For years, these two side-by-side towns were best known for their coldness. Fraser, which is usually a degree or two frostier than Winter Park, registers the lowest temperature in the lower 48 states more days per year, on average, than any other town, earning it the title of "The Nation's Icebox." The daylight hours aren't bad. But on clear nights, the warm air dissipates and cold air plummets from the surrounding mountains onto the 9,000-foot-high valley floor.
Fraser mostly functioned as a ranching community, while Winter Park was the town base for the Winter Park ski resort, owned by the city of Denver as one of its mountain parks. The main strip along U.S. 40 was lined with hotels and restaurants that mimicked the Swiss Chalet style of architecture, as Colorado tried to market itself as the new Switzerland.
Lately, though, the towns have become more fashionable and self-assured. The management of Winter Park Resort contracted with a big-money developer to revitalize and expand its base; several large new lodges decorated in the popular Colorado Rustic look have sprung up. Yet there's something endearing about the town's remaining old-style functionality. Area businesses don't look so perfect as to make you nervous. Folks are very friendly. And the surrounding mountains have a close, cozy atmosphere that's perfect for snuggling with someone special on a cold winter's night
Getting There
Winter Park is 67 miles northwest of Denver and 85 miles from Denver International Airport. Most large domestic carriers serve DIA, and major rental-car companies have desks there. For information on contacting individual airlines and car-rental agencies, see the appendix. To arrange a shuttle ride to Winter Park from DIA, call Home James Transportation (tel. 800/359-7503 or 970/726-5060; www.homejamestransportation.com). Cost is $44 per person.
To drive to Winter Park from Denver, go 44 miles west from Denver on I-70, then take U.S. 40 north over Berthoud Pass and into Winter Park.
Amtrak's (tel. 800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com) California Zephyr stops in Fraser when traveling between the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago (and vice versa). Call for fares and schedules.
Car rentals are available through Avalanche Car Rental (tel. 888/437-4101 and 970/887-3908) and Hertz (tel. 970/726-8933).
If you're staying in Denver and want to travel to Winter Park for a day of skiing, consider using the Ski Train (tel. 303/296-4754; www.skitrain.com), a Denver tradition since 1940. Every Saturday and Sunday from mid-December through early April (and on Fridays during February and March), the 17-car, quarter-mile-long train departs Denver's Union Station at 7:15am, climbs into South Boulder Canyon and the Flatiron Range, and then crosses the continental divide through the 6-mile-long Moffat Tunnel. It emerges from the tunnel at the base of the ski area, 4,000 vertical feet above its starting point, and deposits as many as 750 passengers at 9:30am. The return trip leaves at 4:15pm. About 40 percent of the train's passengers are nonskiers who take the train as a sightseeing excursion (a trend that one Winter Park resident affectionately calls "Throw Mama on the train"). Round-trip coach fare is $44 for adults, $34 for seniors and kids. A limited summer schedule also exists; fares are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors and kids. Check the Web site for summer schedule details. HeadsUp: The Ski Train has one drawback: In order to avoid over-packing the train on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, your return ticket is valid only on the same day that you travel to Winter Park, so you won't be able to use that ticket if you plan an overnight stay.
Getting Around
These towns aren't great for walking, because the businesses are pretty spread out. They are, however, perfect for bicycling. You can take a paved bike path all the way from Winter Park Resort to Fraser.
The Lift (tel. 970/726-4163) provides regular, free shuttle service linking Winter Park Resort, Winter Park, and Fraser. During ski season, the shuttles run every half-hour from 7:30am to midnight. From the Fourth of July to Labor Day, there's hourly service between 9:30am and 4pm. The shuttles don't operate during spring and fall.
Home James Transportation (tel. 800/359-7536 or 970/726-5060) offers taxi service at a cost of $4 for the first mile, plus $2 for each additional mile.
Hitting the Slopes
Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, this is my favorite resort in the state. For a megaresort that ranks among the nation's busiest mountains, Winter Park Resort (tel. 970/726-5514; www.skiwinterpark.com) feels like a throwback. It's still owned by the city of Denver, which established it as a park in 1939. Many skiers arrive here on the Ski Train, via a historic rail line that passes within yards of the base area. And because of cold temperatures and a storm-trapping location just west of the continental divide, the snowpack (the actual amount of snow on the ground) here usually ranks among the deepest in the state, calling to mind the days, etched in every aging skier's memory (or imagination), when it really did snow.
It's the closest full-service mountain resort, mileage-wise, to the Mile High City, so you can get here easily and enjoy the area's mix of terrain. Winter Park serves up a pleasing variety of mogul runs, cruisers, and beginner runs, sometimes in close proximity to one another. If you want to concentrate on expert runs, you can bounce down long, steep mogul runs on Mary Jane, the most challenging of Winter Park's three mountains.
Novices will appreciate the Galloping Goose chairlift, which serves fenced-in, beginner terrain. Tickets for this chairlift cost just $5, making it an ideal place to teach children how to ski.
The Fraser Tubing Hill
If, after a long day of skiing, you're still intrigued by the combination of snow and gravity, get yourself over to the Fraser Tubing Hill (behind the Alco Shopping Center in Fraser; tel. 970/726-5954) and keep sliding. It's probably the most fun thing a family can do in the evening here: a specially designed tow rope hauls you up the well-lighted, groomed slope, and you ride your specially designed inner tube down in any position you want. Tube rental is $14 per hour for adults, $12 for kids ages 7 to 15. The hill is open Tuesday through Thursday 2 to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 10pm, and Sunday 10am to 9pm (closed Mon).
Lodging
Fraser Valley, home to Winter Park and Fraser, has a hodgepodge of lodging. New condos, old condos, luxury hotels, family lodges, B&Bs, guest ranches, and chain motels all vie for your business.
Arapahoe Ski Lodge, Winter Park
Run by the same family since the mid-1970s, this rustic lodge has a Bavarian exterior and a mostly wooden interior with an intimate, British-style pub. Knickknacks such as steins, baskets, and ski memorabilia clutter shelves that seem to have been nailed up on an as-needed basis. Near the lobby you can hang your skis on hooks, or tune them on a table. The 11 guest rooms are spare but comfortable. They don't have televisions, so guests spend more time in the tiny indoor hot tub and swimming pool, around the shared television room, and in the pub. They get to know each other even better over breakfast and dinner, which are included in the wintertime rates. During slow periods, the place calls itself a B&B and serves breakfast only. It's as old-school as they come.
78594 U.S. 40; tel. 800/754-0094 or 970/726-8222; www.arapahoeskilodge.com. Rooms (includes breakfast and dinner for two) from $220.
Iron Horse Resort, Winter Park
Come to this large condominium hotel at the base of Winter Park Resort if you want to get serious about skiing. The resort's privately owned condos range in size from sport studios with Murphy beds to two-bedroom, three-bath units. No matter what size you choose, you get a full kitchen, a gas-log fireplace, and a private balcony. You also have access to the hot tubs, heated outdoor pool, steam rooms, and exercise room. If you cook a few meals yourself, you can offset the extra dollars you'll spend for this ski-in, ski-out location.
101 Iron Horse Way; tel. 800/621-8190 or 970/726-8851; www.ironhorse-resort.com; Rooms from $139.
The Pinnacle Lodge at Winter Park, Fraser
This two-story motel has perfect paint, sharp edges, large windows, and lots of space. Not much about the place will surprise you. All the rooms have 28-inch TVs, coffeemakers, refrigerators, microwaves, dataports, and ironing boards. Continental breakfast appears every morning inside a bright, sunny breakfast area. There's also a small indoor swimming pool and spa. The only surprise -- and it's a modest one -- is that the place is in Fraser and not Winter Park, as the lodge's name would seem to indicate.
108 Zerex St; tel. 970/722-7631; www.pinnaclelodge.com. Rooms from $89.
Read more about lodging in the area.
Information
Winter Park Visitor Center, on U.S. 40 in downtown Winter Park (tel. 800/903-7275 and 970/726-4118; www.winterpark-info.com), and Fraser Visitor Center, 120 Zerex Ave. (U.S. 40) in Fraser (tel. 970/726-8312), can handle your questions about the area.