If you are looking for a getaway that blends both action and relaxation, consider Glenwood Springs, Colorado. No matter what age combinations are traveling together, the mountain community offers one of the best Colorado winter family vacation options available. Envision plumes of steam floating up from hot springs pools, forests filled with snow-covered pines, a mountaintop adventure park, and nearly endless trails for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and fat tire biking. Get planning!
Sweet Relaxation
Let’s start with relaxation. As its name implies, Glenwood Springs is a hot springs town. The on-site Yampah Source Spring delivers 3.5 million gallons of pure geothermal water daily, direct to Glenwood Hot Springs Resort. How do you get everyone in the family to buy into the relaxing concept when little ones and teens are in the mix? When the world’s largest hot springs pool is part of a best winter family vacation in Colorado, there is something for everyone.
The historic Grand Pool, the largest of the seven pools at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort and about the size of a football field, is kept at 90-93°F so it is perfect for playing, going off the diving board, swimming laps, and just hanging out. The Therapy Pool is the second largest pool and is kept warmer at 104°F, so it’s pure bliss to soak in the mineral hot springs goodness as the snowflakes float down and to try out the power shower clusters and therapy jet chairs.
The newest addition to the property is a collection of pools called the Yampah Mineral Baths on the east end of the spacious pool complex, featuring five pools of varying temperatures. Bundle up in robes and towels to gather around the cozy fire at the center of the pools. In the evening, the pools switch to ages 18 and older to ensure a quieter, more spa-like atmosphere for adults.
While there are plenty of lounge chairs on the pool deck and free lockers in the changing rooms, splurge a little and rent a cabana so you have a gathering place for your crew that is complete with a small fire pit, four towels and four water bottles in the winter. The poolside Grill keeps everyone from getting hungry and thirsty, and overnight stays at the Lodge at Glenwood Hot Springs Resorts come with a complimentary made-to-order hot breakfast.
During spring break weeks in March, Sopris Splash Zone on the west end is open if weather and staffing allows. This family-friendly area includes a smaller pool area with three small slides and a waterfall feature, a splash pad that transforms into the lighted Grand Fountain at night, and the thrilling Shoshone Chutes, a whitewater river tube ride.
For swimsuits, goggles and a unique souvenir from what is sure to be your best winter family vacation in Colorado, the resort’s Shop is located in the pool lobby. It’s also stocked with t-shirts, sweatshirts, mountain apparel, water bottles, snacks and more.
Adults may want to add on another supremely relaxing experience by walking a block to Yampah Spa Vapor Caves featuring natural underground mineral water steam baths. Enjoy various spa treatments and a variety of salon services such as manicures and pedicures.
Plenty of Action
There also is action galore for all ages in Glenwood Springs. Sunlight Mountain Resort, located between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, is ideal for all levels of skiers and snowboarders to roam at a price that won’t put a big dent in your wallet. Lessons are available, and all runs eventually lead back to one base area, making Sunlight an easy place for family members to cross paths and meet up for lunch and après ski at the lodge.
Sunlight Mountain Resort also is one of the few U.S. ski areas to offer snowmobiling. The one-hour, 16-mile family tour begins at 10 a.m. and winds deep into the White River National Forest. The minimum age for riders is 6 years old. There also is a Nordic trail system at Sunlight that consists of more than 29 kilometers of groomed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails. Most people can quickly learn how to snowshoe, and snowshoes can be rented on-site and from various local outfitters.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, America’s only mountaintop theme park, also should be part of the best Colorado winter family vacation. Enjoy the magnificent views on a scenic gondola ride to the top of Iron Mountain, zoom down one of Colorado’s longest alpine coasters, test your skills with a game of laser tag, and watch a movie in the 4D Theater. Don’t miss tours of the famed Fairy Cave and King’s Row Cave. The park is open Friday through Sunday during much of the winter but has extended hours during the holidays and a more frequent schedule starting in mid-March.
The outdoor covered ice-skating rink at Glenwood Springs Community Center is a hopping place throughout winter until the end of March, weather permitting. The NHL-sized sheet of ice hosts hockey for kids through adults, learn-to-skate programs and public skate hours. Skate rentals are available.
If a gym workout and exercise classes are part of daily routines for the adults in your group, no worries as the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort Athletic Club has been recognized as the best local gym and yoga studio. Day passes can be purchased, and guests staying at the Lodge at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort receive a discount. Passes include a wide range of classes and use of state-of-the-art gym equipment, racquetball/handball courts, and a wet room complete with a steam room, sauna and hot tub.
Great Deals
One of the best deals that combines action and relaxation is the Ski Swim Stay package. The package includes one Sunlight Mountain lift ticket per adult, one free lift ticket for kids ages 12 and under per paying adult, a free shuttle ride to the slopes, 10% off lodging at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, complimentary breakfast at the resort’s poolside Grill, and unlimited hot springs pool access during business hours. Ski Swim Stay is available Dec. 15, 2024 to April 6, 2025 and subject to availability. Free children’s lift tickets are not available over holidays and spring break weeks (Dec. 20–Jan. 1, Feb. 14-17, and March 7-23). Children’s lift tickets may be purchased for $45 during these blackout dates.
Need gear to ski or ride Sunlight or another resort in the area? Glenwood Hot Springs Resort also offers a Ski or Snowboard Rental package in partnership with Hanging Lake Adventure Co-op. To the south of Glenwood Springs, Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Aspen Mountain are great options while Beaver Creek and Vail are to the east. Gear Up for Adventure features 10% off lodging at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, hot breakfast at the Grill, unlimited hot springs soaking, and a ski or snowboard rental voucher per registered guest. The package is available Dec. 15, 2024-April 6, 2025.
If you plan to stay elsewhere during the holiday season and enjoy daily hot springs fun at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, consider a five-day pool pass that can be used by one individual for a consecutive five-day period from Dec. 14, 2024 through Jan. 1, 2025. You decide the date to activate your pass. For ages 13 and over, the five-day pass costs $184 while a children’s pass for ages 3 to 12 costs $120. Kids 2 and under are free. With this five-day pass, your fifth day is free!
Stay for a weekend or a week and make sweet memories on your best Colorado winter family vacation ever. Glenwood Hot Springs Resort is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with no reservations needed, and you can come and go as you please throughout the day and evening. Glenwood Springs is the perfect combination of action and relaxation.