Family Getaway to Vail, Colorado – No Skiing Involved!

Deciding On A Winter Family Getaway

We had to change our Thanksgiving vacation plans late this year from Cancun, Mexico to Denver, CO due to the news of a little one arriving early next year!  The hubby was reluctant to go because he is not into mountain vacations especially in the winter.  He would rather sit on the beach and sip on a drink all day long but, ended up enjoying our winter family getaway to the Rockies (Vail, Georgetown, Denver and Colorado Springs.)  I am not calling it a vacation per se because we actually went to visit hubby’s sister and her family in Denver.  We decided to go for a full week to spend some time with the family as well as check out a couple of popular destinations towns around Denver.

Journey To Vail Via Georgetown & Dillon, CO

We arrived in Denver on Friday and stayed the night there.  The next day everyone headed to Vail, CO.  Although, the drive from Denver to Vail isn’t a long one (about 2+ hours) we made a few pitstops on the way.  One of our stops was Georgetown, CO a quaint town which I wanted to see anyways.  It turned out to be a great stop as it was set up for Christmas and had a North Pole Train with a visit from Santa Claus.  We purchased tickets for the entire family and enjoyed complimentary hot chocolate and cookies prior to boarding the train.  The kids and adults had a great time on the train as the sites from high up in the mountains with snowy treetops were amazing.  Santa visited our car and took his time with the kids and let us take as many pictures as we wanted.  He was a very sweet and even hung out with the adults in our train car.  Overall, Georgetown is a really cute town and was a great first stop.

DAM Brewery in Dillon, CO

The second stop was to grab some lunch at the famed DAM brewery & restaurant in Dillon, CO.  The brewery restaurant is a large two story brewpub with handcrafted beer plus a variety of bar food, including kids’ options. The beer selection was great and so was the food, the burgers especially.  You can’t beat the amazing mountain views from the second floor!

Lionshead Village & Vail Village In Vail, CO

The last stop and final destination was Vail.  The condo my sister in-law reserved was at the Antlers resort in Lionshead Village.  It was cozy but large enough for our big extended family of 6 adults and 3 kids.  It had 3 bedrooms (2 upstairs and one down stairs), the master had a king bed and a sofa bed, one other room had 2 twin beds, the 3^rd room had a queen bed (downstairs) and the living room also had a sofa bed and a fireplace.  There were 2 bathrooms (one upstairs and one downstairs) The kitchen was equipped with everything we needed.  There was a balcony with really amazing views of the mountains, the pool and hot tub as well as a stream in between.

Once we all got settled in, we headed out for a stroll in the Lionshead village which was steps away from the condo.

The next morning, we ventured out to the Vail village which was a very short drive away.  Fortunately, the main public parking was free as the slopes hadn’t open yet.    They were supposed to be open during our visit however, the opening got postponed by a week due to a lack of enough snow.  The parking rates vary by season so we would advise to check the following site for more information to plan your visit.

Vail Map & Parking Rates

Vail is a small town with a great personality and is home to the massive Vail Ski Resort.  Its a gateway for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding but, also a summertime retreat for golfing, hiking and cultural festivals or scenery-gazing at any time of the year.  The entire town is beautiful with amazing Rockies backdrop and is lined up with nice restaurants and shops.  The kids and the adults can enjoy ice rinks in both the Lionshead village and Vail village situated right in the middle of all the action!

Closing Thoughts On Our Family Getaway

We lucked out with the weather as it was nice enough for us to comfortably walk around town without freezing our butts off.  Overall, it was a memorable visit and we intend to go back during warmer temperatures since we are not much of skiiers.  I would highly recommend a trip to Vail if you are visit Colorado during the winter or the summer.  It won’t be a cheap visit but, will be worth it.

Please feel free to comment below or send any questions my way.  Thanks, Indu S