We’ve reached the point in the summer when you feel school standing right behind you. School is tapping its toes. It sends emails reminding you it still exists and it remembers your kids. What can an adventurous and creative Colorado family do to reclaim a bit of summer?
It has to be a close, easy drive. It has to feature cool mountain air and spectacular scenery. It has to be kind to the pocketbook while providing bang for the buck. It has to be doable for one of those spontaneous “I HAVE to get away this weekend or else” moments. Most of all, it has to have a variety of activities sure to inspire fun for all ages.
Copper Mountain to the rescue!
We visited recently and were more than happily surprised by how many adventurous—but still attainable—things there are to do in this picturesque ski village. Many might think of Copper Mountain as a respected, popular winter destination but write it off in the summer. Huge mistake. Huge.
Here is how to have a blast when the snow isn’t flying:
The Wrecktangle is a Ninja-style obstacle course, inspired by many of the tricky challenges seen on TV. It has been shrunk down to a size kids and adults can navigate, including a wall to run up, spinning platforms, nets, beams, and a zipline. It’s delightful to watch kids’ confidence build as they move from one challenge to the next. Mine were beaming, rivaling a mountain sunset.
It’s located in Center Village, handy to all the other featured activities. Park your car and don’t even think about it for the rest of your stay because the shops, restaurants, lodging, and attractions are in easy walking distance.
Now that your family is official a band of superheroes because you’ve conquered The Wrecktangle, what to do next? Prepare to get dizzy.
~ Bungee jumping, bumper boats, water bikes, a zipline that flies across a pretty lake, mini golf, and go-carts are a few of the ways to keep that blood pumping and ensure smiles become permanent.
~ Push their (and your) boundaries by tackling Colorado’s highest man-made outdoor rock climbing wall with a variety of skill levels. Like The Wrecktangle, it’s a wonderful way to inspire each other to strive to overcome physical and mental challenges.
~ Rent or take your own bike up the American Eagle chairlift and ride down snaking trails through fields of wildflowers. Or, ride it to the top and soak in the views, then ride it back down and soak in more views.
~ Coming in late summer/early fall! A mountain coaster! We can’t wait to try it and have no doubt it will be as much fun as the other attractions we enjoyed.
What do you do after the activities are shut down for the day? Copper Mountain has a full schedule of events and festivals extending into mid-September. This upcoming weekend, July 29 -30, is the Mac and Cheese Fest. Imagine, a weekend devoted to pasta covered in cheese!
Here are some highlights for the rest of summer and early fall:
August 5-6 Colorado Days
August 19 -20 Colorado Burger Summit
August 25-26 Cider Circus
September 2-3 Copper Country
Every weekend, in fact, features some sort of themed fun festival to check out.
Copper Mountain is devoted to their theme of “Raised on a Colorado Summer.” They love families and cater to the needs of little kids to big kids like you. Kids eat free every Friday night from 5 to 7pm. The restaurant changes every week. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, they do nature talks at the base of the American Eagle lift. On Saturday nights, there is a communal s’mores roast and singalongs complete with fireworks. Every Copper Mountain employee we encountered was friendly, knowledgeable, and genuine. There isn’t a whiff of pretentiousness to be found.
When parents need some alone time to enjoy Copper Mountain’s wide variety of restaurants and bars (or to soak those tired ninja muscles in a hot tub), they can drop their kids at Kid Night Out. Spend $30 at one of the many restaurants or shops and get three free hours of childcare. It’s on Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 to 10:30pm.
For more information and tools to plan your own getaway, whether it’s for a day trip or for a weekend, be sure to visit Copper Colorado (www.coppercolorado.com). Summer activities and events are running until September 17th. There is a nice variety of lodging options for all group sizes and budgets and availability is great right now.
Even after school starts, you can hang on to the fringes of ever-dwindling summer. But why wait? Summer still has a pulse and you should go.
Copper Mountain hosted our family so we could share our honest experience.
Author: gretchen
Amber Johnson
This looks like a BLAST!