We love Winter Park, CO in the summer. It is absolutely the perfect temperature for outdoor play and the mountains are a great playground. Winter Park has relatively inexpensive accommodations and is very family-friendly. There are so many things to do, that we have chosen just our favorite 10.
10 Things to Do with Kids in Winter Park, Colorado
1. Eat breakfast at Carvers – It is our favorite restaurant for breakfast in the whole world. Get there just after 8 am so you can be the first in line for cinnamon rolls that are as large as the plates. Everything that we have ordered at Carver’s is great and on most days we can’t decide so we just order the daily special.
2. Ride the Alpine Slide – At the base of Winter Park Ski Resort is a 10 minute chairlift ride that takes you to the top of Colorado’s longest Alpine Slide. You sit on a wheeled sled and ride as quickly as you can to the bottom. Kids under 7 can ride with an adult. It is one of the few places I can keep up with my boys.
3. Hike the Fraser River Trail – The Fraser River trail is a paved trail that wanders beside a rocky river. It is an easy hiking trail appropriate for all age kids {and stroller friendly}. The river will entice older kids to stop and play. We found tree trunks across it that make great bridges and flat stone for skipping.
4. Play really big Scrabble – All throughout the base village at Winter Park are bigger than life games. Scrabble, Connect 4, Jenga, Chess and Checkers are huge! Our favorite was Scrabble played competitively while overlooking the village pond.
5. Ride the chairlift to the top of the mountain – Take the long ride up to the top of the mountain for a scenic view. At the top there is a restaurant for lunch or snacks. There are hiking and biking trails down the mountain if you are brave enough.
6. Take a tour of a sled dog kennel – Dog Sled Rides of Winter Park has been closed but was open year round for sled rides and kennel tours. We toured the kennel which included meeting nearly 90 dogs {20 of them were puppies}. It took an hour and was educational and fun ending with playing with the fluffy puppies.
7. Explore the human maze – It looks easy enough from the outside, but negotiating this large maze and finding the correct letter punches in a reasonable amount of time proved to be quite a challenge. Even after several attempts, our best time was around 6 minutes.
8. Visit Devil’s Thumb Ranch – Devil’s Thumb Ranch is 10 minutes outside of Winter Park, CO and quite possibly the prettiest place on earth. This ranch has several restaurants, a spa, hiking trails, horseback riding and zipline tours. Our favorite thing to do is have dinner {great kids menu} and then sit on the back porch roasting marshmallows for s’mores while the boys play volleyball.
9. Eat pizza at Hernando’s – Hernando’s Pizza Pub is perfectly Winter Park. The pizza is amazing, the atmosphere is like no other and the service is friendly. It is one of our favorite places to eat.
10. Go bowling and or watch a movie – The Foundry is a unique combination of bowling and cinema. Plenty of evening entertainment to keep active families busy!
There are so many fun things to do that even though we stayed a month in Winter Park this summer, we didn’t get to everything. Rocky Mountain National Park is just a 30 minute drive, a large community center with an indoor water park and one of the cutest toy stores around also are available to explore. Despite all the entertainment, our favorite thing to do is hang out on a river bank and play among the rocks.
More Places to Visit & Play with Kids from Kids Activities Blog
- Even if you can’t leave home, you can visit the National Parks virtual field trips!
- Wherever you go, check out this kids trail mix recipe that is easy and yummy.
- We also love to visit Vail, so if you are looking for Vail Colorado Summer ideas for your family, check it out!
- Speaking of mountains, have you seen this crazy bear chasing skier video?
- Whether you are home or visiting a favorite family spot, take along your favorite family board games to play together!
What are your favorite things to do in Winter Park Colorado when it isn’t snowing?
