Winter Beyond the Slopes / COME TO LIFE 7 SNOWSHOEING & CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING SNOWTUBING & SNOWMOBILING Scan with your Layar app to watch videos on two of winter’s most thrilling rides. See instructions on page 4. Backcountry trails lead to fluffy-snow-covered valleys and peaceful stands of evergreen and aspen trees, where the only sounds you hear are chirping birds and your own heartbeat. Dozens of Nordic centers, including many at the ski resorts, are a great way to get started with rentals, trail maps and warming areas. For more intense endeavors, try a hut trip! COLORADO. com/NordicCenters & COLORADO.com/HutTrips 9 SKI BIKING Another way to experience the beauty of a Colorado winter and also get your adrenaline flowing, it’s simply a bike with the wheels replaced by skis. Many ski areas offer lessons with staff instructors; the bikes’ three-point stance and low center of gravity make it an easy activity to pick up. COLORADO.com/SnowBiking CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: SKI BIKING, TELLURIDE SKI RESORT; ICE-FISHING TACKLE, ISTOCKPHOTO; YAMPA VALLEY CRANE FESTIVAL; FAT BIKING NEAR BRECKENRIDGE, LISA SEAMAN; DOG SLEDDING NEAR WINTER PARK, BETH SCHNEIDER; UPHILL SKIING, ASPEN/SNOWMASS; SNOWSHOE, ISTOCKPHOTO. 5 DOG SLEDDING Barking dogs eagerly speed you along the trail, and within moments of embarking on your dog-sledding expedition, you’ll experi-ence a rush unlike any other. Dog sledding is fast becoming a popular Colorado adventure. COLORADO.com/DogSledding 10 ICE FISHING 8 UPHILL SKIING Uphill skiing, also known as “skinning,” “alpine touring” or “ski mountaineering,” involves bypassing the trusty old ski lift and climbing to the top of each run — under one’s own power — before schussing back down (because some people like to do things the hard way). COLORADO.com/Uphill The main season for ice fishing is December to late February, when the ice is typically sure and conditions are right. Before layering up and heading out, pop into a tackle shop for advice on the best places to go, the best bait to use and plenty of fish tales. COLORADO.com/ IceFishing 6 FAT BIKING Also known as snow biking, fat biking allows exercise-zany Colora-dans to keep their wheels spinning, no matter the season. Those fat tires keep you atop the snow, and though they aren’t built for speed, they can go just about anywhere. COLORADO.com/SnowBiking 11 WILDLIFE WATCHING Moose, deer, marten, ermine, jays, woodpeckers, owls and more often move to lower elevations as the snow piles up in the high country. Several winter festivals celebrate eagles, bighorn sheep, snow geese and cranes. COLORADO.com/WildlifeTripIdeas WANT MORE? GO TO COLORADO.COM/WINTER-ACTIVITIES. COLORADO.COM / 43
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 43
