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12 Days of Aspen: Our Favorite Holiday Events

12 Days of Aspen: Our Favorite Holiday Events

Your Guide to the 12 Days of Aspen

Between a bustling downtown, world-class skiing and snowboarding right outside your doorstep, and an abundance of things to do and events happening over the holidays, it’s tough to beat Aspen as a top destination to spend your Christmas and New Year’s.

Here are our favorite holiday events in Aspen!

Aspen Holiday Events

Monday, December 20th

Festive Crafting with Red Brick Arts will take place at Hotel Jerome from 10 am – 12 pm. Children can create a very special gift or decoration for their loved ones. For more information, click here.

Tuesday, December 21st

Enjoy Solstice cookies and hot cocoa at the Aspen Art Museum from 3-5 pm. While you’re there, you can become the artist with a festive drawing activity for all ages. The event is free to attend.

Wednesday, December 22nd

Delight in fun for the whole family at the Après Ski Family Show at the Hotel Jerome. This variety show features Aspen’s finest Broadway talent and a mix of holiday songs and Broadway hits. Each ticket includes family-style bites, a delicious welcome cocktail for our adult guests, and a festive beverage for kids. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Thursday, December 23rd

Gift your group a concert experience seeing Dillon Francis at the Belly Up. This American electronic musician, record producer, and DJ will be performing at 10 PM. Please note: the show is 21+. All attendees must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to the show date. Proof of vaccination is required for entry. Grab your tickets at bellyupaspen.com.

Friday, December 24th

Nothing says Christmas like a Christmas Eve Feast at Element 47! Tuck into a four-course prix fixe menu featuring indulgent favorites like venison, lobster, wagyu beef, hand-made pasta, foie gras, seabass, and decadent desserts. Learn more and click here to purchase tickets.

Saturday, December 25th

After all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday, enjoy a relaxed Christmas dinner at Ajax Tavern. The featured menu includes holiday favorites like Brandt beef, gnocchi, Colorado lamb, scallops, and more! click here. Click here to read more.

Sunday, December 26th

Celebrate National Candy Cane Day with the Aspen Chamber! Stop by the information booth and receive a free candy cane.

Monday, December 27th

Visit the Red Brick Resident Artist’s Exhibition. This Annual Exhibition features works of various media including, ceramic ware and vases, abstract and representational painting, photography, mixed media, sculpture, and jewelry design. FREE to attend. Click here for more information.

Tuesday, December 28th

History buffs will delight in The Aspen Historical Society Winter History Tours starting from the Hotel Jerome. Learn about the legends that surround Hotel Jerome and the history that lead to it becoming the heart of Aspen! Learn more about this FREE experience by clicking here.

Wednesday, December 29th

Attend an Evening of Songs & Stories with John Oates featuring Guthrie Trapp at the Wheeler Opera House! These music legends will grace the Opera House Stage for one night only, so be sure to secure your spot. Tickets and venue information can be found at aspenshowtix.com.

Thursday, December 30th

Take the kids to Hotel Jerome and have them design an illuminated, one-of-a-kind mask to wear ringing in the New Year! Click here to reserve your spot.

Friday, December 31st

Aspen on New Year’s Eve is unmatched! Check out this year’s events…

Happy New Year!

We hope to see you in Aspen this holiday season. If you have any questions about planning your trip, please contact us. If you’re still looking for holiday accommodations, start searching our inventory of luxury Aspen vacation rentals.

Aspen Holiday Survival Guide

You don’t have to look further than the airport to know that the winter holiday season is the busiest time of year in Aspen. Private jets line up at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport like limousines outside a red carpet event. It pretty much reads like this: Aspen is the place to be. In fact, Aspen’s population swells from just 7,000 people to around 20,000 during the holidays. There is competition for everything from in-town parking spots to dinner reservations. While the town’s holiday bustle is part of its festive appeal, dealing with crowds can be exhausting. Here are a few survival tips from our local insider on how to survive Aspen’s relative holiday craziness this year.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

We know it’s all about alpine (downhill) skiing, but consider this, you can escape the crowds. Get a good workout in and enjoy the wilderness (and solitude) on a pair of cross-country skis. With over 80 kilometers of groomed trails, cross-country skiing affords plenty to explore. If the idea of trying to balance on skinny skis in a pair of sneaker-like boots feels a little too daunting, consider trying a backcountry touring ski (available for rental at the Ute Mountaineer) which is like a cross-country ski, but wider with scales on the bottom for better uphill traction and edges for better control.

Roads that are closed in winter are very popular for touring and offer easy routes for beginners with unbelievable views. Maroon Creek Road from T-Lazy 7 is an easy, gentle route that rewards dramatic vistas of Pyramid Peak. Or try Independence Pass from the closure gate to the Weller Lake parking lot for some of the most sweeping vistas in the entire valley. Either of these outings is a quiet alternative to the resort but not lacking in adventure or views—minus the hefty price tag of a lift ticket. For around $25, you can rent a state-of-the-art touring set up from the Ute Mountaineer.

Snowmass Cross Country Skiing

Avoid Parking Paralysis

During the holidays, finding a parking space in downtown Aspen is no easier than in the city you probably came from, so why not avoid the hassle? The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority provides free bus services throughout the City of Aspen, Snowmass Village, and Woody Creek.

Bus in Winter>

If you’re staying at a property that does not have adequate bus service and don’t want to hire a driver, there is a convenient underground parking garage located smack dab in the center of town (427 Rio Grand Place) where you can leave your car all day for much less than you’d pay at the meters. It’s a covered lot, so you won’t have to contend with having to clear snow and ice from your windshield. For more information visit the City of Aspen Parking web site.

Insider’s Tip: Purchase a 10-visit punch pass for $50—that’s only $5/day!

Live on “Mountain Time”

As locals, it never ceases to blow us away that when the gondola fires up at 9 a.m., the mountain is often still totally empty (unless, of course, it’s a powder day). Maybe the late start is due to Aspen’s swinging nightlife, but regardless, the best turns can be had early in the morning.</p&gt;</p>

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&lt;p><p><p&amp;gt;<p><p><p>&lt;p><p>If you like to sleep in (it is your vacation, after all), try skiing in the late afternoon when most people’s legs have called it a day long before the lifts stop running. The mountain is especially empty on storm days when the fair-weather skiers flock inside. You’ll be amazed by the solace you can find on an empty trail at the end of the day.

Try Something New

&lt;p><p><p&amp;gt;<p><p><p>&lt;p><p>There are boundless outdoor adventures waiting to be had off the ski slopes that are equally as fun as on the slopes, according to Erik Skarvan of Sun Dog Athletics.

Pack of Cyclists with Pet Dogs

Are you an avid cyclist? Try fat biking, a new craze where super fat tires with low pressure and big treads allow you to pedal through packed snow like a one horse open sleigh (sorry, we couldn’t resist). Sun Dog Athletics offers Fat Biking Adventures on the snow-packed trails around Aspen and Snowmass. Visit Sun Dog Athletics for more info.

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Romancing the Fall: The Aspen Insider’s Guide to Leaf Peeping

Leaf Peeping In Aspen

Fall in Aspen is kind of like a romantic fling. The beauty leaves you awe-inspired and wanting for more, all the while knowing the moment can’t last. Unlike the heartier oak and spruce trees that turn colors in locales to the east, the Aspen tree’s foliage cycle is brilliant but painfully short. The entire cycle lasts only a few weeks. Turning first at the higher elevations and then gradually making its way down the valley, where yellow leaves can still be found on the trees in late October.

Here’s your local’s guide to the best leaf peeping by car, bike, and foot. Enjoy it while it lasts, and love it before it “leafs” you!

ASPEN FALL FOLIAGE BY CAR: INDEPENDENCE PASS TO TWIN LAKES

Aspen Leaf Peeping Independence Pass - Romancing The Fall in Aspen

Even when the leaves aren’t turning, Independence Pass has to be one of the most scenic mountain passes in Colorado. But when the yellow leaves are firing, this road is magical. Begin in downtown Aspen and head up Highway 82 East. Make your way through several Aspen groves that canopy the road between Weller Lake and Lincoln Creek. Save the best for last. Before the summit, a panoramic view of the entire valley affords patchwork-quilt like bursts of color. Drop on over the other side for more jaw-dropping beauty as the road descends via steep, heart-stopping switchbacks before landing in the lush valley. Grab lunch at the Twin Lakes Inn where views of the colors reflecting in the lake are postcard perfect.

Get the full scoop on driving Independence Pass in the fall.

ASPEN FALL FOLIAGE BY BIKE: THE TWO VALLEYS AKA “THE SISTERS”

Road cyclists from all over the world come to Aspen to test their legs and their lungs on this classic ride that affords some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the Roaring Fork Valley. Affectionately known as “the sisters” because of the two valley’s resemblance as striking beauties that require some serious effort.

Aspen Leaf Peeping Two Sisters - Romancing The Fall in AspenThese routes can be ridden separately but to tackle them both at once is the standard for anyone who takes their time in the saddle seriously. The spectacular scenery meter goes up a few notches during fall foliage, especially if you’re lucky enough to catch the colors just after a dusting of snow on the high peaks. Just when you think the Maroon Bells can’t get any more spectacular, they do. And the Castle Creek Valley offers similar rewards for the 14-mile climb (and on the flip side, epic 14-mile downhill), especially in the last two miles when the high peaks of the Elk Range reveal themselves at the top of the valley.

ASPEN FALL FOLIAGE BY FOOT: CATHEDRAL LAKE

This local’s favorite offers a lot of reward for the effort from the trailhead to the top with awesome scenery pretty much the whole way up.This is especially true during the fall season, when the first mile of the trail meanders through deep Aspen groves that feel especially magical when littered with a ground cover of soft, gold medallions and a canopy of brilliant yellow against a majestic blue sky. Within the first hour, you pop out of the trees and get your first glimpse of the high alpine valley with its open meadows and the cascading waterfalls of Castle Creek. WHY VISIT ASPEN IN THE FALL

Fall really is the best time to visit Aspen. Need more reasons to visit Aspen for the changing leaves and all things fall? Here are our five reasons to visit Aspen in the off season.

Five Reasons We Love Aspen Highlands

Five Reasons We Love Aspen Highlands – Living the high life just outside the roundabout.

Five Reasons We Love Aspen Highlands. Like the shy, talented kid of four siblings, Aspen Highlands is probably the most misunderstood of Aspen’s Four Mountain repertoire. Everyone knows Snowmass is for families; Buttermilk is for beginners and park rats; Aspen is for people who want to ski and be seen. But what about Aspen Highlands?

Most people think Aspen Highlands is for expert skiers. It best known for the infamous Highlands Bowl and it’s hike-to expert only skiing.

But there is so much more to it than that. Let us count the ways:

Top 2 Reasons We Love Aspen Highlands

1) So close, but yet so far. Conveniently located less than 2 miles from downtown Aspen. Free bus route! Highlands feels like a small village nestled deep in the mountains.  Something you’d expect to see in the Swiss Alps than in Colorado.

Surrounded by steep wooded hillsides and snow capped peaks, it’s more of a true alpine feel than other parts of the valley. If you want to feel like you’ve escaped to a true mountain retreat without needing a four-wheel drive vehicle to get there, Highlands is the place for you.

Aspen Highlands Home

This 4-bedroom, 4.5 bath luxury townhome is Aspen Highlands slopeside living at its finest.

2) Where the deer and the antelope—and the kids—play.
Even though Snowmass has a reputation for being the family-friendly mountain, Aspen Highlands is also ideal for families. With its absence of busy streets, lack of crowds, and small base village, it is a super safe place where parents can relax and not have to worry as much about constant supervision of their kids. With its close proximity to the Aspen Recreation Center (accessible via a paved bike path) you’ve got all the kid’s favorite amenities (swimming, skating, rock climbing, and more) a short walk or bike ride away.

If you want to know what it’s like to live on the slopes at Aspen Highlands, check out this amazing Thunderbowl Home.

More Reasons We Love Aspen Highlands

3) Escape the crowds, but not the fun.
During the summer months, when Aspen is at full capacity and it’s crazy in town, you can still enjoy the peace and serenity of a mountain getaway without having to worry about where to park (the bus into town is free and super But there’s still a lot of fun to be had right outside your back door.

4) Quality over quantity.
The base village at Highlands might be small, but what it has to offer is top notch. The Highlands Alehouse has one of the most comprehensive beer lists in town with a regular rotation of microbrew suds on tap.And even though pizza is their specialty, there is also a great selection of fresh, healthy fare from kale salads and baked salmon to handmade sandwiches.If you want something a little more upscale, just head on over to Willow Creek Bistro at the Ritz Carlton for a little five-star service and delectable fare.

Two master suites makes this Thunderbowl Townhome and excellent choice for multiple families to come experience Highlands.

5) Not for experts only.
Come winter, Highlands has some of the most exquisite slopeside homes in the valley. And the notion that this is a resort for experts only is a myth. Highlands has some of the best groomed slopes around, especially off the Cloud 9 lift. All the experts are on the upper mountain or skiing the Bowl. That means the corduroy is left mostly untouched for the people who really appreciate it. And you’ll almost never see a liftline here, even during the busy season. Now that’s what we call living on Cloud 9.

If you have specific questions, please give our team a call at Aspen Signature Vacation Rentals. We’re here to make sure your Aspen experience is everything you’ve been dreaming of—and more.

Ground Transportation In Aspen That Will Take You Higher

Aspen Limousine Services

Ground Transportation in Aspen is exceptional. Let us guess, the words “ground transportation” don’t conjure up great feelings. If you’re traveling to Aspen it usually means your flight was canceled or diverted. Now you are stuck driving a car you’re not familiar with white knuckles through weather conditions. Makes for great skiing, but terrifying driving.

There are many car services available that will change the way you think about Ground Transportation in Aspen:

Car Service Options:

If you need specific travel recommendations, give our team a call at Aspen Signature Vacation Rentals. We’re here to make sure your Aspen experience is everything you’ve been dreaming of—and more.

 

 

 

A Local’s Guide to Aspen Shortsfest

Things to Know about Aspen Shortsfest:

Founded in 1979 by Ellen Kohner Hunt, Aspen Film seeks to enlighten, enrich, educate, and entertain through film. Throughout its history, Aspen Film has been creating unique and memorable experiences for both the serious cinephile and casual movie lover.

The festival is an industry-recognized destination for discovering breakthrough talent. Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Short Term 12), Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Babylon), Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Up in the Air), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) and the late Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) are among the notable alumni whose short films first screened at Shortsfest before they became household names.

If you need specific questions, give our team a call at Aspen Signature Vacation Rentals. We’re here to make sure your Aspen experience is everything you’ve been dreaming of—and more.

 

 

 

Best Massage Services in Aspen

Best Massage Services in Aspen

The best massage services in Aspen blend luxury, wellness, and mountain serenity for an unforgettable experience. Whether you’re unwinding after a day on the slopes, hiking or treating yourself to pure relaxation, Aspen offers world-class bodywork just steps from your vacation rental.

Inner Awareness Bodywork – DavidBerkson.com

David Berkson has been a nationally certified massage therapist (NCBTMB) with over 14,000 hours of experience. He specializes in myofascial release therapy, meridian therapy and various massage therapy techniques. Myofascial release therapy unlocks and releases joint and muscular pain through stretching and manipulating the body’s fascia, tendons, and ligaments. This outer fascia encapsulates a majority of the nerves and sense receptors.

For a full menu of services and other information, visit the Inner Awareness Bodywork website.

Heaven on Earth – Pila

Heaven on Earth is a locally owned and operated day spa in Aspen, Colorado, dedicated to creating unique spa experiences for each guest. You will instantly notice and feel Pila’s warmth and charm the moment you walk into the boutique day spa. In addition to Heaven on Earth’s friendly and welcoming aura, Pila’s intuitive ability to understand, heal and ease your body, mind and spirit will keep you coming back.

For a full spa menu, hours, location and other information, visit the Heaven on Earth web site.

 

If you need specific massage and spa recommendations, give our team a call at Aspen Signature Vacation Rentals. We’re here to make sure your Aspen experience is everything you’ve been dreaming of—and more.