Quirky Winter Festivals in Colorado

The Stagecoach Classic on January 25 kicks off the wild and wacky winter festival season in Winter Park as Colorado’s Favorite Playground hosts events featuring dogs, beaches, Nordic and downhill skiing, a ‘legendary lady’ and much else.

The Stagecoach Classic (Tabernash & Winter Park) on January 25 is a 30km/15km classic cross country ski race and tour. It starts at Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, traverses through the former Idlewild Ski Area, and finishes with a post-race BBQ and live music at Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park. This race follows the Idlewild Trail System, which used to link Tabernash, Fraser and Winter Park and offers a rare chance to ski a beautiful “off the map” course.

The Winter Park Carnival – Mary Jane’s Birthday Bash (Winter Park Resort & Winter Park) on January 25 and 26 pays homage to Mary Jane Mountain’s namesake, a well-known madam and local lady of the evening who lived in the area in the late 1800s. The 38^th birthday bash kicks off at the Yager House at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, then the party continues in Winter Park. Highlights of the weekend include an ice and snow sculpture contest, a “Mary Jane and The Miner” look-alike contest, a pancake and birthday cake breakfast, free ski clinics, a Mary Jane sticker contest, a night parade in downtown Winter Park, and fireworks.

During the weekend of February 15 and 16 the Winter Park area goes to the dogs (literally!) with the Grand Park Dog Days of Winter (Fraser) and guests are in for a “howling” good time. The International Sled Dog Racing-sanctioned event features a number of different categories of teams.

The 39th annual Wells Fargo Ski Cup (Winter Park Resort) on February 21 to 23 is the longest-running professional ski race in the country, and it’s the only race in the world where disabled skiers compete head-to-head on parallel courses, in the same format used in professional events.

March events include the Beach Bash, Ski Granby Ranch (Granby)on March 22, a fun-filled event for the whole family which features activities, games and beach music, followed by night skiing, and on March 29 the Winter Park Wipe Out, part urban scavenger hunt, part adventure race.

Winter Park-Fraser Chamber is a non-profit Colorado corporation created to help further and maintain responsible growth in the Winter Park-Fraser Valley area, located in the Rocky Mountains just 65 miles west of Denver.

For more information about top events in Colorado take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Colorado

Utah Canyonlands National Park 50th Anniversary

The Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks and the National Park Service have been working with community officials from Grand and San Juan County, retired park rangers, and Canyonlands Natural History Association to plan the celebration, for the 50 year anniversary of Canyonlands National Park.

In the coming year there will be a series of events including lectures, exhibits and programs culminating with the re-dedication ceremony of the park on Friday September 12, 2014 in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  More information on upcoming events and programs will be available on the anniversary website at www.canyonlands50.org.

The Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks was founded by family members of Bates Wilson, who was instrumental in the establishment of Canyonlands and served as its first superintendent from 1964 until his retirement in 1972.  Bates dedicated countless hours exploring and mapping Canyonlands diverse geology.  His famous camping trips and cowboy cookouts helped persuade the country’s decision makers that Canyonlands was worthy of national park status.  On September 12, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation creating Canyonlands National Park.

For more information on the Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks, please go to www.bateswilson.org  For information on Canyonlands National Park, go to http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm 

Moab is the #1 adventure resort town in the Four Corners area of Utah. It is the gateway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, two of Utah's five National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park, the Colorado River and the beautiful La Sal Mountains. There are more National Parks, State Parks and other major attractions within a 200 mile radius of Moab than any other location in Utah. 

It has a vibrant downtown that will attract your clients that like to shop, browse, eat and enjoy the charm and hospitality of a small resort town. Moab is an "outdoor wonderland" for hikers, bikers, rafters, golfers, four wheelers, hunters and fishers, sightseers, photo buffs, historians, heritage culture seekers and so much more.

For more information about top events in Utah take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Utah.