Family Travel

Check-out oodles of adventures in Colorado including where to find the best family travel getaways & Denver kid friendly activities.

Could a new ski area open in Southern Colorado this year?

An old ski lift at Southern Colorado’s Parker-Fitzgerald Cuchara Mountain Park could start running again by summer, making lift-served mountain biking, downhill skiing and more possible. The original Cuchara ski area, about 30 miles southwest of Walsenburg, first opened in the early 1980s. During the following decades, six different operators tried and failed to make a go of it. Due to unreliable snowfall and other factors, it closed for good in 2001.  Huerfano County bought the defunct base facilities, acreage and one chairlift in 2017 using donated funds. The county and its partners got to work on a master plan with the goal of turning it into a public park.   The park is roughly 50 acres, mostly at the base of the old ski resort.  Volunteers ...

Bryce Canyon National Park in the Winter: Family-friendly Places to Play, Stay and Eat

Bryce Canyon National Park. Famous for its expansive Bryce Amphitheater and a swirling red-rock world of pillars, hoodoos, and fin-like ridges that are stunning enough during the summer months but in winter, they erupt from the rim of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in a fiery display set against the cold white snow. This high-elevation park is also Utah’s smallest with an area of only 56-square miles.  I have only been to Bryce Canyon in the “off-season” so I have come to expect a pristine, uncrowded winter wonderland with the absence of the tourists who flood the park every May through October. My first visit was when I was a single gal working as a travel writer. I was invited to cover the Bryce Canyon Winter Festival that still lives on every President’s Day weekend with...

25 Fun Activity Ideas for Getting Unplugged on National Day of Unplugging

In the non-stop age of technology and Zoom, who else is in desperate need of disconnecting so you can reconnect? National Day of Unplugging is from sundown-to-sundown March 5-6, 2021 and there’s no better time than now to unplug.  Interesting facts: 75% of Americans spend anywhere from 3 to 10+ hours a day on a device. 48% of Americans spend 5 hours or more per day looking at a screen, while 13% spend 10 hours or more and we’re sure those numbers have gone up during the pandemic.  77% of women spend  3 hours or more per day on their computer, phone, or tablet, compared to 68% who say the same. Anyone else called to repentance with these statistics? Let’s do better, Mamas, and model great behavior for ourselves and for our families! ...

10 Best Snowshoeing and Cross-country Skiing Trails for Kids in Colorado

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. While clicking these links won’t cost you extra money, they help us keep this site up and running. See our disclosure policy. Explorations in the mountains shouldn’t be limited to summertime and snowshoeing is one of our favorite ways to explore! Many of Colorado’s backcountry and State and National Parks offer groomed trails and exciting terrain for snow sports, so pack your gear and use our guide to the best snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails for families in Colorado.  Don’t own your own snowshoes? Kids snowshoes are a great ROI; I was able to sell ours after my kids outgrew them for almost the same price I bought them! Yukon Snow-Bash makes great kids snowshoes and these affordable SNO Stompers make...

Spring Break in Denver 2021: Best 100+ Activities

The countdown is on for Spring Break 2021 and even during a pandemic, there are still opportunities to play safely! Whether you want to hunker down indoors, get outside or explore something new, we have you covered with these fabulous Spring Break offerings, categorized by geographic area. COVID restrictions are in place and many attractions require reservations so always check prior to visiting. Don’t miss: Family Vacation: Your Guide to Spring Break in Colorado 2020 15 Affordable Family Spring Break Adventures in Colorado Denver Free Days 2021 20 Best Places to Go Sledding in Colorado Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Skating in Colorado WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN COLORADO FOR SPRING BREAK? CENTRAL DENVER Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus.  The 46,902 square foot building is located...

Sun Valley Winter Travel Guide for Families

My family soaked it all in: The twinkling lights on the trees, the thick layer of snow juxtaposed against the pastel lights of the sky and the luxurious heated pool. The clocktower chimed every 15 minutes, our only reminder that time here was quantified. Sure, we were in a pandemic, but after nearly 10 months of social distancing, we felt like we were finally living.   If you could safely take a road trip to one destination in 2021, where would you go? I was asked this question when Chevy reached out to see if I’d like to test-drive their 2021 Chevy Tahoe, the best-selling full-size SUV in the United States for 19 consecutive years. It took me five seconds to respond: Sun Valley, Idaho, America’s oldest ski resort and purveyor of the sun (250 days of it, to be exact). This playgr...

Top Ten Family-friendly Activities in Golden in February

There are so many fun ways to get out and about in Golden in February. Only 20 minutes from downtown Denver, Golden feels a world away with its small-town charm, hiking trails and creekside paths. February offers lots of opportunities for family fun in Golden, including: Hunt for a Golden Glass Orb – Throughout February, a one-of-a-kind glass orb will be hidden daily somewhere in Golden by Foothills Art Center. On weekdays, one glass orb will be hidden and on Saturdays and Sundays, there will be two orbs hidden. “Finders are keepers” of these beautiful orbs handcrafted by Colorado artists. More info on the Golden Glass Orb Hunt here: Visitgolden.com. Take Your Golden to Golden – February 3rd is International Golden Retriever Day and while there is not an official Goldens in Golden gat...

Free National Parks for Fourth AND Fifth Graders in 2021

The pandemic wreaked havoc on so much for one good thing to come out of is that last year’s fourth-graders may have been unable to make full use of their Every Kid Outdoors Annual Fourth Grade Pass. Translation: 4th- and 5th-grade students can have free access to our National Parks now through August 31, 2021. In case you need a refresher, Every Kid Outdoors is an initiative that allows fourth graders and their families to have free admission to National Parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and waters for a full year in the 2020-2021 school year. Signing up for a pass is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Go to the kid-friendly website Every Kid Outdoors and follow the instructions. For fifth-graders go to Access for 5th Graders Print an Every Kid Outdoors paper voucher. Vou...

Learn how to safely explore Colorado’s backcountry with your family

With all the uncertainty of COVID (and if Colorado’s resorts will remain open), why not head into the backcountry with your family? Of course, safety is of the utmost importance and we’re very fortunate to have these awesome companies that are teaching us how to be confident in our ability to use our equipment safely and competently by seeking education and training.  2021 Family Mountaineering Weekend at YMCA of the Rockies, February 12-15, 2021: Include the whole family for special sessions on winter survival and backcountry skiing, and keynote presentations by Chelsea Murphy about what it means to be a Black mother with a passion for adventuring in the outdoors, and Len Necefer, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, who will discuss the hi...

New Year’s Eve in Denver: 30 Denver Events to Kick 2020 to the Curb

Here are some great ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve in Denver. For more New Year’s Eve activities, see our event calendar.  THE MILE HIGH TREE WHEN: Thru Jan. 2, 2021 (5-9:30 p.m. on most Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; and 5-8 p.m. on some Sundays) WHERE: 16th Street Mall at Welton Street Join in the free festivities at this festive holiday attraction, the Mile High Tree. It’s a brilliantly lit, 110-foot-tall immersive art installation that provides a dazzling lights-and-music show.  WINTER WANDERLAND LIGHT WALK  WHEN: Thru Jan. 3, 2021 WHERE: Cherry Creek North New for 2020, explore 16 sparkling blocks with more than a half million lights and discover eight twinkling displays choreographed to music. ZOO LIGHTS  W...

10 fun reasons to spend your holidays at YMCA of the Rockies

It’s the happiest time of the year so why not spend the holidays at one of Colorado’s happy places!? YMCA of the Rockies has two beautiful locations: Snow Mountain Ranch has one of the best Nordic centers in Colorado and is located in Granby near Winter Park, just over 90 miles from Denver. The Estes Park Center is located just outside of the village of Estes Park, Colo., and is surrounded on three sides by Rocky Mountain National Park.  It is about a five to ten-minute drive from the YMCA to downtown Estes Park and 74 miles from Denver. YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park offers the perfect  safe, festive celebrations for families this holiday season including: DIY ornament craft kits to go Gingerbread house kits and decorating contest  Co...

Want to take a family vacation to Sun Valley or Snowbasin?

New for the 2020/21 season, your Vail Resorts Epic Pass takes you even further. Denver families can take a road trip to explore one of Utah’s best-kept secrets with Snowbasin and the birthplace of North American destination skiing in Sun Valley. Snowbasin Snowbasin Resort is a perennial top ten for SKI magazine in categories like dining, service, lifts and grooming. Here’s how that translates: Snowbasin takes care of everything it can control, and Mother Nature does the rest. Snowbasin Resort is under an hour from Salt Lake City International Airport, but is also about 30 minutes from the historic and vibrant Ogden metropolitan area. This is a city with farm-to-table dining, great performing arts and museums, as well as a fervent love for outdoor recreation. It’s stunning to re...