Great Escapes: Snow, Sport, and a Rich Cultural Scene in Aspen

Many ski towns, such as nearby Vail, are purpose-built resorts for tourists, but Aspen’s history imbues it with character and a layer of depth. Originally the summer hunting grounds for the Ute Indians, it became a booming mining town in the late 19th  century. Buildings from the latter period are prevalent in Aspen and include The Hotel Jerome, Wheeler Opera House, and the Elks Building. 

It’s worth noting that sustainability is a priority here, too. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association, a nonprofit that supports local business and tourism, recently revised its Aspen Pledge, a commitment to live and visit responsibly in Aspen. Further, the town offers free 30-minute biking with We-Cycle on electric and regular bikes, and the buses that shuttle visitors between Aspen and the nearby ski resort of Snowmass are also free.

STAY

Luxury hotels with prices to match abound in Aspen, but the appeal of Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection, located in the center of town, is hard to top. Open since 1889, the historic property is a hit with families, couples, and groups of friends traveling together. It also serves as a centerpiece of social life in Aspen and is a popular local hangout.

Guest rooms are generously sized and feature floor to ceiling windows with city views. The concierge staff can arrange for practically any activity including skiing, dog sledding, tubing, and curling. In the summer, these change to horseback riding, fly fishing, and hiking. Hotel Jerome’s amenities include a game room, spa, gym, and outdoor swimming pool. On the dining front, the property’s J-Bar serves the best burgers in town while Bad Harriet is a lounge with imaginative craft cocktails. The Soiree, a US$145 menu of various cocktails and bites, gives guests a chance to try several in one night.

Travelers looking to stay in a house on their Aspen getaway or for those who prefer a more secluded setting, The Residences at Aspen Valley Ranch is a fitting choice. The more than 800-acre gated community offers unobstructed views of Aspen’s mountains and is located 10 minutes from downtown. 

Guests can enjoy many activities onsite such as snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice skating in the winter and horseback riding, dirt biking and hiking in the summer. Other amenities include a game room with arcade games, pool table, air hockey, and bar, a gym, a swimming pool, a yoga studio and the Ranch House, featuring a movie theater, wine room, and dining room. 

The hands-on concierge tends to any need for guests, from stocking their fridges with their requested groceries pre-arrival to driving them to and from town and arranging for a chef to cook dinner in their home. 

EAT & DRINK

Visitors are well advised to make reservations a month in advance as tables are hard to come by, especially during peak seasons such as December through March and during the summer.

Casa D’Angelo, open since last summer, is an outpost of the Italian restaurant with two locations in South Florida. Chef and founder Angelo Elia has created a menu that straddles classic and modern dishes from Italy that are complemented by an impressive list of Italian wines. Favorites include the always changing crudos, hearty polenta with mushroom ragu, the comforting fusilli with tomato sauce, and grilled veal chop.

Steakhouse 316 is an Aspen classic. As the name suggests, the dimly lit hideaway has an expansive menu of steaks, from a prime New York strip and porterhouse for two to a filet mignon and wagyu flatiron. The meats are accompanied by house-made sauces such as the blue cheese bone marrow butter. Fans of seafood should consider Clark’s Aspen, a charming, bright restaurant where the menu goes well beyond oysters. Standouts include red snapper ceviche, the cioppino, and the rare ahi tuna ala plancha. 

EXPERIENCE

Hiking and mountain biking are Aspen’s top outdoor diversions in the summer, but when it comes to getting that exercise fix come winter, snowshoeing is prime. 

Dirk Bockelman with Aspen Expeditions, a company that offers private snowshoe excursions, said that the town has hundreds of miles of trails to enjoy the sport. Options include the gentle uphill hike Maroon Bells Road where the surrounding mountains serve as the picturesque backdrop, and the Rio Grande Trail that traverses through a forest and meadows. Sugar Bowls on Aspen Mountain is an example of a backcountry trek. 

Routes vary in intensity, elevation, and distance—a full-day outing that covers 20 miles. 

The nonprofit Aspen Center for Environmental Studies is another outfitter that offers snowshoe treks throughout the Aspen Valley, focused more on educating guests about the local plants, trees, and wildlife and less on cardio. The group’s classic snowshoe excursion takes guests through the Hunter Creek Valley with open fields, vistas of the Elk Mountain Range, and past old mining buildings that are being restored.

Visitors can borrow snowshoe gear from Ute Mountaineer in downtown Aspen. The snowshoeing season generally runs from late November through mid-April. 

On the culture front, Aspen features numerous attractions and festivals. Highlights include the Aspen Art Museum, which offers free admission and notable exhibitions year-round, such as a show by the French-Haitian artist Herve Telemaque that debuted in November.  

The Bayer Center at the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit that promotes freedom and equality, opened this summer and is an exhibition space dedicated to Herbert Bayer, a modern artist and designer who emigrated from the U.S. to Germany. He was key in Aspen’s post World War II renaissance and a leader in designing the Aspen Institute and renovating Hotel Jerome. 

There’s also Theater Aspen’s Winter Cabaret series in December at Hotel Jerome and the globally renowned music venue Belly Up Aspen, where the Chainsmokers are among the artists performing in the coming months.

The author was hosted by the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.