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Ski vacation in Summer ? input please !

Spudsbud

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OK, breifly,
Both my kids, mid 20's have fiance's and a few close friends I've known forever.
I'm considering renting a "vacation house" in a ski area but in summertime. 8 or 10 of us...
Anybody have any experience with this. like Vail, Aspen etc..... Gotta be an article in a SKI magazine somewhere about amenities during the summer aside from reduced rates.....
Anybody?

TIA

Jim
 

QC22

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Summers are very busy in ski towns. Colorado has two tourist seasons, Winter and Summer. I'd expect high rates, but all amenities available at all of them. Personally I'd do Telluride or Crested Butte unless you want to go full Gucci.
 

rrrr

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Dillon, CO is near Breckenridge, and next to a large lake. It's a little less expensive than staying at a ski area, but close to several.
 

DrunkenSailor

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We have done big bear and Tahoe in summer. Boating, downhill mountain biking, off roading, horseback riding, golf. Casinos in Tahoe on the Nevada side.

Colorado has lake Dillon in silverthorne that is close to Vail but you can't swim in it.
 

JD D05

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Beaver Creek & Vail are a blast in the summer time. Steamboat seems to be fun also. I am leaving for Telluride in 2 days to do Black Bear Pass etc. Park City is also a good time.
 

Tamalewagon

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Keep it simple. Go to Tahoe. It's a short flight to Reno and the drive to Tahoe is either 25 minutes for North Lake or 50 minutes to South Lake. I would suggest either Incline Village or South Lake near Heavenly. There are some great VRBO's in the area. For South Lake, I like being up the Kingbury Grade for the views. Just about anywhere in Incline is fun.
 

gmnhra

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Keep it simple. Go to Tahoe. It's a short flight to Reno and the drive to Tahoe is either 25 minutes for North Lake or 50 minutes to South Lake. I would suggest either Incline Village or South Lake near Heavenly. There are some great VRBO's in the area. For South Lake, I like being up the Kingbury Grade for the views. Just about anywhere in Incline is fun.

Tahoe south shore in the summer=cluster f

Agree that up the grade is better but you syill have to get to "town" for food/etc.
most beautiful place on the planet ...
love the Edgewood but $$$$$

North shore/Incline is a bit less crowded. Garwoods for cocktails....

My summer mountain town is Mammoth..

Wife and girlfriends headed to Park City tomorrow...watch out...
 

cofooter

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Co ski towns are great in the summer but don't think you are going to escape the crowds or get a great deal. As others have said it is one of the two high seasons. There's a bunch of stuff to do - bike, fish, festivals, drink, hike, or bag a few 14'ers. Love it up there in summer, but tend to stay away from the crowds.
 

Backlash

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Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Awesome little western town with plenty to do nearby. Whitewater rafting the Snake River, Yellowstone, The Tetons, Glacier National Park, etc. Having grown up in Wyoming, I can say there is more to do that just hitting up the tourist traps. Head southeast to the hot springs in Thermopolis, or south to the Museum in Cody. Amazing scenery wherever you go and all of the fishing, mountain biking and hiking a person could ever want to do. 👍
 

2Driver

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Crested butte is on the smaller side ie town etc but super fun and beautiful. The mountain has epic single track for mt biking and they run the lifts each day. They have a free shuttle from the mountain area town down to the main town below so no need to drive or you can ride your bike down and shuttle back. We love it there and have friends with a Mt home outside of town. If you like a one way mt bike ride google trail 401 in CB it’s one of the country’s epic rides. One of the vids on YT is my helmet cam footage

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QC22

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I love Crested Butte. Literally lived on Elk Avenue for a season when I was a kid. The good news, and maybe bad for some, is you can't go through CB, only to it. And no convenient air. Makes it a special place.
 

SPYLIFE

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I have a place in Park City...

The weather is great right now. 85 range, no humidity, and never rains. Main street is not too busy, there are outdoor concerts non-stop, plenty of hiking, & RZR's are street legal. If you want to mountain bike, you can take the lift at Deer Valley, and get pretty extreme down hilling, or you can cross country at Canyons next door. There are paved bike trails everywhere, and you can rent whatever bikes you want all over town. The lifts will also take you up the mountain to hike. Several golf courses, and several lakes
 
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JD D05

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I have a place in Park City...

The weather is great right now. 85 range, no humidity, and never rains. Main street is not too busy, there are outdoor concerts non-stop, plenty of hiking, & RZR's are street legal. If you want to mountain bike, you can take the lift at Deer Valley, and get pretty extreme down hilling, or you can cross country at Canyons next door. There are paved bike trails everywhere, and you can rent whatever bikes you want all over town. The lifts will also take you up the mountain to hike. Several golf courses, and several lakes

Never rains??? I know we have not had much this year but NEVER lol.
 

LuckyStrike

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Crested butte is on the smaller side ie town etc but super fun and beautiful. The mountain has epic single track for mt biking and they run the lifts each day. They have a free shuttle from the mountain area town down to the main town below so no need to drive or you can ride your bike down and shuttle back. We love it there and have friends with a Mt home outside of town. If you like a one way mt bike ride google trail 401 in CB it’s one of the country’s epic rides. One of the vids on YT is my helmet cam footage

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Ive Stayed There Several Times Good Friends have condos right at the base In Town....Fucking Killer Delux
 

outboard_256

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I do mammoth every year but not much boating besides fishing or pontoons. A 1/4 of our group usually flies in and we pick them up. Lots of stuff to do just leave your boat at home.
 

pwerwagn

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I was in ouray/telluride/silverton last weekend. We go every summer for a week. We camp in Eureka CO, bout 8 miles from silverton.

The mountain village in telluride is awesome. Good food, nice hotels ($$$ Im sure) The jeep trails around there are gorgeous, but they are super busy this time of the year. They really are just "trails" though, not anything hard. I might use 4wd 2-3x up there during the whole week on the slightly harder trails like poughkeepsie, kendall, etc.
 

rrrr

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I was in ouray/telluride/silverton last weekend. We go every summer for a week. We camp in Eureka CO, bout 8 miles from silverton.

The mountain village in telluride is awesome. Good food, nice hotels ($$$ Im sure) The jeep trails around there are gorgeous, but they are super busy this time of the year. They really are just "trails" though, not anything hard. I might use 4wd 2-3x up there during the whole week on the slightly harder trails like poughkeepsie, kendall, etc.

Do you go over Ophir Pass?
 

Ace in the Hole

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We went to Stephens pass, and snoqualmie this summer. Bri's parents cabin is close to both in Leavenworth....there is a ton to do in that region of WA...pretty cheap to fly to SeaTac and just rent an suv. We spent about 2 weeks there last month. Breweries, wineries, cider makers everywhere....white water rafting, paddle boarding in crystal clear water etc.

idk if anyone mentioned it...normally big sky in MT is a cool place full of down hill bikers...they were still there but most of the resort was closed for renovations so cross that one off your list.
 

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RodnJen

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We prefer Avon and Beaver Creek over Vail. Telluride is awesome but small if that bothers you. Just got back form Park City and had a blast. Our favorite so far is Telluride.
 

JD D05

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We prefer Avon and Beaver Creek over Vail. Telluride is awesome but small if that bothers you. Just got back form Park City and had a blast. Our favorite so far is Telluride.

I wish I would have known you were in PC...
 

brgrcru

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Last week I was in the Colorado Rockies
Rain the entire time
Beautiful though
 

pwerwagn

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Do you go over Ophir Pass?

Yessir! I've been over Ophir and thru the town of Ophir ~30-40 times. Cool little town, and one of my more favorite trails. Somebody on this forum (perhaps you?) had family that lives/lived in ophir.
 

rrrr

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Yessir! I've been over Ophir and thru the town of Ophir ~30-40 times. Cool little town, and one of my more favorite trails. Somebody on this forum (perhaps you?) had family that lives/lived in ophir.

In the 70s my family spent several summers in Ophir. There were a couple of hundred some year old houses that had been fixed up for rental, and we took both.

My Mom, Dad, and a couple of siblings would drive to Ophir from Albuquerque, going through Cortez and Dolores. I had a 1970 Land Cruiser, and would go up 550 to Silverton and then over the pass to Ophir with a couple of my brothers.

We would buy several US Geological Survey topographical maps of SW Colorado from the government printing office before the trip, and used them to explore abandoned towns and mines in the area. My Toyota was a beast on the trails. There were more than a few times I chugged around Jeeps, Blazers, and Broncos above the tree line.

It was funny to watch these guys get a running start at a boulder strewn trail, bounce over the rocks, lose traction, and go no further. I would put the Land Cruiser in four low and first gear, and the torque of the six cylinder engine would allow me to crawl around them at a walking pace.

Back then Telluride was a dead town with very few full time residents. My Dad had an opportunity to purchase seven lots facing main street for $10,000, which by checking an inflation calculator, I find was $65,000 in 2021 dollars. You known how those coulda woulda shoulda stories are.

I have great memories of those summers. I always had a fishing pole with me. I would catch a few grasshoppers, sneak up on small streams, and catch enough medium sized trout for a good dinner.

My Mom lived in Gunnison into her early teens, and she could lay a fly out in an eddy pool like a pro. We also had season passes to Purgatory, and Mom kicked butt on that mountain.

This October it will be ten years since she passed away. I really miss her, she was a wonderful person and a great Mom to her six kids.
 

pwerwagn

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In the 70s my family spent several summers in Ophir. There were a couple of hundred some year old houses that had been fixed up for rental, and we took both.

My Mom, Dad, and a couple of siblings would drive to Ophir from Albuquerque, going through Cortez and Dolores. I had a 1970 Land Cruiser, and would go up 550 to Silverton and then over the pass to Ophir with a couple of my brothers.

We would buy several US Geological Survey topographical maps of SW Colorado from the government printing office before the trip, and used them to explore abandoned towns and mines in the area. My Toyota was a beast on the trails. There were more than a few times I chugged around Jeeps, Blazers, and Broncos above the tree line.

It was funny to watch these guys get a running start at a boulder strewn trail, bounce over the rocks, lose traction, and go no further. I would put the Land Cruiser in four low and first gear, and the torque of the six cylinder engine would allow me to crawl around them at a walking pace.

Back then Telluride was a dead town with very few full time residents. My Dad had an opportunity to purchase seven lots facing main street for $10,000, which by checking an inflation calculator, I find was $65,000 in 2021 dollars. You known how those coulda woulda shoulda stories are.

I have great memories of those summers. I always had a fishing pole with me. I would catch a few grasshoppers, sneak up on small streams, and catch enough medium sized trout for a good dinner.

My Mom lived in Gunnison into her early teens, and she could lay a fly out in an eddy pool like a pro. We also had season passes to Purgatory, and Mom kicked butt on that mountain.

This October it will be ten years since she passed away. I really miss her, she was a wonderful person and a great Mom to her six kids.

Awesome story! That is such a cool area. I have been going up there since I was born in the early 80's. My grandpa was a trail guide up there around then, before rentals/trail guiding was a thing. He would find a group of people in town interested in learning the area and take them around.

It has changed so much in the last 20 years, and even moreso in the past 5 years. UTV's have taken over. There seems to be an accident weekly on black bear now, the trails are a mess, theres people everywhere. Even the town of silverton has changed drastically in my opinion. There are tons of texas/cali license plates now and every campground is full of pushers with 4 door rubicons and a slew of 50K$ UTV's.

A friend of ours owns Fetchs in silverton (Scott Fetch). He moved up there in 82, and the past few years he said his business has been insane, but he said he has to work 16+ hour days to keep up with it.

Oh well...everything changes right?

Oh ya...speaking of coulda shoulda woulda's...my parents friends own the eureka lodge. Over 10yrs ago we asked if we could camp on the land right there where the road crosses the animas, they said no prob. So for a few years we camped there with nobody around. Well, the land was leased by them and owned by the county and the county asked them if they would run it as a rental rv park area. Once it turned into that, our free reign of the 5 acres ended. That same year, there was a guy that had 3 lots for sale about 5 miles up the road, along the river. Each lot was ~4-5 acres and he wanted 17-40K depending on the lot (one had water, one didnt, etc). Right now, one of those lots is for sale, 750K$. INSANE. Oh well, you never know!
 

JD D05

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Awesome story! That is such a cool area. I have been going up there since I was born in the early 80's. My grandpa was a trail guide up there around then, before rentals/trail guiding was a thing. He would find a group of people in town interested in learning the area and take them around.

It has changed so much in the last 20 years, and even moreso in the past 5 years. UTV's have taken over. There seems to be an accident weekly on black bear now, the trails are a mess, theres people everywhere. Even the town of silverton has changed drastically in my opinion. There are tons of texas/cali license plates now and every campground is full of pushers with 4 door rubicons and a slew of 50K$ UTV's.

A friend of ours owns Fetchs in silverton (Scott Fetch). He moved up there in 82, and the past few years he said his business has been insane, but he said he has to work 16+ hour days to keep up with it.

Oh well...everything changes right?

Oh ya...speaking of coulda shoulda woulda's...my parents friends own the eureka lodge. Over 10yrs ago we asked if we could camp on the land right there where the road crosses the animas, they said no prob. So for a few years we camped there with nobody around. Well, the land was leased by them and owned by the county and the county asked them if they would run it as a rental rv park area. Once it turned into that, our free reign of the 5 acres ended. That same year, there was a guy that had 3 lots for sale about 5 miles up the road, along the river. Each lot was ~4-5 acres and he wanted 17-40K depending on the lot (one had water, one didnt, etc). Right now, one of those lots is for sale, 750K$. INSANE. Oh well, you never know!


I just got back from the area. We did Black Bear, Imogene, Poughkeepsie, Engineer Pass, Ophir etc. Unreal area, BUT I have never seen more assholes in my life. We would be parked on the side of a trail feet away from someone passing say hey nice day and they wouldn't even look at us. Happened over and over. Than we caught some hiker below the switchbacks on Black Bear sneaking pics of our lic plates.
 

pwerwagn

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I just got back from the area. We did Black Bear, Imogene, Poughkeepsie, Engineer Pass, Ophir etc. Unreal area, BUT I have never seen more assholes in my life. We would be parked on the side of a trail feet away from someone passing say hey nice day and they wouldn't even look at us. Happened over and over. Than we caught some hiker below the switchbacks on Black Bear sneaking pics of our lic plates.

Absolutely, I believe it. The people there have changed since UTV's started running the area, and getting broader reach of people. Its interesting.

The picture taking of license plates isn't new. There are local hikers that will cover their faces, their mouths, act like they cant breathe, etc when you drive by them. They hate vehicles, and always have.

The town has actually had one vote to ban UTV's from being allowed on the streets in town. We will see what happens on the 2nd vote.

Oh well, sucks but what can you do?
 

JD D05

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Absolutely, I believe it. The people there have changed since UTV's started running the area, and getting broader reach of people. Its interesting.

The picture taking of license plates isn't new. There are local hikers that will cover their faces, their mouths, act like they cant breathe, etc when you drive by them. They hate vehicles, and always have.

The town has actually had one vote to ban UTV's from being allowed on the streets in town. We will see what happens on the 2nd vote.

Oh well, sucks but what can you do?

We had 4 jeeps in our group. I didn't notice the pics my buddy did who was last in line. If I would have known I would have confronted him.
 

cofooter

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We had 4 jeeps in our group. I didn't notice the pics my buddy did who was last in line. If I would have known I would have confronted him.
Don't get the license plate deal, what's the point of them taking pictures?
 

rivermobster

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OK, breifly,
Both my kids, mid 20's have fiance's and a few close friends I've known forever.
I'm considering renting a "vacation house" in a ski area but in summertime. 8 or 10 of us...
Anybody have any experience with this. like Vail, Aspen etc..... Gotta be an article in a SKI magazine somewhere about amenities during the summer aside from reduced rates.....
Anybody?

TIA

Jim

Did you go yet??

Mammoth is the summer is awesome. All kinna stuff to do!

Heading up there shortly myself. Lemme know if you have any questions. 👍
 

pwerwagn

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Don't get the license plate deal, what's the point of them taking pictures?

I dont understand either. I think they are trying to make you feel like youre doing something wrong and they are going to report you? Its never made sense to me either and in all my years of spending a lot of time up there, nothing has ever came from it!
 

cofooter

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I dont understand either. I think they are trying to make you feel like youre doing something wrong and they are going to report you? Its never made sense to me either and in all my years of spending a lot of time up there, nothing has ever came from it!
Maybe their little geh club has a wall of shame
 
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