Hey y’all! We switched up our Colorado winter destination this year and I can’t wait to tell you all about the little hidden gem we found called Granby! We usually road trip to Crested Butte every winter break, but we wanted a change this year. The boys were not real thrilled with us, but ended up loving Granby!

We stayed at Base One Camp in Granby, Colorado, which is ski in/out. We had a spacious condo that we booked through vrbo.com. I particularly loved that we had an enclosed garage to park in, especially since it snowed most of the days there. Base One Camp is conveniently located right at the base of the mountain and just a few steps to the ski lift and next door to ski and snowboard rentals and ski school. There’s also a cafeteria with different food options and a restaurant that we really enjoyed.

The drive to Granby took us about 13 hours. We stopped and stayed the night Trinidad, CO and only had about a 4 hour drive to Granby from there. Along the way, we made a quick detour to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It’s one of my kids’ favorite places, they love climbing on the rocks. Be sure to check it out if you’re in the area!

Finally we made it to Granby and were ready to start our winter adventure! There was so much snow and the views were incredible. We were all excited and ready for snowboarding the next day! The mountain was small enough that we let the big boys ride the lifts to the bunny slopes by themselves while we taught Jake and Sadie how to ski. The big boys were able to go up to the top of the mountain with adults and there wasn’t a trail they couldn’t go down! It quickly became their favorite mountain, but I figure this will be the case no matter where we go! The crowds still got pretty big, but we knew it would happen since we were going over a holiday. The only thing I missed about Crested Butte was the downtown area. Granby is small, so there’s not a ton to do besides skiing and boarding. If you want a really nice family vacation and time to ski and board, then I highly suggest Granby! If you are looking for more nightlife, then I would head to a bigger mountain like Crested Butte or Winter Park!

Skiing and Snowboarding – We are snowboarders in my family, except for Jake. Since he’s just starting ski school, him and Sadie skied on the trip. We actually put them in ski school for the day. Honestly, I think they both learned more on the bunny slopes with us and a harness, but ski school was a great babysitter for the day and allowed the adults to go up to the top to ski and board with the big boys! I even got the chance to board with my hubby alone for the first time in about 5 years!

We also decided to road trip across Colorado up to Monarch Mountain to go dog sledding with Monarch Dog Sled Rides. My littlest son is obsessed with wolves & huskies, so we knew he’d love this animal adventure! We really got lucky with the weather and driving conditions and had no issues traveling the three hours or so from Granby to Monarch Mountain! And I think it’s safe to say that we ALL loved dog sledding. We started with an introduction and background story about every dog on the tour. Then we learned about the history of dog sledding and the kids were so engaged. From there we learned how to harness a dog and anyone has the opportunity to try it out themselves. Then it was time to start the ride! I have never seen dogs so excited to work! You can totally tell that these dogs are treated very well and are truly born to pull sleds! The kids and I bundled up together in the sled and Jereme got to stand at the back with our guide and drive the sled. The sights were incredible, the guides were so knowledgeable and we enjoyed chatting with them during our tour. The few stops we made were fun, we especially loved getting to play with the dogs and watch them roll around in the snow to cool down. I would highly, highly, highly recommend this company and this adventure for anyone wanting to add some fun to their ski or snowboarding trip to Colorado!

Thanks so much for reading about our winter adventures. As always, I am happy to help with any questions you may have from what to pack, to where to go, and what to do!

Happy Travels, Jasha