Looking for family ski fun, or golf and mountain biking within 90 minutes of Denver? Year-round, a money-saving Winter Park vacation rental is your quickest road from Denver to Rocky Mountain recreational fun. Don’t want to drive the 90 minutes from the Denver airport to your money-saving Winter Park vacation rental? The old Rio Grande Scenic Railroad Company weekend ski train may be out of operation. But you can still kickback and enjoy the Rocky Mountain scenery from the comfort of Amtrak’s California Zephyr. Allow at least 2 hours for the daily rail journey between Denver Union Station and Fraser-Winter Park station.

The railroad started it all. Winter Park came into existence way back when the railroad constructed the Rocky Mountains/Moffat Tunnel and workers needed places to live in this rugged mountain wilderness. The City of Denver launched Winter Park as a ski resort in 1940 by constructing a ski tow at West Portal. Today there are 25 lifts servicing 143 designated ski trails on about 3,000 acres, of which over a third is off-piste terrain. And money-saving vacation rental homes, apartments, townhouses, and condos make Winter Park a comfortable year-round family resort.

Winter Park usually kicks off skiing before Thanksgiving, as there are 26 trails and about 300 acres for the snowmaking machines. As the snow accumulates and winter season gets into full swing, your money-saving vacation rental also becomes your portal to glade skiing, cross-country skiing, snow cycling, snowboarding, snowshoeing, Snowcat tours and NASTAR racing. Guided touring opportunities abound for the whole family to learn about the native Rocky Mountain plants and animals. For vacation DVDs and training purposes, the Ski and Ride School rents helmet cams to capture the mogul runs and downhill action.

Golf at Grand Elk, Headwaters, or one of the 9-hole courses up the highway near Granby. From Granby, it is a short drive to Rocky Mountain National Park. The kids will enjoy rounds of mountainside mini-golf and the Alpine Slide. Meanwhile fly fish the Fraser River. Wade in or take a boat to fish the Colorado River, while the kids practice clowning and juggling at Winter Park Circus Camp. Mountain bike, rollerblade or picnic along the five-mile Fraser River Trail. Checkout Trestle Bike Park, which has hosted Mountain States Cup cross country racing, slalom, downhill, and super D.

The whole family will enjoy the Old West post office and stage stop at Cozens' Ranch House Museum. Cowboy sing-a-long campfires and mountain man storytelling will leave the kids spellbound. Learn astronomy at the two-hour Star Safaris produced by the University of Colorado's Fiske Planetarium. Then relax at your money-saving Winter Park vacation rental, before your next adventure.