Winter Park has been attracting skiers and snowboarders to the mountains of Colorado for over 75 years.
The resort town is located 67 miles northwest of Denver on the far side of Berthoud Pass.
It's also the only ski resort in Colorado, you can get to by train.
Join our photo tour of Winter Park, Friday afternoon on Instagram.
A photo tour of Winter Park and Fraser
Just north of Winter Park along US-40 is the town of Fraser – home to about 1,250 full-time residents and the popular Colorado Adventure Park and Fraser Tubing Hill. On your way into town, stop at the Cozens Ranch Museum (77849 US-40), which brings to life the pioneer times of the 1800s through the preserved first homestead of Fraser Valley.
The Fraser Tubing Hill is a family-owned business founded in 1971 that gives visitors a ride up the hill and rents out tubes by the hour. Anyone over age of three can partake. The Colorado Adventure Park, right next door, offers visitors much of the same, plus fun snowscoots (mini snowmobiles for kids under 5 feet tall).
For those who want to enjoy Winter Park year-round, the median home prize for all-size properties stands at $280,000, according to real estate website Trulia.com. Want to live in Fraser? The median home price there is a bit higher than Winter Park to the south, standing at $530,000.
Fraser and Winter Park's early history
The Fraser Valley was first inhabited by both Ute and Arapahoe Indian tribes before it was discovered by pioneers.
Canadian Billy Cozens was living in the mining camp of Central City in the mid-1800’s, however his wife did not like the seedy atmosphere. So, by the 1870’s the couple decided to move over the Continental Divide and become ranchers.
The ranch they built was the first settlement in the Fraser Valley.
In 1876, Cozens also established a post office for Fraser and became the post master. Their isolated ranch home eventually became a well-known stop for summer tourists who enjoyed the Cozens’ hospitality.
It wasn’t until the railroad came to the area in the early 1900s that a new industry popped up in Fraser: logging.
David Moffat, who was a wealthy Denver businessman, wanted to connect Denver to Salt Lake City by rail. So, he helped fund a transcontinental line that originally ran over the top of the continental divide, through tunnels of solid granite and across mountain gorges. The impressive route over the divide was completed in 1905.
But, to make the connection to Salt Lake possible a tunnel through the divide needed to be built. The 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel was finished in 1928.
A massive amount of timber was needed to build the rail and the logging industry flourished in Grand County during this time. The line also meant that timber from the Fraser Valley could be easily transported back to Denver as the city continued to grow.
In 1945, a group of German soldiers were captured during a battle in Italy and shipped to a POW camp in Greeley. About 200 of them were then sent to a work camp in Fraser to help keep up with demand for lumber.
The POWs loaded about 25,000 feet of lumber onto rail cars each day for a stipend of 75 cents a day.
While at the camp, they also took trips to a local movie theater, formed a dance band, baked German pastries and learned woodworking.
The railroad also meant it was suddenly much easier to get the Fraser Valley. Winter Park Ski Area opened in 1940 as tourism flourished.
Seventy-five years of skiing
Winter Park opened on January 28, 1940 with only three formal ski trails and a rope tow. At the time, it was park owned by the city of Denver.
But by 1950 the city decided it couldn’t operate the ski area any longer and formed the Winter Park Recreation Association.
Mary Jane opened in 1975, increasing the size of the resort by 80 percent. The territory is named after a local ‘woman of pleasure’ who supposedly acquired the land where the runs now lie as payment for her favors.
Since, Winter Park has continued adding lifts and increasing terrain to its current size of 3,081 skiable acres with 25 lifts and 166 total designated trails.
Other adventures in Winter Park
While Winter Park is still first and foremost a ski resort, it’s still worth a visit if you have no intention to head down the slopes.
Those who want to experience the winter wonderland in a different way can sign up for snowcat tours, go tubing, ride on snowmobiles, take a horse-drawn sleigh ride, go on a dog sled ride or eat dinner at 10,700 feet.
In the summer, the resort is almost as popular as it’s transformed into a mountain playground.
The winter ski slopes are taken over by mountain bikers. Winter Park’s bike park includes over 40 miles of downhill trails of all difficulties, accessible by chair lift.
Visitors can also play on a mountain-side disk golf course, take scenic chairlift rides, play mini golf, find their way through a human maze and speed down the state’s longest alpine slide.
Those looking for something a little different to do for St. Patrick’s Day this year can also head up to the resort to celebrate.
Each year, the resort holds a celebration in the Winter Park village plaza. Starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, there will be live Irish music and green beer and Bloody Mary's. Visitors can also get a card to fill with stickers that different restaurants and stores around the village will be giving out. Those who fill their cards will be entered into a drawing for a season pass for next year, a pair of Liberty skis and other prizes.
The return of the ski train
For seven years — from 2009 to 2016 — the train track that for 69 years carried passengers to the Winter Park Resort ski area sat silent.
But in January 2016, it again roared to life with the re-launching of the Winter Park Express ski train — an event that has helped thousands of skiers and snowboarders bypass the I-70 traffic and hit the Winter Park slopes quicker.
The train, operated by Amtrack, runs between Denver's Union Station and the Winter Park Resort every weekend through the winter season.
One-way tickets start at $29 and go up to $59 depending on demand.
Learn more and buy tickets: http://bit.ly/2iVxQoq.
Where to eat and drink
Most of the business in Winter Park is driven by the resort, which is also the biggest employer in town. In fact, within the resort's village are a smattering of restaurants for visitors to partake in before (or after) they carve up the slopes.
Those include Waffle Cabin, Back Bowl Soup, Goodys Mountain Café and Creperie, Pizza Pedl'r, Lime and more. There's even a brewery — Crazy Mountain — serving up everything from amber ales, to pilsners, to stouts and IPAs.
The town of Winter Park also has a main street outside of the resort where many of its most popular dining options lay.
The Ditch on 40 is a family-run bar and grill specializing in New Mexican grub; Fraser Valley Hot Dog serves some of the most unique 'gourmet' hot dogs in the state; and Hernando's Pizza Pub is the most recommended spot by locals and visitors alike.
A few other highlights include the craft distillery Idlewild and coffee shop The Perk.
Fraser has no shortage of its own bars and restaurants.
Sharky's Eatery (221 Doc Susie Ave.) is a small, cozy café great for grabbing breakfast or a burger, as is Creekside Eatery (401 Zerex St.), just up the street.
Wine lover? Head to Winter Park Winery (395 Zerex St.) for wine that offers a "bold, rich and flavorful spice," according to the website.
If you like Latin American food, there are plenty of options in Fraser — including Julio's Mexican Grill and Los Nopales (both at 535 Zerex St.) and Azteca Mexican Restaurant (5 Co Rd. 72).
There's also a couple spots in Fraser to find those one-of-a-kind treasures — Changes Thrift Store (45 Co Rd. 804) and Fraser Thrift (201 Eisenhower Dr.).
