Help us find the best golf courses in Colorado! Take our survey and vote for your favorites in our three categories: Best Overall Golf Course, Prettiest Golf Course, and Most Challenging Golf Course. Our top Reader’s Choice Picks will be included in the Summer issue of Colorado Hotel Magazine.
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BY REBECCA TREON
When winter has worn you down and cabin fever begins taking hold, it’s time to take advantage of all the spectacular happenings at local hotels and resorts. From s’mores on the slopes to cog railroad rides through the snow, here’s a look at Colorado’s top spots offering exciting alternatives to spending the chilly season homebound.
Downtown Denver has plenty of options for those wanting a mini-getaway. Whether you’re simply treating yourself to a night of wonder or you want to be close to all that the heart of the city has to offer, these locales will make the winter season unforgettable.
The Art Hotel
Visitors will enjoy the spectacular art collection that gives The ART Hotel its name, the luxe rooms with deep bathtubs, and the rooftop cocktail lounge with multiple fire pits (wrap up in a cozy blanket with your loved ones while you enjoy happy hour in front of the fire). One of the biggest perks here is the proximity to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where you can catch any number of Broadway hits. This season, enjoy faves like An American In Paris, Kinky Boots, and Mamma Mia, and brace yourself for Frozen: The Musical and Hamilton, both slated to debut this fall.
www.thearthotel.com
Brown Palace Hotel
From the first morning when the Brown Palace Hotel’s annual champagne cascade kicks off the beginning of the holiday season, Denver’s most elegant historic hotel embraces the warm and merry traditions of winter. With the lobby bedecked in sparkling lights on its grand chandelier to live music at high tea, families who love tradition will adore The Brown. Colorado families leave their holiday decorations up through the end of the National Western Stock Show in late January, and The Brown is no exception: It hosts a very special guest for photo opportunities—the event’s prize-winning steer has its own corral in the lobby for one morning only.
www.brownpalace.com
The Crawford Hotel
The Crawford Hotel is located right inside Union Station, which is the ultimate place to while away an afternoon. Union Station has a train that whisks travelers directly to Denver International Airport, making the Crawford the place to stay before you jet out of town. Amid the elegance of the sprawling and newly remodeled main terminal, lounge in one of the armchairs or play some shuffleboard with the family, take your pick from any number of top-notch bars and restaurants (we love Mercantile, James Beard-nominated Chef Alex Seidel’s brain child), or simply people watch. Those who book winter stays at The Crawford with the Winter Nights and City Lights package will receive a winter-themed gift, complimentary room upgrades, and two winter warmer cocktails at the swanky Cooper Lounge.
www.thecrawfordhotel.com
Looking to get out of town and still enjoy everything our state has to offer during the winter season? These spots both near and far have you covered. From Frisco to Steamboat, a weekend away will create treasured family memories in your new home away from home.
Town of Frisco
Start planning your next winter’s holiday getaway now. Just a stone’s throw from Denver, the town of Frisco goes all out for the holidays, hosting its annual Wassail Days. For the first two weeks in December, local restaurants and shops offer their own version of the traditional spiced cider served during the holidays. Sampling 12 different sips will earn you a commemorative mug, but stick around to see the light display at Triangle Park and the 600 luminarias that line the town’s quaint Main Street. There are carolers, visits with Santa, and the legendary Ugly Sweater Challenge – where guests take on holiday-themed challenges (think snow angels and eggnog shooters) while donning their favorite knit apparel. Active families will love easy access to tubing, Nordic skiing, and snowshoeing; there are horse-drawn sleigh rides, and even a soup-making face-off between restaurants and amateur chefs alike. It’s the quintessential Colorado Christmas.
www.townoffrisco.com
Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch
A visit to the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch represents the ultimate in luxury. After being welcomed by Bachelor, their resident pup, hit the slopes just outside your door with the lodge’s unparalleled ski-in, ski-out access to Beaver Creek Mountain. Enjoy s’mores in front of the roaring fire pit while you warm your toes, play an old-fashioned board game with the kids, or take advantage of activity offerings like the Ritz Kids Program, night hike with their naturalist programs, and even booze-paired crafting for adults. The Ritz-Carlton has everything you need to create an unforgettable family getaway.
www.ritzcarlton.com
Devil’s Thumb Ranch
What better way to celebrate a Colorado wintertime fairytale than a stay at Devil’s Thumb Ranch? The 6,000-acre resort is nestled just a few miles outside Winter Park, but feels like it’s a world away. Wintertime outdoor activities in this wonderland range from ice skating and tubing to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, but don’t miss out on the geothermally-heated pool. All winter long there are also sleigh rides and s’mores at the stables—like something out of a John Denver tune.
www.devilsthumbranch.com
The Broadmoor
A collection of Colorado’s ultimate resorts wouldn’t be complete without including The Broadmoor, a jewel in the crown of Colorado’s grand hotels. Colorado Springs’ legendary complex does every season right, and during the winter months, your new home-away- from-home offers everything from outdoor adventures like a ride on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway to dance classes. Of course, you’ll need to make time to simply explore the resort itself, including the Play room (bowling, foosball, and more), the indoor pool, and the spa—perfect for a mom/daughter mani-pedi date.
www.broadmoor.com
Steamboat Grand
After a stressful year, a retreat in Steamboat Springs may be just what the doctor ordered. At the Steamboat Grand, you’re right at the base of the mountain when you want to hit the slopes, but you also have easy access to a slew of family friendly activities. Adventurers may want a hot-air balloon ride or a snowmobile tour, but the more tame among us can enjoy tubing, night skiing, and gondola rides with a bird’s eye view. Things the whole family will love? Sleighride dinners, snowshoe or cross-country ski tours, and of course, a long soak in the beautiful natural hot springs at Strawberry Park.
www.steamboatgrand.com
BY PAIGE SLAUGHT
Let your heart not be troubled, the 2017 ESPN Winter X Games are returning to Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain on January 26-29!
With all competitions free and open to the public, what better way to start off the new year than watching the world’s best action sports and music live and on ice?
On the music side, there will be performances by Bassnectar, Anderson Paak & The Free Nationals, The Chainsmokers and G-Eazy. While admission to the action sports competitions will be free, X Games musical performances require a ticket purchase. Music fans can buy individual concert tickets, or purchase an All-Music pass for $125.
On the sports side, the top ski, snowboard, and snowmobile athletes will compete in 18 different disciplines during four days of extreme action and festivals. While a full list of athletes can be found online, here are some interesting athletes to watch for:
JOSSIE WELLSA
New Zealand native, this five-time X Games medalist is known as one of the planet’s most versatile skiers. Wells won his first X Games gold medal in 2016 for his Slope Style performance, marking him as the first athlete from New Zealand to win at an X Games.
CHLOE KIM
Front and center in women’s snowboarding, Kim is on course to win her fourth consecutive X Games gold medal. After earning her first X Games medal at age 13, she is the only X Games athlete ever to win three gold medals before age 16. A trilingual, first-generation American, she is the youngest member of the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team.
ROBBIE MADDISON
Most people know this daredevil Aussie for his record-breaking jumps and creative stunts. One of his most famous leaps was in 2011, when he jumped more than 378 feet, setting a new world record distance jump during the Red Bull New Year’s event.
We also are excited about our local faves, including Bobby Brown, Gus Kenworthy, Alex Ferreira and Arielle Gold, Taylor Gold, Matt Ladley, and Torin Yater-Wallace. These Colorado athletes really know how to wow a crowd!
A special addition to this year’s docket is the Women’s Ski and Snowboard Big Air Finals. Previously held in Europe, this event makes its domestic debut for the first time at X Games Aspen.
Additionally, the 2017 Games feature the introduction of a brand-new event, Snow Bike racing. This competition uses modified dirt bikes, which replace the front wheel with a front ski, and the back wheel with a snowmobile track! On that note, Snowmobile Best Trick will also return to the lineup for the first time since 2013.
All medalists from the 2016 X Games Aspen are invited to return this year, so don’t miss your chance to see your favorite athletes do what they do best! With any luck, you just may stumble upon a meet-and-greet or autograph signing somewhere in Buttermilk Village. This weekend is destined to meet your full “X-Pectations”!
For more information visit: www.xgames.com
by Claudia Carbone
ABOUT 50 YEARS AGO, Colorado entrepreneur Phillip Anschutz began collecting western art. As the private collection grew in the warehouse of his corporate offices, so did his desire to share it with others and provide an educational resource for children. In 1997, the Anschutz Corporation acquired the historic Navarre Building in downtown Denver—a piece of western history in itself — and restored it to become the new home of the American Museum of Western Art, one of Denver’s premiere art galleries.
The exhibit of original artwork includes more than 300 paintings, drawings and sculptures from the early 19th Century through the age of industrialization and up to present time. Displayed in chronological order, the paintings time travel from American Indian territory of the Old West to the settlements of the New Frontier to the West as we know it today. While the West was expanding, the style and methods used by the artists depicting it was rapidly changing as well, and the exhibits on the gallery’s three floors illustrate this transformation.
“It’s the most important collection of western art in the country,” said Darlene Dueck, AMWA curator who has worked with the collection for 22 years. “It’s significant because it documents historical development of American art as it pertains to the West. It invokes painters who were involved with the West, who loved the West, and depicted it in their own God-given talent and style. They painted their very inner being. The stories told here are such beautiful examples of how they captured a moment in time that they considered important.”
The artists and their works
A moment in time, indeed. Artists of the day accompanied military, exploratory and fur trading expeditions of the early 1800’s and captured on canvas what they saw. For example, tribal ceremonies and customs of Native Americans were documented by George Catlin in his images of the Mandan people. Dramatic depictions of the Old West gave us famous works like The Last Shot by William Ranney and Long Jakes, The Rocky Mountain Man by Charles Deas. Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and others interpreted the heroism and daring of the western frontier through amazing action paintings. A group of narrative artists illustrated western life with inspiration from the Renaissance and the Old Masters. The beautiful, large-scale landscape works of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran round out the large array of paintings on the second floor main gallery.
The third floor gallery displays paintings that once hung in the station of the Santa Fe Railroad, commissioned by the railway to lure passengers to travel west. Artists were members of the Taos Society of Artists, which flourished in Taos and Santa Fe from 1915-1927. They came to “The Land of Enchantment” to capture its pure light, expansive landscapes and lifestyles of the Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures that make up the southwest. Many artists in the west, such as Georgia O’Keeffe and John Marin, were influenced by the modernist movement of the early 20th Century. On this floor are examples of Impressionism and Expressionism, as well as Cubism and Abstraction. During this time, some artists like N. C. Wyeth became famous for illustrating short stories, magazine articles and novels about the Old West that still are intriguing today.
On the fourth floor, paintings are grouped into themes, such as the dangers of travel in the early west and still-life painting popular in the late 19th Century. In the dark days of the ‘30s, the U.S. Government aided artists through the Federal Arts Projects spawning New Deal Art that appealed to the masses. Farms, small towns and scenery were documented by Regionalists in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Finally, Abstract Expressionism is explored in the works of Emil Bisttram and others as well as Ralph Brownell McGrew’s contemporary renderings of the Navajos in New Mexico and Arizona.
In an impactful display, all the paintings—many in ornate frames—are hung salon style, close together, side-by-side and above one another from floor to ceiling, a Gilded Age technique in keeping with the building’s Victorian roots. “Many of the artists on view anticipated their art would be hung in this way,” said Dueck. “Visitors can step back in time and enjoy the paintings as they would have originally been displayed.”
Navarre Building
Built in 1880, the four-story Victorian started out as the Brinker Collegiate Institute for young women and later morphed into the first coed learning center west of the Mississippi. In 1889, new owners turned it into Hotel Richelieu, only to gamble it away to Ed Chase and Vaso Chucovich. This duo started the bordello that made it famous, naming it after French King Henry of Navarre who had a reputation for living large. Stories abound about tunnels built between it and the Brown Palace Hotel, where clientele could pass in secret to their nightly “entertainment.” By 1946, Johnny Ott was running it as a respectable fine dining restaurant, which continued under several more ownerships until The Anschutz Corporation acquired the building and reopened it in 2010 as the American Museum of Western Art.
Claudia Carbone is an award-winning journalist born and raised in Denver. She remembers going to lunches at The Navarre with her father and his philanthropic organization, The King Bees.
Colorful Colorado is not an inappropriate nickname! Yes, we have purple mountain majesty, the color of twilight on our Rocky Mountains, and aspen and cottonwood trees in autumn boast yellows like nowhere else. Yet it’s summer for which we must be named … our wildflowers represent every color of the spectrum.
Colorado’s cornucopia of flowering plants follow both season and elevation. Blooming occurs progressively in time as one travels from low to high. Spring blooms begin in May along Colorado’s Front Range and into the foothills at 5,000 – 7,000 feet. Pink locoweed decorate the Pawnee National Grasslands in the plains of northeast Colorado, when spring rains arrive from California. Purple dwarf larkspur hide among the leafing gambel oak trees in the foothills of Roxborough State Park just 30 minutes southwest of Denver.
June brings wildflowers into the high country, but only up to elevations of 10,000 feet. The first to arrive after the snow leaves is the pink and purple pasqueflower. Then sunflowers begin their entrance. Look for several species including arrowleaf balsamroot and mule’s ears blooming on sunny slopes mixed with common sage brush. Check out June flowers in the valley of the Lower Blue River in Summit and Grand counties. Take CO 9 from I-70 north to Kremmling following the Blue to its confluence with the Colorado River. Divert from the highway before Green Mountain Reservoir and head up the dirt road to Lower Cataract.
July welcomes the state flower, the Colorado columbine. As the snow disappears, purple columbine bloom from 9,000 all the way up to 13,000 feet! There’s even a red variety that perceptive eyes will discover in wet locations in evergreen forests. Crested Butte is the Wildflower Capital of Colorado, where it is not difficult to find profusions of columbine. Check out the Washington Gulch, Gothic, and Brush Creek roads for all of the aforementioned flowers, as well as tall larkspur and shockingly-red scarlet gilia. Here one can drive the countless miles of backroads, or slip on a backpack and head into the Raggeds or Maroon Bells-Snowmass wilderness areas.
August is peak wildflower season in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The world-famous network of 19th-century mining roads provide 4-wheel drive access to elevations up to 13,000 feet. Monsoon rains are common and keep flowers blooming into September. Lake City, Silverton and Ouray are starting points for discovering magenta elephant head in the boggy areas, and purple sky pilot and columbine that grow among the talus boulders.
Of course, don’t forget to bring your camera! Many of my best wildflower images are made with high-quality point-and-shoots, which I use for both close-ups and “scenics.” Point-and-shoots are compact and easy to carry. The close-up mode (the button on the back of the camera with the flower symbol) lets me get within an inch of the flower. I can get low to the ground and make compositions otherwise difficult to do with the SLR (single reflex lens) camera. For my best photographs, I do use SLRs on tripods with extreme wide angle lenses.
Pick up a copy of my latest book Wildflowers of Colorado. The 100 photographs in this book are among my favorites made over the past 35 years. Though I took some of the images in remote wilderness, many were found right off the road! The book includes descriptions of and directions to some of the most reliable places to find big meadows of wildflowers in northern, central, and southern Colorado mountain ranges and valleys. My travel guide John Fielder’s Best of Colorado is another good resource to help you find the roads that will cut you to the wildflower chase. Or come to one of my photography workshops and I will take you there myself!
by Melanie Avner
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. We all remember the morning of 9/11/01… the devastation that took hold of our country and the staggering realization that our lives would be forever changed.
The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab® (CELL® ) was created in response to 9/11 and is the world’s only exhibit devoted entirely to terrorism education and prevention.
The CELL is located on the southeast corner of the Denver Civic Center Cultural Complex across from the Denver Art Museum at 99 West 12th Avenue. This state-of-the-art exhibit was developed by world-renowned counterterrorism experts and offers a dynamic, interactive experience that addresses the ongoing threat of terrorism and educates individuals on how they can play a role in enhancing public safety.
A New Reality
“The September 11 terrorist attacks changed how our country – and the world – manage security and safety,” said Melanie Pearlman, executive director of the CELL. “Unfortunately, the tragic events of Orlando, Paris and San Bernardino remind us of the threats we continue to face. The CELL exists to empower our citizens to help enhance the community safety and we are honored to work with first responders and community activists on a daily basis to help prevent future atrocities such as these. We must continue to look within ourselves as citizens to find the strength and determination to prevail in the face of evil, and we look forward to working with citizens across the country to ensure a safe and secure future.
Education Leads to Empowerment
The CELL is dedicated to preventing terrorism through education, empowerment and engagement. Before we can prevent terrorism, we must understand it, and the CELL exhibit addresses its roots, objectives, funding and more. The CELL’s related programs teach individuals how to recognize and report suspicious behavior, empowering them to take an active role in community security and safety.
The CELL Exhibit
Visitors to the CELL experience a multimedia, interactive journey. The tour is self-guided, and it is recommended that visitors be at least 14 years of age. Tours with the CELL’s expert guides are available and must be scheduled in advance. Tour guides provide a framework for discussion about the exhibit, as well as a comprehensive look at ISIS, today’s most prevalent terrorist network, and other current threats.
Defining Terrorism
The tour begins by defining terrorism – a challenge since there is no definition that has worldwide acceptance. However, the CELL believes it is important to define terrorism in order to begin a constructive converstaion about it.
September 11, 2001
Inside the CELL, visitors come face-to-face with a powerful artifact: a two-ton piece of twisted and burned steel from the World Trade Center. Images on the exhibit’s walls tell the story of the World Trade Center steel’s journey to Denver, and a discussion of the terorrist attacks provides a historical context; the world is now divided into two distinct time periods: before and after.
Myths and Facts
The exhibit features an interactive exercise that addresses the Myths and Facts of Terrorism. The answers to commonly asked questions shatter stereotypes and uncover surprising details about how terrorism develops, both domestically and around the world.
A Delicate Balance
Throughout the 20th century, terrorism has affected policy development in many countries. Interactive touchscreens allow visitors to learn about the different approaches nations take to balance security and civil liberties.
Preventing Terrorism
In addition to educating visitors through its exhibit, the CELL offers tangible ways for citizens to get involved in keeping their communities safe.
The CELL’s Community Awareness Program® (CAP® ) trains citizens on how to identify and communicate the risk of terrorism and criminal activity to the appropriate law enforcement channels. These trainings are open to the public and are held several times throughout the year. The CAP also can be customized for different organizations and events.
During a CAP training, private citizens learn how to:
Through the CAP, the CELL has trained more than 20,000 people across the country. Staff and volunteers have been trained to secure events like the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the USA Pro Cycle Challenge, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, the Republican National Convention and the Indianapolis 500.
Public Engagement
To complement its exhibit and training initiatives, the CELL has developed a renowned speaker series that addresses the most salient issues facing national and global security today. These forums provide the community unprecedented opportunities to engage with the world’s leaders in security and defense policy including The Hon. Leon Panetta, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; The Hon. Janet Napolitano, former U.S. Secretary of Security; His Excellency Husain Haqqani, Ambassador of Pakistan (2008-2011); The Hon. John McCain, U.S. Senator for Arizona; and political strategist Donna Brazile, among many others.
Educating Future Leaders
Because educating future leaders on terrorism is so critical, the CELL also partners with local high schools and universities to offer in-school presentations with subject matter experts in various fields, such as international relations, public affairs and national security. These events give students in-depth exposure to today’s most relevant global issues.
The CELL is committed to partnering with various organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, to develop and implement programs and curricula geared toward educating today’s youth on important public safety and national security issues. Through these relationships, the CELL is empowering the community and establishing future leaders who will be armed with the knowledge to help improve community safety and prevent terrorism.
Learn More
Knowledge is power, and in today’s new reality, the CELL works to prevent terrorism by educating and empowering citizens to keep our communities safe. Learn more at thecell.org.
By Rebecca Treon
Insider’s tip: the best time of year to visit Vail isn’t necessarily during the winter. It’s in early summer, a virtual shoulder season the locals jockingly refer to as ‘mud season’. Vail’s appeal is really year round, but take away the crowds that flock to the alpine-style mountain village in the winter and summer months and you’re left with a family friendly high-country getaway without the traffic and the hassle. Even better – many places in town offer special pricing during the off-season on everything from lodging to happy hour and activities; just ask around for the details. Below, our suggestions for an unforgettable mountain family weekend.
STAY
The Solaris residences are located right in the heart of it all, and the complex has created its own mini-epicenter of activity. The luxe, spacious suites are welcoming and include a kitchen for those evenings you want to stay in for dinner, (you can even bring in a chef to make your meal, or teach a cooking class), making it the ideal hub for the family’s activity. In winter, an ice-skating rink is right out the door, while in summer it becomes a green for kids to run around (or free morning yoga!). The Solaris complex is also home to CineBistro, where you can catch a movie and a meal, and Bol, a restaurant with a bowling alley in the back. Best of all, each residence comes with its own personal concierge, who will stock the fridge before your arrival, arrange everything from children’s day camps to spa visits, and even schedule family excursions for mountain biking or rafting trips!
www.solarisvail.com
EAT
Sometimes a big diner breakfast is just the thing to stave off the ailments of altitude sickness, and The Little Diner does just that. With epic portion sizes, classics from pancakes to omelets to huevos rancheros, and fast service, the made-from-scratch breakfasts are totally satisfying. It’s tiny and tucked away, but nevertheless, it’s a popular spot and there’s usually a wait. Ther specialty is the Dutch Baby, a giant pancake-like soufflé.
www.thelittlediner.com
Root & Flower is a little wine bar tucked away on a side street in the center of town near the creek. The ideal place for a pre-dinner aperitif – their carefully crafted cocktails (made with one of the locally distilled spirits like 10th Mountain vodka from up the valley) will hit the spot before you have your evening meal. Owner Jeremy, a friendly sommelier, also offers weekly wine classes on Wednesdays and Sundays. The wine list is simple but carefully selected, and the menu is small but full of noshable bites like charcuterie and cheese plates.
Southern food is having a revival, and Mountain Standard rises to the occasion. (Beloved Vail staple Sweet Basil is a sister restaurant). The no-frills menu focuses on wood-fired options, like the hangar steak and the rotisserie chicken. Pair it with the “Standard” wedge salad, topped with crisp prosciutto and crunchy puffed rice with garlicky dressing. The must-order menu item though? Mountain Standard’s addictive southern pimento cheese appetizer, served with bacon jam and pickled celery on toast.
www.mtnstandard.com
The Four Season’s resident restaurant, Flame, offers groups of six or less a totally mind-blowing burger experience. The Back of the House Burger Bar is a square table located right in the center of the bustling kitchen. While the chefs run around, you’re treated to an intimate view of the inner workings of a restaurant from behind the scenes. First build your own ultimate burger (with everything from fried jalepeño coins to avocado and sriracha aioli), then be treated to DIY milkshakes with all the add-ins from marshmallows to oreos, including boozy add-ins for mom and dad.
www.fourseasons.com
PLAY
Just down the valley in Wolcott lies 4 Eagle Ranch, offering a slew of activities for everyone in the family. If a western experience is your thing, they host a monthly western dance, weekly family nights (think steak dinner, wagon rides, lawn games, and s’mores) and rodeo (bull riding, bronc busting, barrel racing, and mutton bustin’); but they also have horseback riding and are home to a zipline adventure. With six ziplines that whisk you through forests, canyons, and over creeks, it’s an adrenaline-pumping ride of a lifetime. Insider tip: 4 Eagle Ranch is also a boutique winery that sources grapes from California for their Vines at Vail label, and offers tastings to their guests – the perfect way to end a long day of western adventure with the kids!
www.4eagleranch.com
There are great science programs in the high country at Walking Mountains Science Center. They offer nature walks for all ages focusing on learning about the local flora and fauna, and they even have free evening program night hikes to explore the area when wildlife becomes more active; some culminate with s’mores around a campfire. Bonus: Their kids’ science day camps are full of adventures and ecology, and keep the kids busy learning about mother nature for hours.
www.walkingmountains.org
The family that’s fit together stays together, and nowhere in the Valley makes it easier and more fun than the Vail Vitality Center. They have a full schedule of fitness classes from weights to indoor cycling and even outdoor options (join a group trail run). They offer pilates, yoga, and meditations for grownups seeking Zen, and they have Vail’s only indoor climbing wall. People of all ages can hop on the wall to climb for a couple hours, or take a climbing course. Best of all – the full-service spa offering everything from facials to massage. For a truly decadent afternoon, get the Nature, Body & Spirit treatment – 100 minutes of bliss. It includes a foot bath, dry brushing, a massage with pure essential oils and a scalp treatment for a head-to-toe glow.
BEST OF DENVER WEEKEND
An insider’s guide to Denver’s best family-friendly things to do this spring
By Rebecca Treon
The Mile High City has been ranked the Number One place in the country to call home by U.S. News & World Report, which is no secret to the folks who have long called it home. Denver Hotel Magazine has collected the best family activities in the metro area from locals in the 
know—just think of this as your little black book when doing Denver with the kids.
BOTANIC GARDENS AT CHATFIELD
We love the downtown Botanic Gardens (their Seedlings class, designed for tots, and the Mordecai Children’s Garden are a don’t miss), but the Southwest Metro outpost of the Gardens is worth a visit, too. Near Chatfield Reservoir (where there are miles of walking and biking trails, picnic spots, and even a ‘beach’), the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield is home to the historic Hildebrand Ranch, where you and the kids can experience what it was like to live on an 1860’s farmstead. There’s plenty of space to run around, picnic, and play amid the working farm.
www.botanicgardens.org
DENVER ZOO
Springtime at the Denver Zoo means babies—the nursery just welcomed a new (endangered) lowland mountain gorilla baby named Whimsy Adepa to its family, who can be visited in the Great Apes building. Wander the plant-lined paths of the zoo, where peacocks roam free, or check out exciting feeding times. Interactive exhibits will both educate and entertain, and kids can get in on the action with the chance to feed a giraffe or pet a rhino.
www.denverzoo.org
DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE
The next-door neighbor of the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is a classic destination. From the saber-tooth tiger that roars when fed coins to the mummy exhibit, the museum is stuffed full to bursting with things for families to do and experience. The new discovery zone features a water park, there are wildlife exhibits that span the globe, a planetarium, an IMAX theatre, dinosaur bones (including one of an ancient wooly mammoth recently excavated near Aspen) as part of its permanent collections. The museum also features exciting and interactive temporary exhibits, like Chocolate, which explores the history of everyone’s favorite treat from the ancient Aztecs to today.
www.dmns.org
PUNCH BOWL SOCIAL
Everyone has to eat, and at Punch Bowl Social you can nosh on updated versions of American diner classics while you play at the same time. On the playtime menu: bowling, billiards, vintage arcade games, darts, ping pong, shuffleboard, and marbles.
www.punchbowlsocial.com
ADAMS MYSTERY PLAYHOUSE
This funky theater, located in a Victorian mansion in Denver’s historic Highlands neighborhood, has been the city’s best interactive theater for more than 20 years. If one of your clan is a budding gumshoe, they’ll love Adams Mystery Playhouse’s mysteries for kids—all G-rated and great for kids over five—a fun and entertaining cooperative performance where your kid gets to solve the mystery.
www.adamsmysteryplayhouse.com
DOWNTOWN AQUARIUM
Just because we’re landlocked doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy creatures from the sea, thanks to our world-class aquarium. With exhibits that feature ecosystems from around the globe, there are plenty of, ahem, fish in the sea to observe. Favorites include the shark tank and the underwater tunnel filled with stingrays fluttering overhead, but an insider tip is the Aquarium’s mermaids. These lovely ladies (who really do hold their breath the whole time they’re underwater) swim at select times and days in a choreographed underwater dance with an educational message. Bonus: The aquarium also houses exotic animals, including a sloth named Aspen and a pair of trained Sumatran tigers.
www.aquariumrestaurants.com
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
Denver’s Children’s Museum just underwent a multimillion dollar revamp, with a host of new exhibits both indoors and out. Kids can explore role-play with exhibits like the fire-engine, the supermarket and kitchen, the giant tree with animal costumes, and the veterinary clinic. Science-minded kids will love the bubble exhibit, the kinetic ball exhibit, and the water exhibit. There’s a new park outdoors, too, that replicates Colorado’s landscape and lets kids climb, dig, zipline, and splash.
www.mychildsmuseum.org
STIR COOKING SCHOOL
One of Denver’s favorite cooking schools, Stir teaches recreational cooking classes that make a popular date night, help you brush up on your knife skills, or teach you about an exotic cuisine. But they also offer a list of family-friendly classes where kids and their grown-ups can get cooking together. Classes like ‘Mastering Mac and Cheese’ and ‘Stuffed STUFF: International Filled Bites’ are a fun and interactive way to create something delicious as a family (plus, your kids will go home knowing how to make a meal … an added bonus!).
www.stirtolearn.com
DENVER MINT
The Denver Mint is one of only a handful in the United States and tours allow for a unique experience to learn how our country’s currency is produced. Here, you can learn about the craftsmanship involved in each step in the process, then take a tour of the facility, where you’ll see coins being pressed. At the gift shop, you’ll be able to buy collectible coins made onsite. Note: tours are free, but by reservation only, and they fill up fast.
www.usmint.gov
DENVER FIREFIGHTER’S MUSEUM
Denver’s original Station House 1, which dates back to 1909, houses select exhibits exploring the rich history of area firefighters. An array of antique fire trucks, displays that delve into the lives of minority firefighters and firefighter artists, hands-on activities that engage kids to dress as firefighters and practice fire safety—they’ll even get to slide down the fire pole! www.denverfirefightersmuseum.org
DENVER ART MUSEUM
The multi-level, dual building DAM is anything but stuffy. With one of the largest collections of Western art and Native American art and artifacts, the Denver Art Museum also features compelling temporary exhibitions, like this spring’s Samurai exhibit. The permanent collections range from Pre-Columbian artifacts to contemporary painting and sculpture. To engage kids, get a Family Backpack, geared to match up with a collection full of art-making, games, and puzzles. Galleries also feature boards with I-Spy, Bingo, and Memory-like games designed to engage kids with the artworks, and there are a number of art-making stations throughout the museum. Some galleries include dress-up clothes and building materials that relate to the art. A number of community events happen year-round, from a Native-American Pow-Wow to Día del Niño, celebrating children, in April. Pro tip: Don’t miss the intricate sand mandala in the Asian collection.
www.denverartmuseum.org
MOLLY BROWN HOUSE
Visit the onetime home of Titanic survivor, philanthropist, and Denver society dame Molly Brown. Tour the restored Victorian home and learn about her rags-to-riches story, starting with her marriage to a mine baron. The tour showcases the home’s unique features and trends of the Victorian era, and finishes with Molly’s social activism after the Titanic tragedy. In April, they host special Titanic tours and year round there are several special events, from high tea to a Victorian Halloween party.
www.mollybrown.org
DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Get a little slice of Broadway without heading to the Big Apple—Denver gets a plethora of shows that also are seen on other big-city stages. And many of them are family-friendly. (This year, for example, they’ll have Finding Neverland, while Frozen hits the stage in 2017.) Stage productions have included productions like the Secret Garden. Your kids will gain an appreciation for live theater, and you’ll be entertained, too.
www.dcpa.org
ADVENTURE SCAVENGER HUNT
Denver’s downtown landscape becomes a giant game board with Urban Adventure Quest, a family-based scavenger hunt that is like the hit TV show The Amazing Race combined with a tour of the city. Guided by a smart phone, groups explore both well-known and hidden gems around town while solving clues and learning local history at the same time. Starting at the Colorado State Capitol, you’ll wind through Denver’s centers of arts and culture and through the gardens and courtyards of buildings rich with history. Stop for a bite, some ice cream, and some window shopping along the 16th St. mall on this self-paced adventure.
www.urbanadventurequest.com
Grand Junction and Palisade are Colorado’s wine country, but other adult beverages, lavender, local foods and abundant activities are growing reasons to visit.
By Beth Buehler
Colorado’s wine country isn’t just about wine anymore. The vines that helped put Grand Junction and Palisade on the map of culinary aficionados and travelers simply curious about winemaking have spread their reach. There is no doubt that grapes and all their liquid goodness still take front and center, but brewers, distillers, lavender growers, outdoor recreation options and vibrant historic districts have propelled the Grand Valley into a broader scope.
Branching Out
Perhaps the biggest surprise is lavender’s entry on the scene with at least eight lavender farms and cooperatives now present in the Grand Valley and Colorado’s only Lavender Festival happening July 8 – 10. “Lavender brings us into a whole different genre; it brings a connotation of France,” says Barbara Bowman, director of the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau.
Lavender Festival garden tours on Friday focus on how versatile this beautiful herb is in planted landscapes and ends with lunch at Avante Vineyards. Farm tours that day demonstrate the distilling of lavender into oil and includes lunch at Z’s Orchard and an afternoon reception at Grande River Vineyards to savor lavender wine and lavender-inspired appetizers.
On Saturday, more than 30 vendors selling lavender products and more fill Memorial Park in downtown Palisade. Demonstrations, seminars, live music, food and of course wine also are part of the experience. The day ends with a Feast in the Field at Adobe Creek Farm with Executive Chef/Owner Josh Niernberg of Bin 707 Foodbar preparing a four-course meal served outdoors. On Sunday, lavender farms along the Western Slope are open for tours.
Sage Creations Organic Farm, a nine-acre certified organic farm located on East Orchard Mesa in Palisade, was among the first to plant lavender crops in the area. In 2005, Paola Legarre and her husband, Bobby, purchased a cherry orchard and moved to Palisade the following year.
Today, Sage Creations has 3½ acres of lavender that is sold, turned into a line of lavender products, and is available for u-pick experiences. “It’s fun to pick lavender, and a lot of people like to take photos. It’s an activity that especially appeals to women,” Legarre says. Open April through September, the farm also grows and sells sweet cherries and heirloom tomatoes and operates a greenhouse with lavender, heirloom tomato, culinary and aromatic herbs, and specialty bedding plants for sale.
The bloom time for lavender is from mid-June to mid-July, turning the fields soft shades of purple. “The second bloom is in September, which is a really pretty and a good time to visit with the wineries and wine festival,” she suggests.
Spirits & Suds
Rory Donovan also saw an opportunity with all the orchards nearby and launched Peach Street Distillers, which now produces 18 handcrafted spirits and operates a tasting room that has tours, a creative cocktail menu and a patio with great views. More than 90,000 pounds of peaches and 90,000 pounds of pears are used annually, says sales and marketing manager Moose Koons, and the distillery’s grappa is made with leftover crushings from area vineyards.
With Palisade Brewing Company and DeBeque Canyon Winery’s tasting room nearby, it’s possible to sample local wine, beer and spirits all within one block. And don’t forget to check out the five other brewers in the Grand Junction, Palisade and Fruita areas.
Grapes Set the Stage
Today there are 21 vineyards and wineries in the Grand Valley, and nearly all of them offer tastings and tours. Wineries like Canyon Wind Cellars and Two Rivers Winery & Chateau continue to take Colorado’s wine country to a new level, Bowman says, while newer businesses like Red Fox Cellars are expanding the boundaries.
Planted in 1991 at 4,700 feet in elevation, Canyon Wind Cellars is a family-owned, estate winery, meaning it is among a limited number of operations in Colorado growing all the grapes that go into the 17 or 18 varieties of wine they produce and bottle. Jay and Jennifer Christianson are the current owners/winemakers, and Jay’s parents, Norman and Ellen, founded the operation that has 30 acres of grapes and is known for its sustainable practices. “We are the first second-generation run winery in Colorado,” confirms Jay Christianson.
Two unique events the Palisade winery hosts involve the art of blending. Teams of two to four will compete in the Cutthroat Blending Challenge mid-to-late June, while the third annual Team Blending Challenge in late August is a bit more mellow with a blending seminar, 45-minute competition, lunch and awards. Dessert and wine pairing also has been offered, and a land game event is in the works. For more information on both events, check out the website at canyonwindcellars.com
Two Rivers Winery & Chateau also has a rich tradition, with the property built from ground up on 15 acres in 1999 by owners Bob and Billie Witham. Located in Grand Junction, the vineyard, outdoor pavilion and grounds offer beautiful views of Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument and the Book Cliffs mountain range. Two Rivers currently produces eight varieties of wines and 16,000 cases annually, which includes grapes grown on eight acres they own in Palisade.
The Chateau truly sets this winery apart, with 10 upscale rooms for overnight accommodations, patios and a conference/event center perfect for parties, weddings, business meetings and relaxing. “Every room has a view,” confirms Hospitality Coordinator Brittany Witham-Crowell. “The reasons we located on the west side [of Grand Valley] are Colorado National Monument and access to great hiking and biking trails.”
Two Rivers also has entertainment on-site, hosting a Jazz Among the Grapevines summer concert series that benefits the Western Colorado Center for the Arts on the third Tuesday of the month from May through August. Wine is available for purchase and concert-goers can bring a picnic.
Two other local vineyards host concert series, including Grande River Vineyards’ Hear It Through the Grapevine, scheduled for Saturday evenings from June through August. Held since 1994, the concerts benefit area nonprofits and are a chance to picnic, see amazing views of the Book Cliffs and enjoy a glass of one of Grande Rivers’ Bordeaux-style wines.
Garfield Estates Vineyard & Winery, also located in Palisade and established in 2000, hosts free monthly concerts from May through September on designated Saturdays and Sundays. Enjoy a glass of wine while listening to music on the patio.
One of the newest wineries is Red Fox Cellars in Palisade, which is breaking the mold of winemaking by honoring tradition yet focusing on invention. One of its most unique products is Bourbon Barrel Merlot, which ages in bourbon barrels from various Colorado distilleries. Red Fox also crafts and bottles 44, a red blend, and Rosé Cabernet Sauvignon along with eight rotating fruit wines and ciders on tap in the tasting room, with plans to start bottling these in limited quantities this year. A recent event held at Red Fox was Yoga & Wine, with one hour of yoga followed by a social hour with a glass of wine, cider or wine cocktail included.
Theresa and Scott High are doubly blessed, owning and operating High Country Orchards & Vineyards in Palisade, while Theresa owns Colterris Winery, offering the option to see both operations in action. The couple met while working in the wine industry and upon proposing “promised we would own a vineyard someday,” Theresa says.
That vow took a turn toward reality when they purchased a peach orchard on East Orchard Mesa in 1999. Today, they have 35,000 grapevines on 35 acres, 32,000 peach trees on 71 acres, and the rest of the 126 acres is devoted to cherries and vegetables. This translates into 30,000 to 40,000 boxes of premium Palisade peaches (with many going to Whole Foods), produce sold to the public, several kinds of homemade salsas and preserves, and 3,500 cases of wine.
After aging its first batch of wine for two years, Colterris Winery released its first bottles in 2010 and now makes three varieties, including one of the few U.S. white cabernet sauvignons. Malbec will be introduced in 2016, she shares, possibly including the region’s first white Malbec. In the next three to five years, the family hopes to make a reserve wine that combines the “best of all of the grapes we grow,” says Theresa, noting that they are committed to making Bordeaux-style wines using only grapes from their vineyard.
The orchard’s Country Store and the winery’s tasting room are next door to each other, with an abundance of roses and lavender planted nearby. The lavender is turned into products sold in the tasting room, and a short walk down a lane brings guests to a pavilion used for weddings and events that overlooks the valley and Colorado River. Visitors can buy wine and picnic items to enjoy the vistas.
Culinary Delights
Foodies can savor wine and food pairings offered at downtown Grand Junction’s 626 on Rood, serving modern American cuisine and recognized as one of 10 Great Wine Bars by USA Today.
Bin 707 Foodbar’s Niernberg, a fifth-generation Colorado native also focusing on American cuisine, is passionate about primarily sourcing ingredients from local and Colorado-based producers. The business was initially intended to serve 75 to 100 diners per day, but this number has grown to 500 to 600 per day and resulted in the establishment of West Slope Supper Club to handle off-site events.
The new Grand Junction Food Tours offer tastes of downtown Grand Junction restaurants and sweet treat locations on select afternoons and evenings each week. Speaking of samplings, Grand Valley Winery Association presents barrel tastings twice a year, in April and May, typically featuring several wineries, food paired with the wine, and opportunities to meet the winemakers and taste wines right out of the barrel. The tastings are so popular that they often sell out six to 12 months in advance, Bowman says.
Ways to Explore
Tapping into unique ways to tour wine country is half the fun, with bikes, limousines, horse-drawn carriage, scooters, vintage cars and a bright pink Mini Cooper being among the options. Limousines and vintage cars are available through Allen Unique Autos in Grand Junction, home to a museum that features one of the finest private automobile collections in the country, owned by local Tammy Allen.
The vast majority of wine country is easily accessible by bicycle, with Rapid Creek Cycles in Palisade renting eight-speed cruisers, road bikes and electric bikes (all with baskets for stashing purchases and goodies). The business also rents mountain bikes to explore area trails and stand
up paddleboards.
Or combine two favorite pastimes with golf and wine tasting packages for two or four people, including golf and lunch at the public 18-hole Tiara Rado Golf Course, a three-hour wine tour with Absolute Prestige Limousine and two nights of lodging at a hotel of the guests’ choice. The package can be booked by contacting Tiara Rado.
Other unique ways to explore the area are viewing the Colorado National Monument and catching a bird’s-eye view of area vineyards and orchards during a helicopter ride with Gateway Canyons AirTours or riding on horseback into the 36,000-acre Little Book Cliffs Wild
Horse Area.
An especially sublime time to visit the Grand Valley is September, when temperatures are cooler, the grape harvest and second lavender bloom are underway and everything is beautifully green. Plus, Colorado Mountain Wine Festival, the state’s largest and oldest wine festival, happens on Sept. 15-18.
Last year’s festival action included a scenic wine country bus tour, Wine & Glass Experience by Riedel, and a winemakers dinner and chocolate and wine tasting at Wine Country Inn in Palisade. With more than 50 Colorado wineries, a grape stomp, live demonstrations and seminars and music, Festival in the Park in Palisade on Saturday was the pinnacle of the event, which wrapped up on Sunday with the Palisade Farmer’s Market and tours of area wineries. For more information and this year’s schedule of events go to coloradowinefest.com
Every great excursion requires equally great lodging. Look at the vines right outside your window from Two Rivers Winery & Chateau in Grand Junction and the 80-room Wine Country Inn, located on 21 acres in Palisade that are adjacent to two vineyards. Sister properties Marriott – Downtown Fairfield Inn and Marriott – Downtown SpringHill Suites offer spacious guest rooms in Grand Junction’s downtown and are within easy walking distance to many shops and eateries. There are a host of bed and breakfasts in the Grand Valley along with several other familiar brand names around Grand Junction, such as the recently remodeled DoubleTree by Hilton.
Now is the perfect time to plan a summer or fall Grand Valley getaway to enlighten your senses, get outside and find out what eating, drinking and picking local is all about.