Celebrate the New Year with these Colorado weekend getaways
With New Year’s Eve falling on a Saturday this year, it may be the perfect time to spice up your annual year-end traditions and celebrate with a lastminute weekend getaway. And whether your tastes run toward five-course meals and champagne toasts or torchlight parades and fireworks, these Colorado mountain towns have got you covered. All still had lodging available nearby Dec. 30-Jan. 2 as of last week.
ASPEN
Aspen Mountain will be illuminated by fireworks not once but twice on New Year’s Eve. There are plenty of big-ticket parties where you can catch a glimpse, but one more affordable viewing option is The St. Regis Aspen Resort’s Shadow Mountain Lounge, where there will be a live DJ, cocktail service and complimentary champagne toast at midnight — all at no cover and open to the community. Fireworks are at 8 p.m. and midnight. aspenchamber.org
BEAVER CREEK
Home to one of Travel Channel’s top family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations, Beaver Creek pulls out all the stops for its youngest revelers — there’s a public glow-stick ski down, a torchlight parade and fireworks, and that’s before the big party gets started at 7 p.m. The 6th Annual New Year’s Eve Family Bash at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek features games, dancing, DJ, giveaways and two balloon drops. Tickets sell out quickly; as of press time, late-night (after 10:30 p.m.) entries were still available for $45. beavercreek.com
BRECKENRIDGE
Catch Breckenridge’s traditional torchlight parade and fireworks on New Year’s Eve — they’re visible from most spots around town — and then if you’re not too hungover the next morning, lace up your trail shoes (or snowshoes) for the Resolution Snow Run and Yeti Snowshoe Stomp 5K at 11 a.m. Jan. 1. The snowy course follows the Blue River and starts and ends at Colorado Mountain College. Race entry is $35 for adults, $15 for kids. visitbreck.com
ESTES PARK
The YMCA of the Rockies is celebrating the New Year with a family-friendly party for guests staying overnight in its lodges. The New Year’s Eve Family Dance will feature DJ music, games, snacks, refreshments and a bedtime-appropriate 10 p.m. ball drop. Guest lodge rates start at $64 for members and $79 for non-members. visitestespark.com
GRAND LAKE
There are tons of New Year’s Eve fireworks displays, but Grand Lake’s midnight show offers a scenic backdrop of a different sort — Colorado’s largest natural body of water. Prime viewing spots for the annual fireworks include Lake Avenue, Lake Park, the beach and the East Inlet Boat Launch. grandlakechamber.com
KEYSTONE
Your New Year’s Eve soundtrack doesn’t have to be just club anthems and chart-toppers. Get your bluegrass on at the Warren Station Center for the Arts in Keystone with a New Year’s concert by popular Denver band Trout Steak Revival. Opening is Fort Collins-based folk act Pandas & People. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. keystoneresort.com
TELLURIDE
Snagging one of the last remaining rooms in Telluride may require a bit of a splurge, but it doesn’t get much more magical than an open-air sleigh ride to dinner and fireworks. The Gorrono Ranch sleigh ride dinner begins with a 15-minute sleigh ride to the historic sheep herding ranch before prime viewing of the resort’s torchlight parade and fireworks, an open bar and buffet-style gourmet dinner. Tickets are $200 for adults, $100 for youth ages 13-21 and $55 for children ages 6-12. Seats are extremely limited — reserve in advance by calling 970-728-7560. tellurideskiresort.com
VAIL
Vail Holidaze‘s torchlight parade and fireworks on Golden Peak kicks off the evening’s festivities at 6:15 p.m. Afterwards, there are parties aplenty to choose from, including the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail’s glitzy New Year’s Eve ballroom gala. Tickets to that soiree start at $500 per person. Or you can always hang out, free of charge, in the resort’s redesigned bar and lounge, The Remedy, and rock out to the DJ before watching the ball drop on the bigscreen TV. vail.com