Any suggestions for the Winter Park Colorado area?

Winter Park has 600+ miles of trails for hiking and biking--you'll love it. There are plenty of non-extreme rides. Stop by the visitor center in town and they can hook you up with a trail map, and lots of helpful advice. Also, check out www.mountainbikecapitalUSA.com for descriptions of several of the trails. I personally love Creekside and Flume for hiking and biking. They are not too hard, but offer great scenery and, as the name suggests, keep you near the water which is always fun. The official website is at www.PlayWinterPark.com, they also have Facebook and Twitter pages if you want to get some inside scoop. Hope you have a terrific time. (And definitely check out the Jazz Festival. I'll be there on Saturday. It's a fun, laidback event. There's also an art fair that same weekend in Winter Park.)

Winter Park is a gorgeous part of our state, and my family prefers it, because of its wide open vistas.

You will be in Grand Lake on your drive from RMNP, and if you want to stop for lunch or dinner, I can recommend Pancho & Lefty's for Mexican food, and there is also a new wine bar/creperie on the main street in Grand Lake which is really cute, quite good, and inexpensive. We were there a couple of weeks ago. The beautiful Grand Lake Lodge is closed now, for sale, so you will miss that.

In Winter Park, I can recommend lots of restaurants: the nicest one for a very special dinner is The Ranch House at Devil's Thumb Ranch, which is a beautiful lodge/resort to see. It is elegant and old west style. (Devil's Thumb Ranch is between Granby and Winter Park.) Hex Tavern at Devil's Thumb is also great for lunch or dinner.

In Winter Park itself, Hernando's has the best pizza anywhere. Smokin' Moe's has decent barbecue. Rudi's Deli has amazing sandwiches for takeout. Deno's is a huge local hangout, but we've never been impressed with its food (or cleanliness).

In the new Winter Park Village, the Cheeky Monk has good food and selections of Belgian beers. It is a tad expensive, but not really, considering it is at the base area.

Do NOT eat at Lime, also in the new Village. Too many iffy stories about that place: tamales served raw, orders lost, mediocre food.

For biking, you have great advice above. There is also an easy path, the Fraser River Trail, which goes from the town of Winter Park up to Old Town Winter Park, and on to the ski area if you choose. It is a paved path that is lovely.

Please ask any questions you have. We have had a place in Winter Park since the mid-70s, and we love it there.

(P.S. Where is you rental?)

Thank you for the great tips. I am not sure where we are staying--a condo on Wapiti Dr. in Fraser--my husband bid on it at an auction--no pictures, so who knows. The very generous owners donated the the condo at a fundraiser we attended. As long as the weather is good, we will be happy at the condo. Everything I read about the area has me very excited.

I have been looking for a car at the Denver airport since Christmas and the rates have been between $500 to over $600 and just now I got an email from Budget--rented the standard car at the airport for $300 for 8 days. Yahoo! I will have to add that info to my car rental question I posted on this site.

There is a highly-rated golf course up the road from Fraser, called Pole Creek, in case you want to play golf.

If you have kids along, the Snow Mountain Ranch/YMCA of the Rockies has lots of kids activities (even a craft barn) and a decent grill for sandwiches. Beautiful trails there, too, for hiking and biking.

Congrats on the good car deal, too. Now you have extra money to spend!

Have fun in Winter Park, and post any questions you have. We love it there.