I’m trying something novel where I consult with my offspring before planning a vacation, so I asked them for spring break suggestions. My teenager just stared at me. My 9-year-old asked to go skiing. I leveraged my meager JetBlue points into three plane tickets to Colorado ($300 each without points), and Crankypants embarked on Colorado’s cheapest ski trip ever.
I took cheapskate inspiration from my 2001 spring break trip to Interlaken, Switzerland. We stumbled into the bunk beds of a popular Swiss hostel. After reserving a spot on the early morning ski shuttle, I danced the night away in a basement disco. The next morning, I hid in my cozy bunk enjoying my first “duvet” (no top sheet!). Luckily my friend dragged me out of bed because I will never forget the divine train up the Swiss Alps (no chairlifts!). I imagined another glimpse of heaven when I booked a ski hostel in the Rocky Mountains.
This cheapo trip started with a 12-hour flight itinerary to Denver. I packed tons of snacks to save money at the airport but spent $30 on a pizza so that we could play Slapjack and watch a March Madness basketball marathon. After the 6-hour layover in JFK, I assured the children that I saved “like fifty bucks” on the flights.
On our first night, we stayed at the Hampton Inn, Denver Downtown ($110). The tasty and free breakfast buffet included sausage, waffles, eggs, cereal, and pastries. The hood was mostly office buildings with an administrative capital vibe, but we highly recommend the Hertz rental agency ($304 for a 6-day rental).
After meeting family at an old-school diner, Pete’s Kitchen, we walked to the Denver Botanical Garden. We were two weeks early for most blooms, but several Japanese gardens are worth seeing year-round. Snow lingered off the path, so the kids climbed on the rocks where the signs read “Please Stay on the Path” to throw snow at each other. Looking back at the trip, this is the only time I lost my patience. My cousins kept saying “Aww, they are just boys.” I may have been Crankypants from the flight itinerary.
We took a scenic 30-minute drive to the Boulder Hyatt ($115 including breakfast buffet) and visited the incomparable Dushanbe Tea House. The artisans of Dushanbe, Tajikistan built this tea house, without using power tools, took it apart, then gifted it to their sister city, Boulder, CO. My children weren’t familiar with “sister cities,” and wanted to know what Dushanbe “got out of the deal”. The food reminded me of a spicier Moroccan cuisine. My teenager claimed that the lamb kebab “changed his life,” at only $22. Our gracious waitress said that my Monkey Picked tea ($4) had to be picked by monkeys because it grew on the highest part of the mountain. I liked that image but read that the best tea of the year in China is called “Monkey Picked”. I would visit Boulder just for this restaurant. Reservations suggested.
We drove to the mountains the next morning after the complimentary breakfast and an enthusiastic Easter service at a Boulder University church. I had plans to explore Boulder for the day, but the concierge knew that we were driving two hours towards a storm calling for 3” of snow, and encouraged us to hit the road early. I took a HARD nap after arriving in Leadville, Colorado's highest elevated city at 10k feet. Lots of breakfast buffet food and high altitude make me sleepy.
I chose the Inn the Clouds Hostel because they had a room for us with an ensuite bathroom. We shared the kitchen, living, and dining room space with a few other end-of-ski-season travelers. On the first night, I took my kids to the only pizza place in town, High Mountain Pies. On the second night, I planned to make food in the kitchen for us to eat at the communal table. My teenager said, “So we are eating at the brothel tonight?” That name stuck. At only $80 per night, you can call it what you want. I also enjoyed meeting the other skiers. One older gentleman asked me to marry him. I laughed and said, “no.” I heard later that he got in trouble with the owner for proposing. Drama!
We skied Leadville’s Cooper Mountain on the softest snow imaginable ($40 per person). At 9 am there were only a few cars in the parking lot. At one point my younger son’s ski popped off. We struggled to put it back on for 5-10 minutes without seeing another skier on the slope. He also got altitude sickness so we had to leave a day early for our next destination at a lower altitude. I had already paid for two days of ski rental (also $40 per person). Upon returning them I told the lovely man at the rental counter that my son refuses to drink water, which is both the prevention and cure for altitude sickness. He said, “Oh, I never drink water.” Then he refunded the money for our skis!
In hindsight taking a break from skiing was the best thing. We drove through scary/beautiful Glenwood Canyon and spent the day at Glenwood Hot Springs ($30-$40 for a day pass). At the bottom of the snowy canyon, I soothed my muscles in the 103* mineral spring. I spent $5 on a foam ball to throw in our little triangle formation. We relaxed in the hot pool for two hours, took naps, and then returned for another two-hour dip after dinner.
When we woke up the next morning to no free breakfast at the Starlight Lodge ($115/night for a 2-bed suite), we drove to Sweet Coloradough for oversized delicious doughnuts ($3 each). I had the perfect pre-hike breakfast: a maple cronut with bacon on the top. After pizza lunch, we tried the Colorado Mountain College’s climbing center ($13 per person). Our guide Jessica was a photography major from NJ. I asked her how she ended up in a tiny college on the edge of a cliff. She said, “She wanted to go to college in Europe but her parents wouldn’t let her so this was the next best thing.”
Next on the itinerary was another cheap ski mountain with few guests, the Sunlight Resort ($50 per adult, $25 per kid). At this point, the kids were skiing safely, and I let my teenager go down a green and blue run without me while I took my other son to get more pizza. My fears were realized when he called me. He said that he fell, and needed assistance down the mountain. His ankle had an unknown injury, and the slope was too steep for him to try to ski down. I sent the ski patrol after him, and he was well taken care of by absolute angel professionals. I seriously hesitated to book this ski trip for this reason. The ski patrol assisted both children on this trip, and both were back on the mountain the next day. I learned that young bones can bounce back or something. On that note, I probably wouldn’t return to beautiful Sunlight Mountain because the chairlifts don’t have safety bars.
Glenwood Springs and Leadville are within an hour’s drive of Aspen and Vail. When people at work asked me where I went skiing for a week, I replied, “Near Aspen.” There you go, and all the prestige for less than $2500.
Did that sound like a lot of activity for one week? Here is a list of our other activities if you want to know more:
Laser Queen show at Boulder University. We met a “laserist” who loves the band Queen. Don’t go if you get dizzy. ($10/person)
Doc Holliday Grave Trail Hike. Perfect at .7 miles.
Doc Holliday Saloon. Doc sat at the bar in this saloon and then died after breathing in the fumes of our favorite hot springs. The chicken wings were breaded so my kids wouldn’t eat them. My roast beef sandwich was delicious ($14).
Kedai Pho and Ramen Restaurant. Glenwood Springs. Japanese. We spent a lot of time here. Incredible ramen ($16). Sushi in boats ($14 per roll). And the waiter let my son hold the TV remote.
Red Rocks Trading Post Hike It took us 45 minutes to walk the narrow trail 1.5 miles around the famous Amphitheater. It’s only 30 minutes from Denver and provides amazing pictures.
Thrift and Consignment Shopping in Glenwood Springs So many thrift stores to choose from. Great deals. Nice people.
What an amazing vacation! Now I want a bacon donut.