Mountain Meccas and Adventure Escapes

Beaver Creek: Mecca

Sure, Kelsey Grammer and his ex-wife from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may be selling their semi-rustic ski retreat. But there’s more to be had at Beaver Creek than a divorcée party with botox-injected girlfriends. For one, try a weekend at the compound-sized Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa. The self-proclaimed “restorative powers” of the Allegria Spa is a 5-step water ritual of sorts involving a mineral pool, cooling rain showers, a relaxation room and plenty of steam. Follow that sweet dose of pampering by staying in one of their rooms with mountainous views, which also offer a hypoallergenic option.

If at one point you decide to leave the relaxation Mecca for a bite to eat, try SaddleRidge Restaurant where General Custer’s hat and canteen are on display. Dine under the ceiling’s exposed, mahogany ribs—a gorgeous and grandiose dinning room. And if at some point you feel the urge to raise your heart rate above 30 bpm, this quiet town has beautiful golf courses. There’s the 30-year-old Beaver Creek Golf Course, which blends beautifully into the mountains, and the more limited Red Sky Golf Club. Either way, you’re looking at a place built to extend longevity.

Beaver Creek: Adventure

At 8,000 feet elevation, going up one flight of stairs is a doozie. Suggestion: Ease into the extreme stuff and drop some hundred feet by paragliding off Bellyache Ridge. Thank NASA for this one. Paragliders were born in the 1970s when the space agency sought a glider that handled like a parachute using breezes and thermals and a system of rigging lines to steer. Vail Valley Paragliding flights are tandem with instructors attached behind you, but trust us, having a professional guide is reassuring.

If you want something more grounded, try a snug safety harness as you zip line over Colorado landscape. Zip Adventures gives access to six different zip lines reached with mild hikes through sagebrush and pinion pine. Their highest zip line, the “Widow Maker,” comes with views of four waterfalls.

For lodgings, it doesn’t get better than the exquisite aesthetic designs found in Arrowhead Village Condominiums. Although this is one that doesn’t permit dogs, the stay is great for everyone else in the family. The area is built for easy bike rides, and there’s a free shuttle traveling to Beaver Creek proper. Just be sure to get a handle on the vertigo!