I learned to ski in my 30s, and my inner monologue on the slopes is still: “pizza, pizza; French fry, French fry” — the analogy my instructor gave me and my (much) younger classmates for how to angle our skis to slow down or speed up. I did tackle a blue run once, which felt pretty bold for someone with a bronze insurance plan. What I’m getting at is this: You don’t want me telling you which gnarly new runs to try this season. But my lack of skill on the slopes means I do qualify as an après-ski expert.
While we might think of sliding up to the bar for a craft beer or a warming whiskey cocktail as the essence of après, it’s really an umbrella term for any kind of post-ski fun. Sure, ordering a round of drinks while you wait out Interstate 70 traffic with your designated driver counts, but so does tracking down the best spot for a slab of pizza, a hearty burger or bubbling hot fondue. It’s also curling up in your hotel or Airbnb for a game of cards, or slipping into a steamy hot tub to soothe those mountain-made aches.
This season, there’s a trend in the après-ski scene: plenty of alternatives to the usual booze-fueled parties.
Loveland Ski Area will showcase a gourmet hot chocolate bar, offering a lineup of different cocoa flavors and toppings in the Loveland Basin Lodge. At Steamboat, guests can relax at sunset, enjoying the alpenglow while listening to live music at the top of the Steamboat Gondola while dining.
On top of all that, many ski town culinary hotspots have fantastic zero-proof cocktail offerings, including James Beard winner Matt Vawter’s Rootstalk in Breckenridge, where an expansive menu includes a booze-free Old Fashioned, seasonal shrubs and mocktails, and non-alcoholic cider, beer and wine.
Here are four more legendary places to enjoy the après ski scene in Colorado.
The Minturn Saloon
The back bar of the Minturn Saloon was built in Missouri in the 1830s. The Minturn bar got it from a brothel in Leadville. It was moved from the restaurant side of the establishment to the bar side during the recent remodel. (Photo by Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily)In some years, seasoned backcountry skiers can reach this historic watering hole by taking the Minturn Mile, an out-of-bounds route that drops nearly 2,000 feet over 4 miles from Vail’s Ptarmigan Ridge, twisting through a series of tight turns along the way. The Minturn Saloon, famous for its carafes of margaritas, is one of Colorado’s most legendary bars, housed in a building dating back to 1901. The old railroad town (population: 1,000) has a delightfully throwback vibe.
If you’re staying overnight, sink into a hot tub or curl up by an adobe fireplace overlooking the water at The Eagle River Inn. For another perfect après stop, don’t miss the Minturn Whisky Co.’s Wee Dram — a super-cozy, 135-square-foot, 12-seat drinking den.
The Minturn Saloon: 146 Main St., Minturn; open Wednesday through Friday 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. minturnsaloon.com
The Eagle River Inn: 145 N. Main St., Minturn. theeagleriverinn.com
Wee Dram: 161 Main St., Minturn. minturnwhisky.com
Bread Bar
Outside Bread Bar in Silver Plume. The former bakery has been operating as a craft cocktail bar in recent years, with food trucks parked outside and live acoustic sets some weekends. (Provided by Bread Bar)Take a break from I-70and detour to Bread Bar, which is set in a living ghost town in an 1800s-era bakery in Silver Plume. The mountain-inspired cocktail list includes drinks like the Baby Doe Tabor, a vodka and blackberry-sage jam cocktail with citrus and soda that can be made non-alcoholic, a house Old Fashioned, a non-alcoholic Negroni with a mock mezcal, as well as the $10 Bread and Butter (a shot of whiskey and Coors Banquet).
1010 Main St., Silver Plume; open Friday and Saturday 2 to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m. breadbarsp.com
The Saloon at A-Frame Club
Just a quarter mile from Winter Park Resort, the A-Frame Club, a collection of 31 A-frame cabins with a 1970s American ski culture aesthetic, sprang up in winter 2023. Time travel at the on-site Saloon, where the lovingly restored bar dates back at least 90 years, and order a classic cocktail or a house-made creation like a Gun Barrel, made with bourbon, coffee liqueur, an amaro, lemon and honey. Cabin dwellers can also enjoy the hotel’s outdoor barrel hot tubs, dry sauna and, should you dare, the cold plunge. Another quintessential après spot is Hernando’s, a pizza spot that opened in 1967 and is practically wallpapered in dollar bills (about $35,000 worth at last count).
The A-Frame Club in Winter Park is a collection of 31 A-frame cabins with a 1970s American ski culture aesthetic. (Kylie Fitts, provided by Winter Park Resort)A-Frame Club, 1008 Winter Park Drive, Winter Park; aframeclub.com
Hernando’s, 78199 US-40, Winter Park; hernandospizzapub.com
T-Bar in Breckenridge
A regular on lists of best après-ski bars in North America, the slopeside T-Bar serves up a good time all season long. The beloved bar is located at the base of Peak 8 lift at Breckenridge Ski Resort and is a convivial spot with a patio, après DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, and a menu with tacos, mini tamales, chicken tenders with delicious dipping sauces (think: mango habanero) plus craft beer and a nice lineup of cocktails including rotating slushies, a house Bloody Mary, margaritas, mocktails and more.
1521 Ski Hill Road, Breckenridge; open 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; breckenridge.com
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