Outdoor Gear Swap in Winter Park, CO

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Valarie

Don’t miss the 2nd annual Fraser Valley Community Gear Swap benefitting Habitat for Humanity on Saturday & Sunday, June 19th and 20th. Come out between 9am & 5pm to the Epic Mountain Sports parking lot at the Park Place Shopping Center (with Conoco and Movie Theater).

Sell your used skis, snowboards, bikes, kayaks, golf clubs, tents & camping gear or any other sporting equipment you no longer need, or pick up a new addition for your outdoor gear collection.

To sell your stuff, drop off your gear on Friday afternoon between 4pm and 6pm or on Saturday morning between 7am and 9am. You name your price, fill out a sale form and keep 100% of the proceeds from your gear. If you don’t want to take that old stuff back to your garage, you can donate it to the Habitat for Humanity.

Plus, all Park Place Shopping Center stores will donate 5% of Saturday sales to the Habitat Humanity. Take advantage of the big sale at Epic Mountain Sports and specials at Rise & Shine Bakery, and feel good about helping out the community.

For more info, call Epic Mountain Sports at 970-726-2868.

Whitewater Rafting in Winter Park, CO

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Chris

Colorado River Rafting

The water is coming out of the mountains and the rafting companies and Colorado rafters are getting great water this year. Local Winter Park rafting companies are having one of their best springs in recent years, thanks to all the spring snowmelt gushing out of the mountains into area waterways.

Due to the late April and May snowstorms and the warmer June weather we have had this year the rivers are full and this is the time of year to take a trip down the Upper Colorado or Clear Creek.

Winter Park Lodging Company Company works with two rafting companies in Winter Park, Adventures in Whitewater and Red Tail Rafting. This time of year, Adventures in Whitewater guides commercial rafting trips on a section of whitewater southwest of Kremmling, below Big Gore Canyon. The popular run stretches from Pumphouse on the Trough Road to Rancho del Rio, near State Bridge. As of Tuesday morning, nearly 5,900 cubic feet per second of water was running through that section of the river.

Adventures in Whitewater offers rafting trips on either the Upper Colorado or Clear Creek, has experienced and friendly guides, plus guests of Winter Park Lodging Company get 15% off. Just mention you’re our guests when you book your rafting trip.

Red Tail Rafting offers WP Lodging Co. guests 10% off on Colorado River trips and even transports you to the river. Only full day raft trips offered, which offer you more time to enjoy the river.

The water is soon to crest and the flows of water will slow through the summer. Now is a great time to get out and get on the water and see the beauty of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

No. 2 Winter Park, CO Mountain Bike Trail of the Week

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Chris

mountain bike colorado SolVista Mountain Biking

The second edition of the mountain bike trail of the week is here courtesy of the Winter Park/Fraser Chamber of Commerce and it is a great ride indeed. The trail is Tron at the Sol Vista Bike Park and i is a great intermediate classic cross country mountain bike trail with some single track, wooded areas and a bit of climbing.

The SolVista Bike Park has professionally designed trails to challenge and excite mountain bikers of any skill level.

The SolVista trail rating system is similar to that used in the snow-skiing industry. Trails are rated beginner, intermediate or expert, based on steepness of trail, technical difficulty and number of obstacles and overall riding experience. Regardless of difficulty, all jumps and stunts have “go-around” options, so you’ll never be forced into a dangerous situation.

Bike Sol Vista – TRON

Trail Location: To get to Sol Vista Basin at Granby Ranch from the Winter Park Visitor Center, continue North on US HWY 40 for about 15 minutes and turn right towards the Inn at Silver Creek. Continue up the hill to the base area of SolVista Basin.
Trail Information:Tron just may be the perfect blend of flowing singletrack, rocky wooded sections, man-made terrain and open turns. Branching off of Cheez-it, Tron will put a smile on your face. There is an “expert” step-down jump that has a go-around option.
Visit Bike SolVista for more information.

There are lots of good trails at SolVista and Tron is one of the “nice fun types”. SolVista is a great early season destination because most of the slopes are southern exposure and the snow melts early hence their early ski season closure.

Head out to SolVista for a great day of mountain biking.

Winter Park Colorado Mountain Bike Trail of the Week

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Chris

winter park co flume trail Flume Trail Winter Park, CO

Here is the first Winter Park Colorado mountain bike trail of the week. The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce has started to do a mountain bike trail of the week and I thought I would pass it along.

I have ridden the Flume/Creekside trail with the wife about three years ago. The ride is not that physically demanding but there are a couple tricky parts that take some mountain bike skill. I would say the whole family could do this ride with maybe a couple of areas of walking for the beginning bikers.

Some mountain bike etiquette:

downhill riders make way for uphill riders
if the trail is very muddy dismount and walk bike
if taking a break move off of trail

OK so here is the Flume/ Creekside mountain bike trail of the week.

Length: 5.3 Miles
Elevation: 8,900′
Rating: This is a physically easy trail but does require intermediate off-road skills.
Location: The trail starts at the St. Louis Creek Campground. From the Winter Park Visitor Center head north on US Hwy 40 for 1.5 miles once you come to the stop light in Fraser take a left on to CR 72 and stay right through the meadow. Once you come to the stop sign take a left. To get to the campground take CR 73 from Fraser for four miles.
Trail Information: Begin at St. Louis Creek Campground. The trail-head for Creekside. Creekside begins as a two track that is rocky and rutted in sections and slightly uphill with little terrain change at the beginning. The two track will turn into single track as the trail approaches the creek. The single track trail becomes more difficult with less gravel and larger river rock and more twists and turns. This is the most scenic part of the trail. Large beaver ponds may harbor an occasional moose, so take time to enjoy your surroundings.
Enter Flume and be prepared for an extremely fun ride. This trail is slightly moderate downhill descent with numerous turns, yet is never too hard. The kind of ride that makes your smile hurt. Heavily wooded forests at times gives way to open meadows full of wild flowers in the spring. The Flume trail gets its name from an old logging flume, which it parallels, for much of the ride. The trail will go through some aspens before reaching the scenic over look bench. Take time to enjoy the view of Byers Peak and St. Louis Creek.
Shortly after the scenic overlook is a trail junction. Straight ahead is Chainsaw, turn left and the trail will take you across St. Louis Creek. Turn left after the bridge and follow an old road back to the campground.

This is a great ride that is not to hard. Do look for moose and other wildlife in the area.

On the way back to Winter Park stop and have a beer and a bite to eat at one of Winter Park’s fine eateries.

Summer is here so lets get outside and enjoy this wonderful place called Winter Park, Colorado.

Winter Park, CO Free Music Thursdays

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Amy

Free music Colorado Mountains Free Colorado Live Music

Winter Park, CO will be hosting free Music Thursdays in Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park. These are completely free shows and are just a blast to attend.

The shows start at 6PM and go till around 8PM and there are usually good crowds and lawn chairs are provided by The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. It is always fun to pack a picnic dinner and some adult beverages and here a little live music in one of the most s[spectacular settings that you will ever hear live music. These shows are very kid and dog friendly and are well attended by both locals and visitors alike.

This year there are some pretty well known names on lineup that includes Opie Gone Bad and Hunker Down, a Winter Park favorite. The first show is June 24th and last is August 12th.

Here is the lineup and dates:

June 24: Samantha Fish
July 1: Boa & The Constrictors
July 8: Opie Gone Bad
July 15: Wendy Woo
July 22: Quemando Band
July 29: Rob Drabkin
Aug 5: Soul School
Aug 12: Hunker Down

Again the performances take place in Hideaway Park right on US Highway 40 in town. Look for the big moose on the north side of US 40 and take a right. The park on your left. Pack a picnic , the kids, some drinks and head out for some music and a great friendly atmosphere.

The last two years the weather has been great with mostly sunny skies and no wind. It does get a little chilly as the sun sets so be sure to bring a jacket if you are planning on staying past dark.

Come up and make a weekend out of the show with some great biking at Trestle Bike Park on Friday and maybe a hike or Colorado mountain golf on Saturday and then some mountain biking on Sunday.

Pole Creek Golf Course

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Chris

Colorado Mountain Golf

The sun is finally out up here in Tabernash and the golf courses are open. Pole Creek opened this season on May 15th but the first week or so was hampered by some classic Colorado spring mountain weather. This year promises to a great year for Pole Creek as this is the second year with the new club house and Bistro 28.

Have you been out to play the fine 27 up here in Tabernash? Well here is a little info on Grand County’s golfing pride and joy.

Pole Creek Golf Club is one of the few public 27-hole courses in Colorado and the only one in Grand County County Colorado. Pole Creek’s 7,107-yard course wanders through lush fields sporting native wildflowers, drastic elevation changes, vast bent greens and water challenge shots over two ponds and five lakes. The Ridge 9 course challenges experts to a rigorous game with 3,603-yard shots and tree-lined holes, while the more gentle Meadow 9 and Ranch 9 - accommodatesall playing levels. All three courses play to par 36.

Pole Creek’s design was conceived by Denis Griffiths, who incorporated existing lodgepole pine, valley meadows, sagebrush and a variety of water hazards including five lakes to create a diverse course appealing to a wide range of golfers.

The views at Pole Creek are some of the most spectacular you will see in all of Colorado.

So no that our winter is turning right into summer come on out and see what Pole Creek Golf Club has to offer high up here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Winter Park, Colorado Beer Festival

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Chris

Colorado Mountain Beer Festival

The first annual Winter Park, CO beer festival has been announced and will be taking place in Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park, Colo on Saturday August 14, 2010. This is Winter Parks first foray into the beer festival world but we are thinking that the Winter Park Beer Festival will be bigger and badder than the Great American Beer Festival in no time.

The Winter Park Beer Festival will be a celebration of beer, music and mountains, can you have any of these without the others?, in the beautiful environs of Winter Park, CO. There will be over 25 breweries represented doing beer tastings and selling merchandise with local and national bands to keep all entertained. There will also be vendors in Hideaway Park selling all that you will need to make this a fun and friendly day of beer drinking. We are hoping that the three young ladies to the left will be attending to help peddle some of the suds.

Breweries that can be expected to be attending, but in no way guaranteed to be, include New Belgium Brewery, Odell’s Brewery, Coors, Budweiser, Great Divide Brewery, Oscar Blues Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Left Hand Brewery, Grand Lake Brewery, Deschutes Brewing and Flying Dog Brewery. There should be some great beers by some of the best brewers in the nation.

As for music, the lineup should be fun with lots of good beer drinking tunes. Here is who will be playing:

JJ Grey and MOFRO

“intriguing and fortuitous… Grey’s a songwriter with a sharp wit and a knack for skewering the hypocrites, jive politicians and carpetbaggers who litter the landscape. The MOFRO vibe travels freely among swamp funk, blues, rock and soul, and does so with a certain down-and-dirty swagger that’s as real as it is appealing.”

Filthy Children

This funk/jazz/rock septet serves up a funkinetic frenzy of fresh, original, mind moving music; reminiscent of such groove giants as Soulive, Greyboy Allstars, John Scofield, and Deep Banana Blackout. Filthy Children deliver action packed funk that’s sure to be “a big fat kick in the groove”

Cowboy Dave

Hillbilly yuckster by day, Saturday-morning-cartoon hero by night, Cowboy Dave and his band of honky-tonk all-stars are poised to put the western back in country and western. Known to many as the deadpanned FortyTwenty frontman and fiddle player, Cowboy Dave Wilson has spent the better part of this decade honing his craft throughout the honky-tonks of the Midwest and South.

Sounds like some good grooves to get a good beer drink going up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This festival being on a Saturday lets you come up and enjoy a Free Ride Friday in Trestle Bike Park then the beer festival on Saturday and maybe some cross country/ single track mountain biking on Sunday before you return home.

I forgot to mention that the Winter Park Beer Festival benefits a truly worthy cause in the National Sports Center for the Disabled. I do not know of a better cause to give to and to do it all by drinking some beer and listening to some music in the Colorado mountains, now that is one heck of a weekend.

So come on out and celebrate summer with some beer and music!

SolVista Mountain Bike Park and Summer Operations to Open June 4th

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Chris

mountain bike solvista SolVista Mountain Bike Park

Solvista Bike Park and Base Summer season
Operating Friday – Sunday, June 4 – September 2010 (closing date TBD)
Select courses open for Triple DHip Downhill Stage Race Participants only May 29-31, 2010

Lift tickets
• Friday 12-7pm: $25 Adult, $15 Child*
• Sat/Sun 10-5pm: $25 Adult, $15 Child*

Season pass
• Adult Unlimited Bike Pass: $199 ($175 if purchased on or before May 26, 2010)
• Child* Unlimited Bike Pass: $149
*child is under the age of 13

The SolVista Bike Park provides an affordable, but high-quality Rocky Mountain trail experience. Offering daily ride tickets or season passes for bike riders.

Bike-specific Lift Chairs

Solvisat is excited to continue the use of bike-specific lift chairs for the 2010 season. Our lift capacity and speed is fast and your bikes are protected on these fantastic pieces of equipment. The SolVista Bike Park has professionally designed trails to challenge and excite mountain bikers of any skill level. Five existing trails embrace skill levels of beginner through expert with our number of trails doubling by the end of the 2008 season!

The trail rating system is similar to that used in the snow-skiing industry. Trails are rated beginner, intermediate or expert, based on steepness of trail, technical difficulty and number of obstacles and overall riding experience. Regardless of difficulty, all of the jumps and stunts have “go-around” options, so you’ll never be forced into a dangerous situation.

click for larger Solvista map

Solvista has a bunch o new trails ready for this season. Looking for some riding a week before Winter Park’s Trestle Bike Park opens check out Solvista Bike Park. Or if the Trestle becomes old hat head on down the road for a little Solvista mountain biking.

Crankworx to return to Winter Park for 2010

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Amy

Crankworx Bike Festival

WOOHOOOOOOOOOO…..

Once again, we will be treated to a great display of athleticism and a touch of the crazies, as we enjoy 4 days in the sun at Crankworx.

The downhill mountain bike event is scheduled for July 29- August 1, 2010, at Winter Park Resort. Super riders like Semenuk, Basagoitia, McCaul, and Berrecloth, will inspire beginners and pros alike to get out there and jump on a mountain bike. All base events are FREE! (A lift ticket will be required to watch any on-mountain sections of races.)

Crankworx Colorado is one of the largest gravity-fueled mountain bike festivals in the United States. Come up and check out the action! During four intense days, spectators are awed by some of the world’s best mountain bike athletes battling it out for over $35,000 in prizes. Some of the biggest names in mountain biking will be on site. Don’t miss the mountain biking event of the summer; make your plans now. You won’t regret it.

Thursday, July 29- Dual Slalom and Slopestyle Qualifiers
Friday, July 30- Super Downhill and Best Trick
Saturday, July 31- Cross Country and Slopestyle Finals
Sunday, August 1- UCI/PRO GRT Downhill

Give us a call to book a great Crankworx condo right at the base so you can avoid the hastle of driving and parking!

Winter Park Lodging Company – 877.329.1383

Don’t miss the mountain bike festival of the summer right here in Winter Park, Colorado.

Rocky Mountain National Park Opening

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Amy

Rocky Mountain National Park Opening May 28th

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to make the drive over the Continental Divide on Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Summer officially begins for the park on May 28th, 2010, when the Alpine Center opens. This drive is a “must do” for tourists and locals alike. The views are unmatchable and we have seen a wide variety of wildlife every time. Be sure to put it on your list this summer!

This living showcase of the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, with elevations ranging from 8,000 feet in the wet, grassy valleys to 14,259 feet at the weather-ravaged top of Longs Peak, provides visitors with opportunities for countless breathtaking experiences and adventures.

Elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes, cougars, eagles, hawks and scores of smaller animals delight wildlife-watchers of all ages. Wildflower-lovers are never disappointed in June and July when the meadows and hillsides are splashed with botanical color. Autumn visitors can relax among the golden aspens or enjoy the rowdier antics of the elk rut – mating season.

Trail Ridge Road and Rocky Mountain National Park are are national treasures that are not to be missed if you are up this way in Colorado. Make a coupe days of it and you can see beautiful Grand Lake, Colorado and spend some time with us Winter Park.