First time - Winter park in January
 

hi.
i will be traveling to Winter Park, CO in January and will be staying for a week. i love the great outdoors, but skiing kills my knees. i would be up for skiing one or two days possibly, but i am interested in other sport-like activities that would be good to do in january. is hiking in estes park an option for wintertime in CO? i am an avid hiker and i wouldn't mind adding a few hours to a hike if it was doable. i also looked into hot springs and snowmobiling. can you recommend any other activities? we'll be in winter park for a week. anything related to wildlife or interesting classes offered? i'd also be open to volunteering for a day. any info would be greatly appreciated!

april

Winter Park is a bit often the beaten path, but a nice ski resort. You should be able to find snowmobiling in the area no problem. As far as hiking goes, you'd probably be able to snowshoe more easily at that time of year.

Is there a reason you chose WP instead of someplace like Breckenridge or Vail? Just curious. In my opinion, those towns would have much more to offer you if you don't plan to ski the whole time.

hey yale, thanks for your reply. a friend of mine has a place in winter park. the whole group will be composed of 3 couples. the other two couples are avid skiiers and are interested in renting a car and taking a possible daytrip to vail and/or breckenridge while on the trip. definitely good to know that winter park is off the beaten path. i would like to get a feel for "old colorado."

That's great. Driving in January may make your day trips a little more difficult depending on weather, but if you get some sunny days it shouldn't be a problem. I would do a search on Colorado ghost towns if that's what you are interested in. Central City used to be one of my favorite "old" towns until they started putting in casinos, but you still may want to visit there.

Do you like to Nordic ski? There are great places for it in the Winter Park area. Snow Mountain (a YMCA Ranch of the Rockies) has excellent trails and good rentals. You can really get away and see some scenery there. They have some very easy trails for beginners. I imagine you could snowshoe on their trails if you'd rather. Check out their activities, as they have nature presentations often.
Also, Grand Lake's golf course becomes a Nordic center in the wintertime and is quite nice. Grand Lake also has a huge snowmobile center, probably the closest to Winter Park you'll find.
Devil's Thumb Ranch has Nordic, but I am not sure of its ownership this year and whether or not it will be open.
Don't try to drive too far, especially in January. Estes is not an option, really, as Trail Ridge Road will be closed.
Hot Sulphur Springs is close. It's a fair-to-middling pool-type place.
Steamboat Springs isn't too far away, depending on road conditions. They have natural hot springs there you might be able to hike to in January.
If you like the feel of "old Colorado", and you must drive to Summit County, take the back roads via Kremmling and you will see some old, pick-up country Colorado. (Search for my thread her for "A tale of two Colorados" for my description and contrast re: that route).
Enjoy Winter Park. It has such beautiful open space that you will love it there. Definitely not like highly-end Vail-- and that's why we love it.