Family winter holiday
 

Hi,
We are a family of four adults from SEA country planning to have holiday in USA from the third week of December for 16 days (excluding the international flying time).
Our arrival is in San Francisco and departure from Chicago.
We would like to go to San Francisco nearby area, maybe Sausalito, Napa valley also Lake Tahoe if possible then take California Zephyr to Colorado (stop at Glenwood Springs or Denver). We want to visit a Christmas picturesque/winter wonderland town and would like to try skiing.
Boston & New York are in our mind too if time permits (and worth for this trip).
We prefer to use public transportation instead of driving in the mountainous snowy area if possible since we are not used to it.
We are looking forward to have any suggestion for our itinerary so that we can enjoy the trip.
Thank you.

With 16 days and the number of places on your list, I'd probably skip NYC and Boston this trip, assuming you can't change flight plans and must get to Chicago to depart for home.

Note that for skiing and other activities, the 3rd and 4th weeks in December (especially the 4th) are quite popular vacation weeks in the US, meaning you'll need to make reservations soon.

This sounds like a great adventure for 4 adults that get along well together.
Your choices for the California Zephyr from Emeryville would be 4 coach seats (uncomfortable for some), 2 roomettes (my favorite), or a family bedroom.
If you want the best chance of seeing snow and maybe skiing, go to Glenwood Springs. There is a great bus service from Glenwood Springs to Aspen (42 miles).
Leave Glenwood Springs and travel on the California Zephyr in coach (daytime travel). Spend a night in Denver before flying to either New York or Boston.
To get back to Chicago you might want to take the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited. The LSL starts in Boston and New York and joins in Albany New York for the overnight trip to Chicago.
Depending on your schedule and how much you love (or hate) train travel, you could fly back to Chicago from New York or Boston.

Your ski/snow portion of the trip is what you need to decide first. San Francisco and Chicago are big cities. You will find a place somewhere. For skiing, your options are more limited. Reservations are filling up. There is a technical glitch right now on this website, so some of the Colorado regulars may not be able to reply. They were very helpful to me in the past, so this is unfortunate.

First, I would disagree with Tom on your transportation. Fly from San Francisco to Salt Lake City for skiing in Utah or western Colorado. OR, fly from San Francisco to Denver (or Vail or Aspen) for skiing as well. Take the train for shorter trips (See below.)

The most popular resorts are probably full. That doesn't mean you can't still have a snowy Christmas.


Glenwood Springs, Colorado, which Tom suggests is one good idea. It is about 45 min to Aspen and the same to Vail. I believe there are shuttles to the ski lifts. Ask when you call or email (and which destination).

Option 1: Glenwood Springs

The Hotel Colorado is known for their large Christmas displays. I checked for Dec 22-27 and you can still get a room there. They also have a Christmas Dinner so also reserve seats for that.

http://www.hotspringspool.com/stay

Option 2: Winter Park--One thing I like about this destination is that you can take the express train from Denver or a shuttle from the airport. Both need reservations. There are also shuttles to the slopes from some Winter Park lodgings.

MoBro recommended Devils Thumb Ranch. It is open until Dec 23. And again for Christmas Eve and Christmas night. Looks really nice. Reserve Christmas Dinner if you stay there.

http://www.devilsthumbranch.com

This search engine for Winter Park might help find other lodgings in the area. Be sure to use the map view and confirm that what you choose has access to the ski shuttles.

https://www.winterparkresort.com/plan-your-trip/lodging

Once you have your hotel booked, get your tickets from San Francisco. United Airlines has a hub in Denver and a lot of flights to the area. Alaskan Airlines does too and is one of my favorites.

For 16 days you will need to have this fine tuned. And if skiing, you need to be at the site by the day before and make arrangements for ski rental and LESSONS to do the next day--and for as many days as you want to devote to them.
For the reason above, Winter Park has much to recommend it if you don't have a car.
I agree about flying. You just do not have time for trains over the LONG distances.
San Francisco--X days I'd stay at least 4. You are now at 5 days.
Fly to Denver. I believe the ski train only leaves in the morning so you'll need to arrive Denver and spend the night. Sixth day
Go to Winter Park, make your arrangements for the next (maybe 2 days) Seventh day Plus 2 ski days. 9 days
Return to Denver in afternoon of second ski day (9th day). Spend night in Denver.
Tenth day--fly to chicago. Spend 5 days and fly home.

People in the know can check my knowledge of the ski train schedule. I offer the days as a check on what you will need to do in order to incorporate skiing into your plan.

I will also add that going skiing as soon as you land in Colorado will have a toll on your body without time to acclimate to the altitude. It's not impossible but just be aware it will be a real physical phenomenon. Drink LOTS of water.

Thank you so much everyone. We really appreciate your suggestions & informations.
Considering the time that we have, we will skip Boston & New York this trip.
However, we still cannot make the decision over the transportation from San Francisco to Colorado.
Some people suggested to take California Zephyr because it will pass the beautiful sceneries of Sierra Nevada & Rocky Mountains.
Anybody knows if it is ok to take trains during winter especially it will pass the mountain with possible snow.
One more thing. Since we will visited mountainous snowy place in Colorado, do you thing we still need to go to Lake Tahoe (considering the time we have).
What do you think about Breckenridge & Georgetown. Some say they are beautiful christmas towns. However we do not know if it is convenient to take a public transportation to go there from Denver.

Amtrak is often delayed in Colorado in the winter. They will get you there even if it is several hours late.
There is a Bustang bus service between Glenwood Springs - Vail and Denver. https://www.ridebustang.com/west-line
They also have service to Colorado Springs from Denver.
There is a good light rail system from Denver Union Station out to the Denver airport.
Riding the California Zephyr east of Sacramento, you will see lots of snow in the Sierras going down through the Donner Pass. The rails that Amtrak runs on are owned by the freight companies which keep them open through the winter.
A few years ago I was on the CZ in December. From the train while it was at the Glenwood Springs station, I saw someone swimming in the world's largest hot spring fed swimming pool.
On our most recent trip on the CZ in the first week of June 2017, We were 7 hours late getting into Winnemucca NV.
A truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and dumped a load of cattle feed on the tracks in eastern Colorado.
The best things about this delay was that I got a shower while the train was not moving and we also got an extra meal since we were traveling in a Roomette.

I have been in Lake Tahoe hundreds of times, never been in Georgetown, and been in Breckenridge 3 times. If you go to Breckenridge, which is a really great little ski town, not very far from Denver, I would skip Lake Tahoe, as huge a fan as I am of Tahoe. Truckee, the old mining town in North Lake Tahoe, will seem just like the town of Breckenridge. With the time you have, I'd suggest doing something else instead of repeating the snow/skiing experience.

The California Zephyr does travel through some lovely scenery (and some not so lovely scenery) but you simply don't have enough time to take the train and include Chicago in your trip.

It would eat up two full days en route (leaves SF in the morning and arrives in Denver in the evening the next day) and that is only IF it is on time.

That's why I suggested taking the California Zephyr to Denver and then flying to Chicago, Boston or New York.
On May 18 2017 I was on the California Zephyr eastbound between Glenwood Springs and Granby when I saw cows in knee deep snow. I think they were turned out to graze when there was no snow on the ground.

>>That's why I suggested taking the California Zephyr to Denver <<

They don't have time enough for that - 2 days JUST for the train. They want to visit SF and other parts of Northern CA, have a couple of days for skiing (which would require 3 nights), and the rest.

You do NOT have time to take the train. Honestly, you can get caught up on scenery out a train window really quickly when you could be seeing great scenery, walking around in it, skiing in it in Colorado.
Breckenridge is a great little town and a ski town. Georgetown is an old mining town and further "down the mountain"--choose Breck. You will have to arrange a shuttle from Denver airport to get there if you are still not renting a car. YOu will see nice scenery getting there.
Skip Tahoe as suggested already.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions.
Since California Zephyr often gets delayed in winter, so is it better for us to skip the train & just take the plane.
Honestly, our itinerary is flexible. Since it will be done in winter so we would like to visit a christmas winter wonderland town & try skiing once then we would like to do/enjoy the other

If you don't have time for Colorado, you could go to Stevens Pass not far from Leavenworth Washington.
https://www.stevenspass.com/site/tri...dging-packages
Leavenworth is the nicest "Christmas town" that I know of.
You can either fly from San Francisco to Seattle or if you have more time, take the Coast Starlight to Seattle.
Leavenworth is served by the Amtrak Empire Builder if you don't want to rent a car.

tom -- stop with the trains already . . .

Nowhere did the OP mention going to WA state.

The confusion may be SEA in the post... I think that's South East Asia... not Seattle...

An alternative to downhill skiing for you might be cross country skiing. Or snowshoeing or even snowmobiling at a snowy resort. These are already "upright"!! LOL The exertion of snow sports at altitude is very real and you should consider it, IMO.

>> The confusion may be SEA in the post... I think that's South East Asia... not Seattle...<<

I didn't think there was any confusion. The OP said . . . >>from SEA country<<. I <i>think</i> tom just likes putting people on trains ;)

Thank you so much for all the information & suggestions.
Considering all of it & the time we have, we are thinking of several options.

1st option:
- We will rent a car from SFO
- Carmel? (1 night)
- Sausalito, Napa valley (sight seeing, we will not do too many wine tasting. Is 1 night enough?)
- Sacramento, Lake Tahoe (2 or 3 nights?)
- Fly to Boston. Stay 3 nights
- New York 4 nights
- Chicago 3 nights

2nd option:
- Carmel? (1 night)
- Sausalito, Napa valley, Sacramento (2 nights)
- Fly to Glenwood Springs (Aspen or Vail? 2 nights)
- Take California Zephyr to Denver, stay 1 night
- Breckenridge or Estes Park? (2 nights)
- sight seeing Boulder & Denver (3 nights)
- Fly to Chicago (any other nearby places good to visit?)

3rd option:
- Sausalito, Napa valley (1 night)
- Fly to Denver
- Breckenridge or Estes Park(2 nights)
- Boulder & Denver (2 nights)
- Fly to Boston (3 nights)
- New York (4 nights)
- Chicago (3 nights)

Which option is the most doable & worth to do (considering the time, air ticket & hotel rate during the season).

Also, is it quite safe to drive to & from Denver - Breckenridge/Estes Park/Boulder during winter season? Is the road treacherous?

We are really grateful for all the information & suggestion given.