Winter Park, Colorado is a gorgeous ski resort located only an hour and half from Denver. Many residents of Denver, including us, prefer Winter Park to some of the other ski resorts because it is closer to the city, you don’t have to drive through Eisenhower Tunnel (always a huge traffic jam) and you can ski Winter Park, Mary Jane and Granby all in one weekend trip. Winter Park is very unspoiled and low key. A hidden gem that many people haven’t experienced.
Not only is Winter Park a great place to ski, it’s also a perfect place for a long weekend in the summer, which we just did in early August. Our itinerary included zip lining, downhill mountain biking, hiking and best of all….eating! What’s the most important meal of the day? I’ll give you a hint. It’s BREAKFAST!
One thing that our family loves on a vacation is breakfast. We usually go to brunch once a week and we try to keep it casual. As I’ve mentioned in other posts about saving money on family vacations, we do try to eat in and cook on our own quite a bit when on vacation. But once in a while, we like to mix it up and find some local breakfast places. On our latest trip to the area, we found the two best family friendly breakfasts in Winter Park.
Carvers: Yum. All I can say is YUM! Carvers has been in Winter Park since 1982 and uses fresh local ingredients, including beef with no hormones or antibiotics and eggs from cage free hens. The restaurant is located on US-Highway 40 and has a spacious waiting area for impatient kids on the off chance you have to wait for a table. We were able to walk right in and service was attentive and friendly. One of the things I loved about this restaurant was that it seemed like their were a lot of locals eating there, which is always a good sign. If the locals approve, you know it must be good! The kids got a chance to draw with provided crayons and coloring books while we scanned the menu. There was plenty of variety for both the kids and us. I got the famous breakfast burrito and it was AWESOME. The coffee was also great, which is unusual in many breakfast places (okay okay I’m picky about coffee) and they refilled my cup multiple times without my asking. We just loved the atmosphere of this place and we will definitely be back this coming winter when we go up to the mountains to ski.
Back Bowl Soup Company and Bistro: This cute place is tucked into Winter Park Village in the “Yellow House”. If you can’t find the sign, just ask anyone where the Yellow House is and they can point the way. This casual little restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is the perfect place for the family in a hurry, whether on their way to ski or mountain bike. We were mountain biking so wanted to fill up for energy. It’s adorable and warm inside, with a lot of “ski resort” touches and, if you’d rather sit outside, there is a fire pit right out back. There are plenty of things on the menu for the entire family. I got the Breakfast Bowl with chorizo and, boy, was it good. This is a casual place where you order at the counter and they will bring it to your table. I can’t wait to go back and give them a try for lunch this winter!
There are tons of great places to choose from for a family friendly breakfast in Winter Park, but the two above are my top choices. I also thought their prices were quite reasonable for a ski resort. I don’t know if we would get quite this kind of value in a place like Vail or Aspen and that’s one of the reasons we love Winter Park so much. This summer’s vacation was fabulous and we’ve already decided that we are definitely getting ski passes to Winter Park and Copper Mountain again this year. The kids love it, there is a ton to do (including gorging on breakfast) and the area of amazingly beautiful.
