A Perfect Evergreen Winter Weekend, Hour by Hour

Evergreen in winter is the version of Colorado that does not require a lift ticket, a 5am alarm, or a fight with I-70. It is 35 minutes from Denver, sits at 7,220 feet, and holds snow in the trees for weeks. This is the weekend we send people out on.

Friday, 4pm — arrive before dark

Aim to be off I-70 at Exit 252 by four. Winter light drops fast behind the ridge and unfamiliar mountain driveways in the dark are how vacations start badly. Stop at the Bergen Park King Soopers on the way in — it is the last real grocery store, and having breakfast in the house on Saturday morning is worth twenty minutes now.

Friday, 7pm — creekside dinner

Willow Creek in downtown Evergreen for the elk tenderloin, or Lariat Lodge if you want a big deck, a pilsner, and a room that tolerates children. Both fill up on Friday; call ahead. Then go home and get the wood stove going properly — open the damper fully for ten minutes before you close it halfway, or you will spend the evening apologizing to a smoky room.

Saturday, 8:30am — snowshoe Elk Meadow

The lower Elk Meadow loop is 2.6 flat miles through open meadow and pine, and at 8:30 you will be breaking trail through untouched snow with the sun coming over the ridge. Snowshoes rent for about $20 a day in town, and the trail is gentle enough that you will not need poles. If you want elevation instead, Three Sisters climbs 700 feet in two miles to granite outcrops with a Divide view.

Saturday, 1pm — green chile and a hardware store

Come back down for a smothered burrito and then walk downtown Evergreen, which takes about twenty minutes and includes an outfitter, a bookstore, a hardware store that has been there since 1946, and a coffee roaster. In January and February the lake freezes hard enough that the Evergreen Lake House rents skates and grooms a rink on the surface — a mile-and-a-half loop of ice under the ridge, and the single best hour of the weekend.

Saturday, 10pm — the hot tub is the point

This is why you rented a house instead of a hotel room. Turn the deck lights off. At 8,000 feet with no city glow, Orion is genuinely startling in January, and you can hear snow come off the roof in slabs. Keep the cover latched when you are not in it — that is what holds 102°F in a 10°F night.

Sunday — Red Rocks, hot springs, or nothing

Three good options on the way out. Red Rocks is 25 minutes and free to walk on non-event days. Idaho Springs is 30 minutes for hot springs and the oldest tunnel-to-a-mine tour in the state. Or do the correct thing, which is nothing: coffee on the deck, a late checkout, and the drive back down while everyone else is stuck on the ski corridor.

Winter driving, honestly

• AWD or snow tires from December through March. Not optional above Bergen Park.
• Fill the tank in Bergen Park, not on the mountain.
• Check COtrip.org before you drive I-70 in either direction.
• Steep private drives hold ice for days after county roads are clear.
• Drink twice the water you think you need on night one. Altitude, dry air, no mercy.

Nomad Vacation Rentals LLC was founded in 2026 by Sean Normoyle. More about Nomad.