Great Colorado Getaways

Mountains

By Christine Loomis

The mountains are for everyone. You don't have to be a diehard outdoor type to fall in love with the mountains, and you don't have to brave snow and bone-chilling temperatures. Here's our version of a fourteener—14 ways to get your own Rocky Mountain high this summer.

1. Be a restaurant critic

The mountain culinary scene always has something new. Here are a few restaurants to try.

New Seven Trails Grille at Granby Ranch's renovated Base Camp serves chef Karl Vogelbacher's Mediterranean fare, from upscale appetizers to gourmet pizzas and fresh pastas. 970-887-5200.

Maroon Bells, Aspen

Timber Hearth Grille's new chef is David Haynes, who left high-profile Stack restaurant on the Vegas Strip for peace and plenty in Cordillera. On the menu are halibut with lobster Bolognese and signature rabbit dishes. 970-926-5588 or www.cordilleracolorado.com.

Modis is Breckenridge's new, upscale restaurant, featuring contemporary American cuisine like pan-fried duck breast with gingered sweet potato and braised Colorado lamb shanks. 970-453-4338 or www.modisbreck.com.

2. Rekindle romance

Many of Colorado's most romantic spots are in the mountains. Strawberry Park Hot Springs, outside of Steamboat, is popular with families during the day, but come sundown it's for adults only and clothing-optional. Book a romantic night in one of the rustic cabins or the redecorated train caboose with someone you love. 970-879-0342 or www.strawberryhotsprings.com.

Few spots are more seductively beautiful than Maroon Bells near Aspen, with its high alpine lake surrounded by fields of wildflowers and 14,000-foot peaks. The road is free to non-motorized transportation and there are buses, too. www.stayaspensnowmass.com.

Planning a wedding photo shoot? Bridal Veil Falls, near Telluride, plummets 365 feet. It's romance, a hike and a photo op all in one. You can hike, bike or four-wheel to it. If you walk, allow an hour to reach the top of the falls. www.visittelluride.com.

3. Stay cool

There's something, well, cool about jumping in snow in sandals. Take out-of-state friends from the balmy weather in the valley to the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, where snow waits to be jumped in much of the summer. www.nps.gov/romo.

Independence Pass is another place to find snow in summer. Snow or not, temperatures at the top of the pass are always a welcome respite from summer heat below. Leave road rage behind—it will be a slow drive, so enjoy it. www.independence-pass.com.

4. Channel your inner chef

Whether you're an accomplished cook or aspiring to be one, there's a class for you amid mountain scenery.

Beaver Creek Resort and stylish Edwards eatery Dish are teaming up on cooking classes with a focus on fresh, organic ingredients. 800-404-3535 or www.beavercreek.com for the resort; 970-926-3433 for Dish.

The cooking school at The Kitchen Fine Catering in Carbondale offers numerous classes in which professional chefs share their personal techniques and tips. 970-963-7007 or www.thekitchenfinecatering.com.

In Aspen, Kiddie Cookers specializes in organic cuisine and nutritional cooking for aspiring chefs 13 or younger. Mother-daughter and father-son classes are among the options. 970-544-0264.

5. Ramp up your golf game

The SAM Putt Lab is new this season at the Tom Stickney Golf School at Cordillera. Its ultrasound analysis system evaluates putting strokes, helping instructors develop specific strategies for a golfer and custom fit a putter. 970-926-3111 or www.tomstickneygolf.com.

At Vail Golf Club, the new Vertex Swing Analysis Machine utilizes video technology to capture the myriad features of a golfer's swing so instructors can recommend improvements. 970-479-2260.

6. Try something new

Few new things are as cool as Dig This, near Steamboat. Have a play date with a bulldozer, skid loader or full-size hydraulic excavator and find out what it feels like to work these 20-ton behemoths. 888-DIG-THIS or www.digthis.info.

What's Zumba? A mix of Latin dance and exercise that burns 600 to 800 calories per class. Try it at Aria Club & Spa at the Vail Cascade Club. 800-282-4183 or www.vailcascade.com.

Gore Creek Fly Fisherman offers free daily fly-casting clinics at all three of its store locations: Vail Village, Beaver Creek Village and the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. Clinics start at 10:30 a.m., Memorial Day weekend through September. 970-476-3296 or www.gorecreekflyfisherman.com.

7. Listen to the music

This is just a tiny sampling of Colorado's world-class mountain music festivals.

Steamboat's Strings in the Mountains festival, June–August, has everything from jazz and pop to Western and family concerts. This summer the permanent Strings Pavilion debuts. 970-879-5056 or www.stringsinthemountains.com.

Works at the Aspen Music Festival, June 19–Aug. 17, include Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade." 970-925-3254 or www.aspenmusicfestival.com.

In Breckenridge, the Genuine Jazz and Wine Festival, Aug. 15–17, brings renowned jazz artists from across the nation. New this year is a Saturday wine tasting. 877-593-5260 or www.gobreck.com.

8. Celebrate culture

Take in the first annual La Vita e Bella Italian Festival in Winter Park, July 11–13. It's a celebration of all things beautifully Italian, including food, wine, arts and entertainment by Italy's Circus Zoppe. 970-726-4118 or www.playwinterpark.com.

9. Retreat

Sometimes it's good just to slow down. Mind Over Mountains in Ridgway offers women's retreats with yoga, exercise, indulgence, inspiration, reflection and camaraderie. 970-626-4424 or www.mindovermountains.com.

Shambhala Mountain Center at Red Feather Lakes is a spiritual center with summer classes that include introductory meditation, family camps, yoga and wilderness backpacking. 888-788-7221 or www.shambhalamountain.org.

10. Ride the Rockies your way

Nothing says summer like tubing on the Yampa River. Get a tube at Backdoor Sports in downtown Steamboat. 970-879-6249.

One of the most spectacular horseback trail rides in the Rockies is from Crested Butte to Aspen over East Maroon Pass. Fantasy Ranch Outfitters of Crested Butte takes guided rides with an overnight stay in Aspen before the return trip. 970-349-5425 or www.fantasyranchoutfitters.com.

If wheels are your thing, check out the new mountain bike park at SolVista Basin at Granby Ranch, www.bikesolvista.com; or Carbondale's amazing North Face Skatepark at the edge of town, 970-704-4116.

Rather slide? Winter Park claims Colorado's longest alpine slide, www.winterparkresort.com; Steamboat claims the steepest with its Howler alpine slide, 970-871-1104.

11. Go underground

Beat the summer heat by going underground—1,000 feet down into century-old Country Boy Mine in Breckenridge where it's 45 degrees year-round. Tours are for all ages. 970-453-4405, www.countryboymine.com. See page 28 for more mine tours.

12. Savor a sunset

Where's the best place to watch a summer sunset? Locals from Colorado's mountain communities gave us their picks (in no particular order):

From a canoe on Lake Irwin, near Crested Butte.
Allred's Restaurant at the top of the gondola in Telluride.
Gerald Ford Amphitheater in Vail.
Conundrum Hot Springs outside of Aspen.
Hazie's Sunset Martini Bar at 9,000 feet in Steamboat.
From a sailboat on Grand Lake.

13. Get with a guide

What's better than exploring with locals? This summer Beaver Creek Hiking Center offers "drive and hike" tours to historic mining and ghost towns, and daily hikes of all kinds. 970-845-5373.

Fungi aficionados can take a guided mushroom foray into the forests around Crested Butte during the Wild Mushroom Festival, Aug. 14–17. 970-596-4841 or www.cbmushfest.com.

Gourmet Guided Hikes in Steamboat, June 22–Aug. 31, combine walking from the top of the gondola along Vista Nature Trail with a white-linen buffet or Sunday brunch. www.steamboat.com.

14. Give back

Cheer on riders in the Copper Courage Classic, July 26–28, a 157-mile bike ride through the Rockies benefiting Children's Hospital in Denver. 720-777-7499 or www.couragetours.com.

Sign up for the Beaver Creek Colorado Eagle River Ride, July 26. There are 100-mile, 100-kilometer or 42-mile options on the scenic ride that benefits SOS Outreach, a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth. 970-926-9292 or www.vailvelo.com/riverride.cfm.

Christine Loomis is a Lafayette-based freelance writer.

For more ideas, see Great Getaways from previous issues of EnCompass online at www.encompassmag.com/weekends.