Silverthorne offers visitors Colorado’s greatest natural playground. Although incredible outdoor adventures can be experienced year-round, the area truly comes alive during the winter months.
Situated at an elevation of 8,700 feet, Silverthorne offers quick and easy access to several of the country’s top ski resorts along with unique winter experiences designed for all ages.
Book your next snow holiday in Silverthorne for a winter you’ll never forget.
4 Ways to Spend Winter in Silverthorne
Winter Fun at the Frisco Nordic Center
The Frisco Nordic Center offers a wide range of outdoor winter activities for the whole family. You can rent skis and snowshoes directly from the center and even get beginner ski lessons from qualified instructors.
Enjoy peaceful cross-country ski trails that host special events like the Gold Rush Races. You may even want to try skijoring, which is a Scandinavian sport where a person on cross-country skis is pulled by a dog.
Kids will enjoy the great lift-assisted tubing hill as well as the traditional sledding hill. They can also roll around the snow in giant plastic hamster balls known as Tumble Bubbles.
The center also offers a 3.5k snowshoe trail, winter fat-bike races, and even draft mule-team-driven sleigh rides for those with mobility problems.
Hit the Ski Slopes
Five major ski resorts are located within a half hour of Silverthorne, making it the perfect base for downhill skiers and snowboarders. Resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, and Vail offer some of the best powder you’ll find in Colorado.
Resorts offer slopes catering to different skill levels from beginners to pros and even offer specialized adventure tours. In addition to skiing, you’ll find ice rinks, the world’s largest snow fort, ski bikes, and snowcat rides offered.
Snowmobile Through the Rocky Mountains
Snowmobile 12,500 feet atop the Continental Divide, passing through forested trails and meadows that offer stunning views of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Guided tours can be customized to meet your adrenaline needs.
Some tours are designed for families or couples where snowmobiles can accommodate two riders, while others will be fast-paced adventures through rough terrain that are intended for single riders.
Snowmobile tour companies will provide all the equipment you’ll need, including helmets, snowsuits, and boots.
Take the Family to the Dillon Ice Castles
After its inaugural 2018 winter season, the Ice Castles are slated to return to Dillon next winter. Step into a world straight out of “Frozen” where you’ll experience incredible ice castles decked out with slides, tunnels, and fountains all made out of ice.
While beautiful by day, the castles come alive at night when lit by colorful LED lights that respond to music. Certain nights also feature fire shows.
Crews grow nearly 10,000 icicles each day to create a castle weighing over 25,000,000 pounds, with 10-inch-thick walls. The exact opening date depends on the weather of course, but you can expect next year’s opening to be around late December.
PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND FOR THE SNOW: CLICK PHOTOS ↓
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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.
Having visited 50+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.
24 Comments
First time I’m hearing of Silverthorne, but I’ve always wanted to visit Colorado one winter :)
Glad we could introduce you! Colorado is fabulous during winter, I hope you do have the opportunity to visit one year :)
Dillon Ice Castles sounds fabulous, I’ve heard of ice hotels too in Europe that they make every year, I don’t think they have these in the States but they definitely should! I would stay.
I agree! Yes I think there’s one in Sweden that they build once a year and then come summer it melts into the ground. The US could definitely get this up and going in Colorado during winter :)
Definitely a less expensive alternative to staying at the base of the mountain. We’ve spent a couple of winters here and you’re right, it has great access and it a great outdoor playground.
Absolutely Dan, glad you’ve enjoyed your trips! It’s a great region :)
Once the snow melts, Silverthorne’s Blue River becomes a big draw for anglers too. Great trout stream. Fly-fishing is the preferred method, but lure fishing is also effective along the banks.
Cool Bethann! I haven’t gone angling before, but I can definitely see how it would be a great place. I wonder if they do ice fishing before the snow melts.
We will be spending time in Breckenridge as well. Does frisco and Silverthorne have a Main Street area to explore too?
Fab Sarah :) Frisco does, though Silverthorne is known more for the outlet malls. Have a fab trip!
We just returned from a vacation in Silverthorne/Dillon, and wanted to share for those considering a trip to this area. We stayed in a 1 BR condo in the Treehouse Condos on Wildernest Road in Silverthorne. Very much enjoyed the condo, felt comfortable and “at home”, and it was clean and well-stocked. We stayed in unit E-105 (VRBO), and it was on the first level next to the building entrance, so was at times noisy (especially if the patio doors were open). But we live in the country, so are not used to having neighbor noise. Also, felt the bed was very firm and had a hard time sleeping, but again, we have a Tempurpedic at home. But we would definitely go back to the unit again – loved the location, the layout, the clubhouse (VERY nice, and a great view!!), the cleanliness of the unit and of the complex. The owners were very helpful and pleasant, and the cost was VERY reasonable as well.
We ate at several restaurants: Fiesta Jalisco and Pug Ryans in Dillon, Windy City Pizza and Rasta Pasta in Breckenridge. Enjoyed them all – details below:
Fiesta Jalisco – authentic Mexican food. The salsa is hot (not for the faint of heart) and very good. I ordered a quesadilla with shrimp, mushrooms, onions, spinach, cottage cheese & cheese with guacamole & sour cream on the side. VERY GOOD! My husband had a chicken chimichanga, he thought it was good, not great. A bit on the pricey side – my entree (no sides) was in the $12-$13 range. But very good food.
Pug Ryans Brewery – my husband had a couple of their wheat beers, thought they were good but not remarkable. I ordered fish & chips for dinner, they were excellent! Not greasy, very large portions (could have fed two), very nicely prepared. Came with a side of coleslaw which was bland. Again, a bit on the pricey side, although the beers were pretty reasonable during happy hour ($2.50 pints).
Windy City Pizza – we go here every time we are in the area. Love their pizza, they don’t skimp on the toppings. Had a Chicago Works pizza on regular crust. Very good, especially if you don’t care for thin crust pizza (although they do offer that option).
Rasta Pasta – after seeing this restaurant for our last several outings to Breckenridge, decided to try it. Why did we wait? It was fantastic! Just a warning – this is not an Italian pasta restaurant! We had a seafood linguine with alfredo, and a cheese ravioli with a fresh tomato sauce with jerk seasoning and sausage – oh my! I liked it so much, I ordered another entree to take home for later! It was a tricolor rotini with cheese tortellini and sliced bananas, pineapple and red grapes with a light oil dressing and spices – it was wonderful! And you can get your entree as spicy or mild as you like it. We will definitely return!!
There is so much to do in the area, you can be as busy or lazy as you like! We’ve been there enough times that we just wanted some R&R time, so didn’t really want to be very active. But if you do, there are hiking/biking trails all over, Breck Bike Week was in progress with lots of activities, and in a couple of weeks there will be a music festival in Breckenridge, there is a farmer’s market in Dillon on Fridays, there was a blugrass concert on Friday night, and another scheduled for either Saturday or Sunday, Dillon Lake offers all kinds of recreational opportunities, or you can just sit back and enjoy the gorgeous scenery all around. A drive to Rocky Mountain National Park is approx. 1-1/2 hours, and the scenery in the park (and the wildlife) are just unbelievable. Just note that they’re doing road construction along the top of Trail Ridge Road, and there will be traffic delays for that, and your car will get dirty as they have the roads down to gravel in that stretch. While we were waiting for traffic, it snowed and sleeted….35 degrees in July! But on our way back through the park, the weather had cleared, as had the traffic, and it was a beautiful drive back to Silverthorne.
All in all, a wonderful week in Colorado!
Thanks for sharing your experience Robert, it sounds like you had a fabulous trip!
Fiesta Jalisco sounds great, you can’t go past authentic Mexican! We tend to cook a lot for ourselves, so didn’t have much chance to check out the food scene, so really appreciate your restaurant recommendations.
Rocky Mountain National Park is a great choice for a day trip, we saw so much wildlife during our time there too – big wildlife fans here!
A great trip report, thanks for sharing!
I would love to learn to ski at some point, Colorado seems like a pretty good place for it! Have a feeling though that I might spend more time face down in the snow than upright on skis so I hope they have patient instructors!!
Haha there are wonderful beginners classes available, so you should have no trouble. It’s all a lot of fun!
Whatever the weather does, it’s hard to have a bad time in Summit County.
Amen to that!
There are several good places to eat in Silverthorne and Dillon which I noticed you didn’t mention food – the Old Dillon Inn, Arapahoe Cafe, the Dillon Dam brew pub. Make sure you hit the bakery in Frisco – they have great baked goods and breakfasts.
Thanks for the food recommendations Jada, yes we tend to cook for ourselves so don’t often get around the food scene. Appreciate you sharing your insights :)
You overlooked a top mountain in your list of great places to ski/board. Copper mountain has dramatically smaller lift lines and some of the best terrain in the area. This is my mountain of choice when I get out.
Thanks for sharing your fav Caleb – Silverthorne really is great for being such a central base to different resorts and mountains :)
I would go Breckenridge. Yes- there is more people in Breck but that is because there is more to do.
Also a very good choice in the area Newton :)
I love the snow! I don’t ski or snowboard but I love to build massive snowmen! … and sit back in the hot tub … I’m assuming most decent hotels here would have a hot tub … that’s my favorite winter activity, with a glass of champagne enjoying the magical view.
Sounds like a pretty good vacation plan to me! :)