up for less! When you book your rentals online , you save over 20% off walk in rates and that’s a steal.

Remember, the Crankworx freestyle bike competition starts today and goes through the weekend at Winter Park Resort. Bring the kids and dogs and be amazed at the  high flying stunts these guys do -  It’s totally free and a wild time. Our instructor Ian will be competing too, so we’re going down to cheer him on and take some video. See you there!

The Winter Park/Fraser Chamber is getting a new website up and running strictly about mountain biking in and around Winter Park, Colorado.  So far there are trails and some other such stuff there and it looks to be a great addition to their main website.

The website is http://www.mountainbikecapitalusa.com/ . It is still under construction but there are a few Winter Park bike trails there.  If you would like to contribute photos or video there is a place to do that on the site.

With over 600 miles of trails, it’s no wonder that Winter Park & the Fraser Valley is the Mountain Bike Capital of the United States.

The Winter Park Lodging Co crew took a day this week to hit the Trestle Bike Park for some downhill gravity fed mountain biking and what a day it was.  We will post some video of my falls when we get them edited.  If you have not downhill mountain biked it is something that should be tried.  It is a workout like nine other and quite the rush.

Here are some of the Winter Park/Fraser mountain bike events and races:

Upcoming 2010 Events

* July 24 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #1 (Downhill) at Winter Park Resort

* July 25 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #2 (Super D) at Winter Park Resort

* July 25 – Women, Wheels & Wine – Women’s Mountain Bike Day at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

* July 29 – Aug 1 – Crankworx Colorado at Winter Park Resort – one of the largest gravity-fueled mountain bike festivals in the United States!

* July 31 – Epic Singletrack Series #5 (Crankworx CO Cross Country) at Winter Park Resort

* July 31 – Aug 1 Mountain Bike Capital USA™ Weekend at Hideaway Park

* Aug 14 – Epic Singletrack Series #6 (Mary Jane Circuit) at Winter Park Resort

* Aug 15 – Trestle Bike Park Race Series #3 (Downhill Finale) at Winter Park Resort

* Aug 28 – Epic Singletrack Series Finale (King of the Rockies) at Winter Park Resort

* Sept 4-6 – Winter Park Pursuit Mountain States Cup Race (Endurance | Gravity | Super D) at Winter Park Resort

Looking to have some fun on a bike well Winter Park CO is the place to be this summer.