Christmas Day Trips!

These fun day trips will be sure to bring some magic to your Holiday season!

ICE! featuring A Charlie Brown Christmas

ICE! is back at Gaylord Rockies. Don our signature, blue parka and step into a wonderland carved by expert artisans out of two million pounds of colorful ice. See Charlie Brown, his canine sidekick, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang re-created in larger-than-life sculptures and even plunge down slides made entirely of ice in this Gaylord Hotels original experience. Presented by Pespi.

2. Visit Estes Park

A day trip to the mountains is sure to give you all the cozy holiday feels this season! Just an hour away from Fort Collins, Estes Park is the perfect escape for a day of fun. Do some shopping along Elkhorn Avenue, which has plenty of clothing, home decor, and candy stores, or grab a drink at breweries with beautiful views. You can also ice skate at the YMCA, or pick one of Estes’ many places to snowshoe, tube, and ski. Fun for the whole family!

3. Tube at Beaver Meadows

A trip to Beaver Meadows is the perfect winter outing for the adventurists! Bring your friends and family, grab a couple tubes, and zip down one of their 12 runs, which range from calm to wild! Located in Red Feather, Beaver Meadows is about an hour outside of the NoCo area. In addition to tubing, you can also ice skate on their pond, ice fish, snowshoe, or even cut down your Christmas tree!

Georgetown, Colorado

The sleepy mountain hamlet of Georgetown puts on quite a show for Christmas. During the festive season, Georgetown, located just off I-70 and surrounded by towering mountains, transforms into an old world European Christmas market town-there are even chestnuts roasting on an open fire and plenty of carolers in Victorian garb.

3. Santa’s Rocky Mountain Adventure

MAKE WONDERFUL WINTER MEMORIES AMID THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS!! Day time departures feature Santa’s North Pole Adventure through December 24th. Santa visits you on the train while riding through the forest and over the 95 foot tall High Bridge! Enjoy the scenic and snowy vistas on this magical excursion! Santa will be joining us on every departure before Christmas! This train ride lasts approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, round-trip.

4. Santa’s Lighted Forest

VISIT SANTA AS YOU RIDE THE RAILS THROUGH A STUNNING LIGHTED FOREST! Night time departures feature Santa’s Lighted Forest through December 24th. The station and forest alongside the tracks are decorated with more than 300,000 holiday lights, with even more being added this season! Santa will be joining us on every departure before Christmas! This train ride lasts approximately 60 minutes, round-trip

4. Visit the Denver Zoo

Grab your kiddos and head down to the Denver Zoo for a day of all things fun and festive! The zoo is just a drive away, and has hundreds of exhibits ready to be discovered. Make sure to stay for Zoo Lights once the sun goes down! This event includes thousands of light displays scattered throughout the zoo, and is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season. Grab tickets here!

Breckenridge, Colorado

This internationally renowned ski town is transformed into a magnificent Victorian-style Christmas town during the holidays. It kicks off with the Lighting of Breckenridge on the first weekend in December, which includes the Race of the Santas – an event in which hundreds of supersized red-clad elves take to the streets, all just as ski season gets into high gear. Throughout the season, you can enjoy carriage rides, loads of shopping opportunities, delicious holiday treats, and the chance to feel as if you’ve stepped into an old-fashioned holiday painting. If you’re still here for New Year’s Eve, you’ll get to watch the torchlight parade make its way down the mountain, followed by a fireworks display.

5. Stroll down Pearl Street

Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall is the perfect getaway for Christmas break! Get some gift shopping done at hundreds of unique stores, grab a bite to eat at one of their many restaurants, or take a snowy hike along the breathtaking Flatirons. Located just over an hour from Fort Collins, this gorgeous town makes for the perfect day trip.