Like snowflakes, every traveler is different and just because some members of your family love to ski, it doesn’t mean that everyone is amenable to the idea! The cold, the snow, and the way it hurts when you fall, well, we understand that snow isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but that does not mean you have to skip Winter Park for your winter vacation! We are more than just a ski town, offering a plethora of exciting things to do in Winter Park and see, and this guide to everything that makes Winter Park wonderful only improves as you discover how staying in one of our Visit Winter Park Lodging vacation escapes will enhance your getaway!
Shopping
Our second favorite vacation activity, no matter what our destination happens to be, is exploring the shops that make up the landscape of the towns we visit. And although Winter Park is not a large town, the variety of stores we offer will more than keep you occupied while your snow loving family hits the slopes. Art galleries featuring the works of local artists (Karen Vance Fine Art is a local favorite!) boutiques that encourage you to be yourself (Be…Boutique accepts you just the way you are) even sweet shops like Treeline Treats will help you feel so much better about not joining in the fun on the slopes!
A Taste of Culture
Museums are another popular way to get to know the town of Winter Park better and two vastly different establishments jump into our minds, the Cozens Ranch Museum and Headwaters River Journey. Cozens, located in nearby Granby offers a fascinating portrait of early life for local settlers with the building it is housed on actually being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Headwaters River Journey, located right here in Winter Park, however, is an altogether unique museum, offering an interactive experience that explores the rivers that run through the Colorado landscape. Designed to impress both kids and adults, it is the perfect place for you and your child, a fellow non-skier, to tighten your bonds as you learn about the world’s most precious resource.
Mountaintop Après & Fun Things to Do in Winter Park
Just because you don’t want to ski, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the most popular pastime of all, the après ski “party” held at Sunspot Mountaintop Lodge at Winter Park Resort. Taking place every Friday and Saturday from January through April, access to the Gondola is free after 4, allowing non-skiers to enjoy the fun. Offering live music (a different band each night) cocktails, and views of the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen in your life, Mountaintop Apres is about to become your new obsession!
Spa Day for the Win
What’s better than being warm and cozy inside during your escape to Winter Park? Being warm, cozy, and pampered by the amazing staff at Blue Sky Massage. Located at 21 Kings Crossing Road Unit 201 in Winter Park and offer a wonderful range of services that include multiple ways to be pampered, your skin, muscles, and body will thank you for the experience! Their Winter Wonderland package offers a body massage with peppermint oil, a foot massage in which your tootsies will be exfoliated, massaged with shea butter, and relaxed with hot compresses that will make you forget that just minutes ago you were trudging through the cold snow. The scalp massage included in this package will make you forget everything else except just how good it feels!
The Romance of Ice Skating
People who don’t like heights are prone to not like skiing, but skiing isn’t the only winter sport that you can try out during your stay in Winter Park. Ice skating still gets you out there in the crisp air and when you ice skate holding hands with your favorite traveling partner, your winter getaway becomes a romantic journey you will never forget. The Village Ice Rink, located in Winter Park, opens as soon as the ice is hard enough and stays open until warmer days arrive once again!
Eternal Summer in the Mountains
And finally, for the travelers who always have their faces turned to the sun, the Grand Park Community Rec Center allows you to experience summer in the depths of winter! Offering waterslides, pools, a lazy river, and everything you need for a resort vacation in a winter playground, the rec center is designed to keep you entertained and fit; it also offers a rock climbing wall, fitness classes, and a host of other things to do in Winter Park that will definitely counteract all the calories you have been ingesting while on vacation!
Stay at Home and Play
Let your family brave the wilds on the ski slopes as you soak in the hot tub, nap on comfy sofas, or sit in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and a good book! Reserve your favorite Visit Winter Park Lodging winter escape today!
