Winter Park is a cute little resort sitting at about 9000 feet, and only an hour and a half from Denver. The trails in Winter Park are some of the most beautiful tree lined trails in the fall, and the mountain biking and trail running options are vast. With the high elevation and the maybe the fact that this town is lesser known than some of the major resorts in Colorado, the trails seem to be less crowded (always a favorite feature for me!). I have also seen quite a few moose out on the trails, and even when searching my phone for food photos to share, a moose eating leaves popped up! It was such a shockingly unexpected trail run for me- I had been running along, lost in thought with the beauty of the area, when I almost ran smack dab into a large moose taking a snack break. I slowly backed away and just admired the moose for a while, also taking the opportunity to enjoy some food (on this occasion I had the pleasure of eating a date walnut scone from Moon Frog Coffee). The owner of Moon Frog, Andras, is one of the kindest individuals I have ever met, and he is so fun to chat with, and he also makes the best coffee in Winter Park. I get coffee, pastries, and breakfast daily from Moon Frog when I am in Winter Park.
Top 3 Winter Park Trails
- Yankee Doodle Trail
This is a great 4 mile out and back trail that is open to all trail users. The views are great, and there are some fun switchbacks (which can be difficult on a mountain bike) and beautiful trees. The best way to get to the trail is via the Vasquez Creek trail off Idlewild road. If you want to have a longer day, you can connect to Serendipty Trail, Ditch, and Broken Thumb loop which adds another 11 miles.
- Moon Frog Coffee
While technically this is a coffee shop, if you find yourself in Winter Park between 7am and 1pm, this is the place to go! Andras and his team serve the best coffee, lattes, tea lattes, scones, moon cakes (kind of like soft muffins), and breakfast sandwiches. Each drink is served with a couple of chocolate candies on the side, which is so fun! Andras is so passionate about coffee and baking, and it really shows in how great the drinks and food are here. I also love to grab a few mooncakes and scones to go and use them as trail snacks! I think I have tried all the flavors, and they are so good! And for gluten free folks, the raspberry almond mooncake is great! I usually go for the date walnut scone, the pumpkin mooncake, and the chocolate chip banana mooncake. The savory jalapeno cheddar scone is also super good. I reallly don't think you can choose a bad pastry here!
The pumpkin mooncakes and latte are my favorite things to order! - Goodys Mountain Creperie
Goodys is good, and as the name suggests, my favorite things to eat here are the crepes. Both the savory and sweet crepes are good, and food is served from 8am to 5:30pm every day. For the sweet crepe, I would get the Nutella with fresh strawberries and whip cream, and for savory, the veggie crepe. The key lime ice cream from Glacier Ice Cream (made in Boulder, CO) was also super satisfying on a hot summer day!
- Durbar Bistro
Durbar is a Nepalese and Indian restaurant, and a fun fact is that this is where Russell Finsterwald ate the night before Mountain Bike Nationals in 2021! :) It was so fun seeing him and his team at this restaurant, and the food here is good. There are quite a few items to choose from that are athlete friendly- lots of forms of carbs and proteins. All the naans looked good, and we went with the kashmeri, which was fille with cherries, dates, and nuts, and pictured below. I also had the veggie moilee, which is a kerala style dish with a mustard coconut sauce served with rice. Durbar is open for lunch from 11-2:30pm, and for dinner, from 4:00-9:00pm Tuesday through Sunday. It is also right in Cooper Creek Square, which is right on the main street in Winter Park.
Another restaurant that has a lot of indoor and outdoor seating with to go options, is Deno's Mountain Bistro. Deno's is right on Main Street, and we ordered from here a couple times. The food is more expensive, but it is super convenient to order online via their webiste. Inside the restaurant is pretty dark, and can be quite crowded and loud, so we have preferred to just do takeout. Deno's has a variety of traditional steakhouse/American eatery options like burgers, pastas, and steak dishes, as well as some more casual items like a mezze platter (called a Greek Table Platter) and gyro. Below is the Greek Table Platter, with tzatziki, olives, hummus, pita bread, dolmas, and a spicy feta dip. Deno's is open for lunch and dinner every day.
