There is plenty of winter fun to keep people both fully occupied and happily relaxed in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It’s a place for all ages to enjoy as a family or sneak in a trip with your favorite date or a friend group. Snow-laden forests, plumes of steam from hot springs pools, a mountain-top adventure park, and trails for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and fat biking are among the winter activities in Glenwood Springs.
Total Relaxation
Tops on the laidback category is soaking in the mineral hot springs at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort. It’s an ideal combination of classic beauty with the world’s largest hot springs pool dating back to 1888 and modern amenities like newly renovated locker rooms and a redesigned Therapy Pool. There also is a lodge, athletic club, restaurant and shop plus electric vehicle charging stations and free parking.
Glenwood Hot Springs Resort is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with no reservations needed, so you aren’t locked into a certain time for visiting. A big bonus is the fact that day and annual passes provide unlimited in-and-out access all day long, so you can soak in the morning, explore in the afternoon, and come back to sit under the stars. Or stay all day, rent a cabana and grab a meal at the poolside Grill.
Add on another supremely relaxing experience by walking to the nearby Yampah Spa Vapor Caves featuring natural underground mineral water steam baths. In the three adjoining underground rock chambers, relax on slab marble benches in the warm rocky alcoves, inhale the natural steam vapor and take breaks from the steam in cold water and a cooling room. Yampah Spa Vapor Caves also offers a wide range of spa treatments and salon services.
Hit the Slopes
Sunlight Mountain Resort, located between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, opened for the season on Dec. 8. With 730 skiable acres, 72 runs and 2,000 vertical feet, there is plenty of room for all levels of skiers and snowboarders to roam at a price that won’t put a large dent in your wallet like many larger ski areas.
The longest run is Ute, a green trail that winds 2.5 miles from summit to base while the steepest run is The Heathen with a challenging pitch of 52 degrees. Need to up your game? Sign up for a lesson through the on-site ski and snowboard school. All runs eventually lead back to one base area, making Sunlight an easy place for family and friend groups to cross paths and meet up for lunch and après ski at the lodge.
Speaking of family and friends, one of the best deals around is the Ski Swim Stay package, which offers three key elements: convenience, affordability and fun. 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, 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. 8, 2023 to April 1, 2024 and subject to availability. Free children’s lift tickets are not available over holidays and spring break weeks (Dec. 23, 2023–Jan. 7, February 16-19, 2024; and March 9-24, 2024).
Perhaps you want to book a package during one of these blackout dates, already have a season pass to Sunlight or plan to ski elsewhere. If so, the Gear Up for Adventure package could be the perfect fit. 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, unlimited hot springs soaking, and a ski or snowboard rental voucher per registered guest. The voucher from Hanging Lake Adventure Co-op includes skis, boots and poles or a snowboard and boots. The package is available Dec. 8, 2023-April 1, 2024.
Many Options at Sunlight
How many U.S. ski areas also offer snowmobiling? Sunlight Mountain Resort is one of the few. Whether you are brand new to snowmobiling, a family with children or someone looking for a full-throttle adventure, there is a guided tour available. The one-hour, 16-mile family tour begins at 10 a.m. and winds deep into the White River National Forest through a lush forest of pines and aspen trees with the minimum age for riders being 6 years old. The adventure tour lasts 2.5 hours and covers 30 miles of terrain that features 360-degree views of Mt. Sopris, the Sawatch Range, and Elk and Flattops mountains. There also is a stop in the backcountry Baylor Park where everyone has the chance to play. All riders must be at least 10 years old for this tour. Private custom outings also are available.
Among the numerous winter events in Glenwood Springs are several at Sunlight Mountain Resort. The Snowshoe Shuffle 8K race through the resort’s Babbish Gulch begins at 10 a.m. on Dec. 16. All fees support Colorado Animal Rescue, and all racers receive an event shirt and are entered in a raffle for prizes. The Nordic trail system at Babbish Gulch consists of over 29 kilometers of marked trails with a combination of groomed and ungroomed terrain that meanders through aspen groves and along the edges of dense pine forests. Snowshoes can be rented from the various local outfitters.
If randonnée ski racing is more your style, Sunlight’s first event in this season’s Moonlight Race Series is on Dec. 21 from 6-8 p.m. The series runs until March 17. Fat tire biking enthusiasts are sure to love the Rat Bike Face on Jan. 7. Groomed trails, aspen groves, heart-pounding uphills and white-knuckle descents are all part of the two-lap race that starts at 10 a.m. and is followed by a raffle for sweet swag.
Fun for Everyone
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, America’s only mountain-top theme park, is among the winter activities in Glenwood Spring. Enjoy the magnificent views on a scenic gondola ride to the top of Iron Mountain, admire the large plaza adorned with seasonal decorations, zoom down on Colorado’s longest alpine coaster, 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 and grab a bite to eat and a warm beverage at Lookout Grille.
The park is open Friday through Sunday during the winter and has extended hours that encompass the entire weeks of Christmas and New Year’s, three weeks in March for spring break, and Monday holidays like Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day. Mark your calendar for Winter on the Mountain that runs from now through Jan. 7. Live music and entertainment, a half-million magical lights, ice sculptures, food and drink, and visits from Santa are part of the seasonal offerings. On the evenings that Santa visits, mention at the gondola base after 3 p.m. that you’re headed to see him as kids 12 and under get free admission to the park.
The ice-skating rink at the Glenwood Springs Community Center is a hopping place from November through mid-March when activities at the rink are in full swing. The NHL-sized ice hosts hockey for kids through adults, learn-to-skate programs and public skate hours. The best way for visitors to enjoy the ice is during public skate times that occur several times throughout the week and on the weekends. Glenwood Springs Community Center rents skates, sticks, and pucks if you don’t have your own.
Many of Glenwood Springs’ traditional hiking trails are excellent locations for snowshoeing, and there is no cost to use Babbish Gulch trails at Sunlight Mountain Resort, where trails are clearly marked beginner, intermediate and advanced for snowshoeing and Nordic skiing. People on snowshoes and Nordic ski also are welcome to use the trails at Ironbridge Golf Club south of Glenwood Springs. Portions of the golf course are groomed as weather permits, but skate skiing is not allowed. Enjoy après-ski at The Kitchen at Ironbridge starting at 5 p.m.
Stay for a weekend or a week. There are plenty of winter activities in Glenwood Spring to keep you fully occupied.