TravelGuides

(TGA) - Hello,

My wife and I (late 30's) are trying to plan our first winter trip to Colorado for a three or four night long weekend sometime from Jan-Mar.

We've never gone skiing, but would like to give it a try. We're more interested in staying some place like all of these pics I see of an "old west" style town covered in snow with mountains in the background.

We're also interested in dabbling in some of the other snow activities: snow shoeing, snow mobiles, tubing, sleigh rides -- even just strolling around town window shopping.

I don't mind spending some money, but would prefer not to pay higher prices simply to be at the "in" place. We're definitely looking for a place that's more rustic and scenic than hot and happening. And we live in the DFW area, so I'd really like to find somewhere that's a reasonable drive from Denver or serviced by AA so we can fly in direct.

I know it's very vague....but I'm starting from scratch on this - I'm usually an ocean & beaches guy. Can anybody offer any suggestions to get me started?

Thank you!!!

Eric
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Maybe Crested Butte? Not sure how you fly there though. I'd look at Steamboat and Telluride too. I think you can fly into Hayden for Steamboat on AA.
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I agree with alli.

Crested Butte is an easy drive from Dallas. You will find many fellow Texans there for that reason.

And yes, you can fly directly to Steamboat (HDN) from Dallas on American: http://www.steamboat.com/ad_airfares.html
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I'd go with Steamboat, Telluride, or Breckenridge personally. They all have that old mountain town feeling. (although Steamboat is starting to lose this unless you're downtown) Best places to start skiing, I would recommend Breckenridge--it's not overly steep and typically has very good instructors. Breck will likely be the cheapest alternative as well, although you can certainly find places in Breck to spend your money. Finally, Breck is very close to Copper Mountain, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, and Loveland, so you have other mountain options if you get "sick of" Breck. (I highly doubt you would in 3 - 4 days)

While Crested Butte is a favorite of mine, it's a small mountain, it's very steep and has more expert territory than beginner, and I fear that in 3 - 4 days a beginner may get "bored" there. If you're an expert, this is the best in-bounds skiing in Colorado. The town is very old mountain town as well, and reasonably priced. The one thing I'd give Crested Butte vs. the others is it's too far for the Denver, Co Springs, Ft. Collins crowd to typically drive for a day, so the lift lines are easy on the eyes and feet, and it doesn't get tracked out quick.

T
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Thanks all, that advice has given me at least a few places to start looking into some greater detail.

I appreciate the help!

Eric
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Telluride would be the most scenic, IMO. But can be expensive. Some people stay in Ridgway or Ouray for other activities and drive to Telluride for the day to ski.
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Easy choice if you're just doing 3 or 4 nts. and dont want to do waste your time driving all over the place.

You can direct flight DFW-HDN (Steamboat) w/AA daily all ski season. Last time I checked flight prices were pretty cheap. The cowboy downhill happens in Jan and winter carnival usually 1st wknd in Feb. You can check exact dates on Stbt website.

All kinds of cowboy stuff during carnival and most of the pro bull +bronc riders for cowboy downhill. Or you could just go up to Ray Heids Triangle 3 for horseback riding and snowmobiling.

Have fun!
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I vote Steamboat.

Telluride is getting to be a bit like Aspen with all the money coming in... Oprah, Tom Cruise and the like.

Stay away from Breakenridge..it is not at all what it used to be.

I know very little about Crested Butte.
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You might want to check out Colorado's official tourism site - http://www.colorado.com/ is the link. Lots of good deals and information on winter activities.
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You might also check out New Mexico. Much closer to TX and there are some really good places www.newmexico.org/play/skiing/index.php is a link to the ski areas there.
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Oh geez, how did I post twice? Guess I'm just trying to run my numbers up so I can get to 1000 postings - not.
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