This past spring, we had our very first spring skiing trip to Aspen Snowmass, Colorado and even though we skied 6 out of the 8 days we were there, we still did many activities apres-ski that didn’t require snow. And now that summer is in full-swing, Aspen and Snowmass is back in its high-season!
Here’s our list of 5 family activities in Aspen Snowmass Colorado
1. Eat at These Family-Friendly Restaurants: Hickory House, Brunelleschi’s, Cantina Aspen, and Willow Creek Bistro in the Ritz-Carlton Club in Aspen Highlands. The first three have kids menus and Willow Creek can make pasta or a burger for the kids.
I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of our girls’ kids plates at Hickory House because they ate it so fast! The ribs were so delicious and mouth-watering. The ribs came with a baked potato, cole slaw, beans and this amazing toasty bread. I am salivating right now just thinking about it.
Brunelleschi’s has a DIY pizza where the kids pick out their toppings and then they get to spread the sauce, and sprinkle their choices. Their pie then gets whisked away to the kitchen to get cooked. Beware: the portions for adults are HUGE so come hungry.
2. Go Bowling at Slopeside Lanes. Right off the lift at Snowmass is Slopeside Lanes . What a fun place to go whether its the summer or right after a run on the mountain. It’s right off of Snowmass Mountain. They have 8 lanes, with leather couches. And, come hungry. They are open for lunch and dinner with a full menu — wings, sliders, burgers, salads and pizza — plus a full bar for thirsty adults.
It’s a great indoor activity after a day of skiing, hiking, biking or running, if you have any energy left! For the kids, you can opt to put up the bumpers so they have a shot at hitting some pins.
3. Go Play in a Playground. Whenever we travel, finding a playground for the girls is a must. It’s a good way to get them have free, open-ended play. We found Wagner Park Playground right in the middle of the Mall in Aspen. It had the outdoorsy, rustic look and the girls climbed on “boulders”and swung and climbed on ropes. (Plus, it gives Mom & Dad a break to sit down!)
4. Come Learn and Discover at the Ice Age Discovery Center, located right in the Snowmass Village Mall, right off the mountain.
In October 2010, a bulldozer operator working in Snowmass Village found the tusk of a young female mammoth. Over the next 10 months, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science conducted its largest-ever fossil excavation, finding a ton of well-preserved Ice Age fossils. The Ice Age Discovery Center lets you and your kids understand how these fossils were found and how they are preserved.
Your kids can also take a “quiz” to see what they learned and get a prize if they answered correctly (our older daughter got 100% and received some stickers and bookmarks.) Our younger daughter opted for quiet reading about mammoths in their cozy reading corner.
5. Check out the Aspen Recreation Center. Through our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Club at Aspen Highlands, we received passes to explore this amazing center (visitors can pay a daily fee) that had a full-size ice-hockey rink, a lap pool, lazy river and huge 2-story indoor pool slide. The pool itself was heated and there were many places to explore since this wasn’t a “regular sized pool” as you can see in the picture below.
Bring towels, or you’ll have to shell out a small fee. The Aspen Recreation Center also has a 32-foot rock climbing wall and a small cafe for after-swimming munchies.
There’s obviously more to do in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado, like biking, hiking, swimming and running that you and your family can do, which we weren’t able to do during our spring skiing visit, but we are hoping to get out there again during the warmer months!