Summit County Sleigh Rides (

Picture


(Article: Courtesy High Country House and Home Magazine)

Two Below Dinner Sleigh Rides: 970.453.1520, www.dinnersleighrides.comSummit County SleighsIf you're looking for a no-frills ride without the dinner expense, Copper Mountain offers 45-minute scenic rides around the base of the ski area at 5:30 p.m. during ski season ($35 adults, $25 kids younger than 12), as well as the 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Triple Treat, which sweeps families and friends into the woods, where a tent filled with fixin's for s'mores and hot cocoa awaits, along with live entertainment ($50/$45). It's a perfect choice for kids who might otherwise get antsy or tired during a longer two- to three-hour dinner ride.

Nordic Sleigh Rides near Breckenridge is also a good fit for families. After a half-hour sleigh ride, guests arrive at a replicated miners' camp that makes people feel as though they stepped back in time about 180 years. Chefs cook with an antique stove salvaged from an 1865 mining site, and another stove dated 1870 warms the tent. Most sleigh excursions include live entertainment in the form of an acoustic guitar player, but this outfit delivers an entirely different experience with three family-friendly theatrical shows. Depending on the night, you might encounter the Mountain Man, who tells stories of trapping beaver and selling pelts to England so hatters could make the finest hats in the world; the dance hall girls, who portray Breckenridge's history and the flirtatious life of working in a saloon; or Molly Brown, who moved to Summit County at age 19 and married a man who would invent a new way to shore mines, leading him to plenty of riches (she also talks about her time on the Titanic). Cost is $82 for adults and $60 for kids 4-12.

In the summer, Nordic Sleigh Rides transitions into a Western show with a cowboy band. Here, the food remains the same but the wagon ride doesn't play as large of a role; after all, guests usually just want to get bumped and bounced around on metal wheels for about 10 minutes.

Two Below Zero offers winter dinner rides ($84-89 for adults and $55-$60 for kids 4-12), hot cocoa rides and summer excursions (July and August only). It lends an authentic experience with antique, century-old fur lap robes woven from horsehair or cattle hide, though many sleighs use thick cotton blankets made in Ecuador.

Two Below serves up the heartiest meals; rather than choosing between a New York steak and grilled chicken breast, guests get a plate of both — plus Southwestern soup, a baked potato, vegetables, cocoa (with peppermint schnapps, if desired) and hot apple pie. The sleigh ride takes guests about a mile into the woods to a remote site with gorgeous views. The new tent, built two years ago, features wooden beams and posts. During summer, the outfit transitions to a chuck-wagon dinner, with a Wild West show full of corral games, roping, physical comedy, play gunfire and more.

Keystone Resort pulls guests into history by way of wranglers telling stories about Soda Creek Homestead, a dairy farm and ranch in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As the horses head to a smattering of cabins, which were designated as a historic site last year, history comes alive.

Breck Stables operates Peak 9 Dinner Sleigh Rides out of Peak 9's base parking lot ($89 adults, $60 kids 4-12). From there, it whisks guests up in small, handmade Amish sleighs that only hold 10 people. Once visitors arrive at 10,500 feet in elevation, they move into a yurt, decorated with Christmas lights, candlelight and Western artifacts. No alcohol is served on this ride. During summer, people can ride on horseback to a tent for breakfast and dinner.