Located in the heart of Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains, the picturesque town of Carbondale was first occupied by the Ute Indians, then by silver prospectors, cattle ranchers, and potato farmers. With a strong arts and music community, the town embraces its mining, ranching, skiing, and resort identities, and has also become an attractive place for sustainable businesses.
Nestled between the glamour of Vail and Beaver Creek, Minturn is a small town with big character. In addition to historic architecture and charming homes, Minturn boasts great restaurants, unique shops, and access to plenty of outdoor adventures. As the gateway to the White River National Forest and the Holy Cross Wilderness, Minturn’s backyard features mountains to climb, snow to shred, trails to ride, and rivers to fish.
Get away from the crowds and the traffic and explore the gem that is Winter Park – no matter what the season. Our small town atmosphere combined with world class skiing make us a great place to kick back, relax, and enjoy our year-round recreation, shopping, lodging and dining opportunities. We hope visitors use our site as a starting point for their visit, and residents as a contact point for keeping in touch with the community.
At Vail, the experience extends far beyond the mountain. Vail is linked by 3 lively base areas filled with shops, world class restaurants, bars and apres hot spots. Linked by pedestrian friendly heated streets, the village is a perfect place for a family stroll after skiing or a bar-hopping night out on the town. The countries largest free transportation system runs frequently, making it easy to access almost anywhere in the Vail area without touching your car. It’s almost like the whole town is “ski in, ski out”.
Celebrated for its culture, heritage and spectacular scenic beauty, Telluride, Colorado, is recognized for its unrivaled recreational opportunities. In the winter, world-class Telluride Ski Resort boasts powder-filled bowls in which to ski, snowboard and enjoy awe-inspiring mountain views. Come summer, the resort transforms into a North American icon of music and events. In addition to the summer festival calendar, camping, hiking, biking, flyfishing, rafting, Jeeping and other outdoor activities are popular.
Salida has long been a gateway to outdoor adventures and also a getaway for artists inspired by the scenic mountains, the flowing river and the friendly, laid-back atmosphere. Opportunities for recreation, relaxation and inspiration continually draw visitors from around the state and the world, but it was the 2012 designation of Salida’s Creative District that really put this historic mountain town on the map. Today, dozens of artist-owned studios and galleries fill Salida’s downtown, along with incredible restaurants, specialty shops, breweries, distilleries, healing arts, non-profits as well as a popular farmers market, walking tours and many other successful enterprises. You’ll find it’s easy and fun getting around this bike-friendly town to enjoy all the offerings in Salida’s Creative District and the Highway 50 corridor. For decades, Salida has encouraged travelers to “Follow the Hearts to Salida,” and we believe you, too, will fall in love with this charming mountain town and Follow Your Heart to Salida.
Think skiers in cowboy hats and you’ll have a pretty good mental picture of Steamboat Springs in northwestern Colorado. Yes, there’s world-renowned skiing here, but with an undercurrent of cowboy culture. The wide-open Yampa Valley brought cattle ranchers here in the 1800s, and the town’s signature store still sells Western wear. Steamboat is known, also, for its long-standing Western heritage — with a more than 100-year-old summer rodeo — and deep-seated ski heritage. The town has two ski areas: Steamboat Ski Resort and Howelsen Hill, the oldest, continuously used ski area in Colorado and home to nearly 90 Winter Olympians.
Snowmass Village, Colorado is a former ranching community turned destination resort. This quaint village nestled in the Brush Creek valley features an astounding array of recreation opportunities for a town of such modest size. Snowmass ski area is the largest of the four Aspen / Snowmass mountains, bigger than the other three mountains combined! Snowmass is characterized by abundant ski-in/ski-out accommodations, extensive and well-maintained hiking, biking and walking trails, and a dedication to the leisure lifestyle realized in the service provided to the guest and the style of life maintained by the locals. The event and activity schedule in Snowmass is packed year round and sure to provide something of interest to every traveler. Locals and visitors mingle comfortably on the slopes, trails, and bars and restaurants of this unique Colorado mountain town.
Silverthorne, “the gateway to Summit County”, is only about a one hour’s drive from Denver. Incorporated in the 1960’s, Silverthorne has grown up with the Summit County tourist industry. Silverthorne’s proximity to both Summer and Winter activities make Silverthorne an ideal place to visit. Summit County’s four world-class ski resorts, all within 20 minutes of Silverthorne. Silverthorne’s 62,000 sq. ft. Recreation Center offers plenty of indoor recreation for both residents and visitors alike. Silverthorne is best known for its shopping, which should not be missed! The Silverthorne Factory Stores, with over 70 brand name shops are widely known for exceptional value, quality, and variety.
The Town of Pagosa Springs is a scenic community known for “healing waters”, our natural hot springs (“Pagosah” is a Southern Ute word for “healing waters”). They are located thirty minutes west of the Continental Divide and Wolf Creek Ski Area. Pagosa Springs is surrounded by the San Juan National Forest and Southern Ute Indian lands. Many recreational activities are made possible by the San Juan River that flows through the heart of town. They have myriad opportunities for hiking, fishing, all forms of skiing, hunting, four wheel drives, snowmobiling, and numerous scenic drives. With an average of 300 days of sunshine and four definitive seasons, Pagosa Springs is an extraordinary place to live! For more information on activities, events, restaurants and shopping visit the Pagosa Springs Town Tourism website.